Date: 2009-05-23
From: Campsite past Abingdon Shelter

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 5.1
Weather: overcast clouds

We woke up in the morning at the ass-crack of dawn because we wanted to get to the Post Office by 11 am before it closed in order to send some items home. We were very dehydrated from the night before and we were not very limber at all. My body just did not feel very good and I felt like the engine of a car without having any oil in it. My muscles were full of lactic acid and my tongue and throat were just dry to the bone. I slowed down my pace in an attempt to focus on my breathing and to concentrate on something else besides finding water. Three miles down the trail in a sharp cutback, there was a blue-blazed trail leading to what was suspected to be a water source. This is the symbol that leads to water. Normally, it is within .4 miles from the trail, but more often within .2 miles from the trail. I was really in need of water, so I dropped my pack at the trailhead and set off with my Platypus and Gatorade bottles to fill up with water. I walked for about 10 minutes, or about .3 miles and the trail kept showing blue blazes. I continued for another 10 minutes and still did not find any water. At one point, the terrain was straight down, which meant that I had to do some serious climbing on the way back up. I really thought that the water would be right around the corner. It wasn¢t, so I kept going. By that time, I had walked 25 minutes, or just over one mile off the trail in search for a water source. I was literally pouting and spitting up any fluid that was leftover in my mouth, desperate for a few drops of icy, cold, fresh, mountain water. I looked up into the sky and pleaded for there to be water. It was a tough decision, but I decided to walk the 1+ miles back to the trailhead without acquiring any water. On the way back, I began to really perspire due to the tough climb and the climbing sun. Unfortunately, this increased my dehydration even further and, in order to take my mind off it, I pulled out my iPod and began listening to some beautiful Enya music, specifically the song ¢Pilgrim¢. I really focused on the words this time, which were:Pilgrim, how you journeyOn the road you choseTo find out why the winds dieAnd where the stories go.All days come from one dayThat much you must know,You cannot change what's overBut only where you go.One way leads to diamonds,One way leads to gold,Another leads you onlyTo everything you're told.In your heart you wonderWhich of these is true;The road that leads to nowhere,The road that leads to you.Will you find the answerIn all you say and do?Will you find the answerIn you?Each heart is a pilgrim,Each one wants to knowThe reason why the winds dieAnd where the stories go.Pilgrim, in your journeyYou may travel far,For pilgrim it's a long wayTo find out who you are...Pilgrim, it's a long wayTo find out who you are...Pilgrim, it's a long wayTo find out who you are...I couldn¢t help but appreciate the lyrical part: ¢Pilgrim, it¢s a long way to find out who you are¢¦¢ I used these powerful words and, with renewed confidence, said to myself: ¢I am a Pilgrim. I am on a journey. Not finding water is just part of the journey. You can do this. You can do this.¢ In this very instant, my muscles grew stronger, my mind overcame the thirst and dehydration, and my entire body just took over and helped me to climb up the hill. Physically, I was still thirsty and dehydrated, but the mind is such a powerful thing that I just kept going with adrenaline shooting through my veins. Sure enough, two miles down the trail, my buddy Scavenger had laid out his water bag filled with water with a note ¢Tully¢ clamped to the ground with a small stone. It was absolutely wonderful. I quickly purified it with the iodine tablets and, then when it was ready, I just downed it. It felt so good to have water in my system and it just tasted so good. They say that you can go fourteen days without any food at all, but only three days without any water. A little while later, I crossed into Virginia. Three states (GA, NC, TN) and 463 miles down and only 11 more states and 1715 miles to go! Yahoo!!!I walked through the part in Damascus that, just a week earlier, was bustling with over 30,000 people and hundreds of vendors. Everything looked normal, everything was clean and lovely. I was so excited because Jay and Candy, two good friends from Durham would be visiting later on in the day. I was also excited because my pseudo-grandparents or guardians in California (during my AmeriCorps year), Sally & Jerry Gillespie, had sent me some of Sally¢s delicious cookies to the Mt. Rogers Outfitter. The best are the ones that are jelly-filled and have icing draped across. My good bud, Gene, from Duke (now from UNC, unfortunately ¢ sad face inserted here) had also surprised me with a wonderful postcard and picture of the two of us, which made me smile from head to toe. It was very thoughtful and I thank them all for their support. After some reorganization, we headed down to the Post Office to mail some packages back home. It was great to be back in the small, country, easy-living town of Damascus. We knew a few locals, including Linda and Jeff, who had organized the entire Trail Days event at the First Baptist Church. Both were so incredibly helpful during our last stay in Damascus and, when we saw them at the post office, we had to give them both a hug and a handshake. Such great people. We also managed to see Recom and Moonlight a few times and chatted with them before they headed off. Moonlight¢s aunt thought that I looked like Ryan Gosling from the Notebook ¢ another person thinking that I was a movie star of sorts. Just in reality, perhaps. We made a quick stop at the Damascus library, where Jay and Candy had eventually met us just under an hour later. Candy cut her hair! They were both clean and smelling good and we were just so dirty and stinky. It was pretty bad, actually. But, oh, how great it was to see them out on the AT! After 43 days of hiking, it was the first time seeing familiar faces out on the trail. We then set up camp at ¢The Place¢, a hostel of sorts that is loosely set aside for hikers and bikers doing the cross-country biking trip from Norfolk, VA to the coast of Oregon. Most bikers finish the trip in 2 ¢ 2 12 months. We definitely have the more difficult journey walking on the trail, but I still applaud and commend the rigours of their own adventure. Once set up, we headed to the AYCE pizza place just on the outskirts of town. Scavenger and I had the goal of stuffing ourselves full so that we would get our money¢s worth. I think that we really accomplished this goal. In total, we probably consumed about 42 pieces of pizza between the two of us, along with several trips to the salad bar and a hearty helping of steamed beef and mac ¢n cheese. We were probably in the pizza joint for two hours and I don¢t think that Candy and Jay really enjoyed watching us stuffing food into our bodies. It was a little bit gross, but hey, this is life out on the trail, right? Upon leaving the restaurant, we literally felt sick to our stomachs. Well worth it. Then, we headed into the grocery store to acquire some fresh fruits and orange juice for later on in the evening once our bodies would begin to digest the food that we had just consumed. Arriving back into Damascus, we decided to walk off the food so we headed to other side of town to a small coffee shop called ¢Mojoes¢. We were all quite impressed with the decorations and colours inside and commended them for trying to bring more peace and quiet with a little bit of urban culture to the countryside. On the way back into town, we stopped and chatted with a young man, who was fishing some of the brooks in town for trout. He was a sophomore at Virginia Tech and was telling us all about the different local fishing spots and the different methods and intricacies of how to actually catch the keeper. We showed Jay and Candy the rest of town and then came back to play some card games. I was a really bad player, especially in the presence of the two of them. Jay always seemed to win and Candy always seemed to pout. I maybe pouted a little bit too. In the late evening, we started a small fire thanks to Jay bringing and burning my former desk from Durham, which turned out to be quite flammable, but potentially had an extra dose of toxins. We made some s¢mores in the fire and then Gaucha came over with her ukulele and began playing a few tunes and belting a few songs for us. Then, it was off to bed for a much-needed sleep.