Date: 2004-05-08
From: Damascus

To: Damascus - Zero Day
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Zero Day! I am still in Damascus, Va as planned. I awoke fairly early, but layed around lazily as I was in no hurry to get up. Still though, I was ready to get some breakfast at 7:30 and to my surprise, the entire town was awake, up, out, and set up for a huge yard sale. Technically, today was the first day of Trail Days, and I guess they start out with a marathon yard sale. In every yard, parking lot, spare building, alley, really everywhere, someone was set up displaying their wares. It attracted a fairly large crowd for most of the day. But when I stepped out into what I thought would be a sleepy little mountain town at 7:30 a.m., imagine my surprise. The Post Office closed at 11:00 and the library closed at 1:00, so I arranged my day with that in mind. Right after breakfast I sorted through my mail drop, selected what food to keep and what "stuff" I would send home and got everything organized. Then I packed up the box and headed for the PO to send it off before they closed. On the way back I stopped at Mount Rogers Outfitters to top off my denatured alcohol fuel. Since the library closed at 1:00, I next went there to type in some more of my journal entries. This is a new experience for me to have my journals up to date while I am still out here hiking. By 1:00 I had all but two entries completed, includng a few I put in yesterday afternoon. Early afternoon I did laundry and had a long conversation with Marlene while the clothes washed and dried. It was very special for me. After that I napped a little, then went over to The Sidetrack Cafe to get a root beer and enter the final two days of journal entries on trailjournals.com. I took one more shower back at The Place, and walked to The Old Mill Restaurant for a leisurely supper. I have a great table right near the window overlooking the Beaver Dam Creek just as it flows over the dam the former mill must have used. There is no hurry, as I have already been here an hour and a half reading and writing, and now I am enjoying a great cheesecake dessert. In a few minutes the band will begin to play. I have to see this because the name of the band is "Yo Momma's Big Fat Bootie Band". How could I possibly miss that? While sitting here a young couple was seated at the next table, obviously dressed in prom attire. That brought back memories of home and the big night for my girls, and the little twinge of happy/sad loneliness. I reviewed the plans for the next 5 days of hiking, and am trying to level things off a bit as tomorrow's plan is for 11.7 miles, and the next day is over 16 miles. After that the final three days look fine. I hope the day off has refreshed me for the challenge ahead. There is no way to tell until I get on the trail again. Tonight I will spend a few minutes getting organized, and then turn in around 10:00. I need a good sleep tonight. It has been great to have a do-nothing day and just enjoy myself and talk with the local folks. I feel ready. Mount Rogers looks pretty tough for Monday's hike, but I'll just take it as it comes. There is some pretty country ahead so I can't wait. If the band turns out to be noteworthy, or anything else interesting happens, I will add a PS. Goodnight Sweetheart. PS. The band was very late starting so I went out and peeked into the room and they were getting ready to start up in a little while. I decided not to stay. First, there had been some real wild thunder and lightning storms for the last two hours, and there was a break in the storm, so I decided to walk my 5 block trek back to the hostel while I had the chance. Also, there was a $5.00 cover charge which would have been no problem for me, but the guys at the gate said I needed to go on in because they expected lots of hot women to be there. I said I had a hot woman at home, so I didn't need one here. They looked puzzled by that, but I did not prolong the conversation. Finally, I recognized about half of the band members as the guys doing a jam session last evening at The Sidetrack Cafe. They were 40-ish country boys with pot bellies, long locks and facial hair, shiny scalps, and played everything from Blue Grass and Mountain Music to 60's rock-n-roll. They were fun to listen to, both the music and the commentary. I had already heard them some so I wasn't missing out entirely. I made it back to the hostel before heavy rain came again. Since I had not brought a rain jacket with me and was concerned about getting caught out in a downpour with my journal notebook, I was glad to get to shelter for the night. I took care of a few preparations, got into my bunk, and listened to the quiet sounds of the town. Sleep came pretty quickly. I needed that.