Date: 2004-05-05
From: Abingdon Gap Shelter

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Success!Some hikers get a thrill out of doing 20 miles. Some get a thrill out of doing 30 or 40 or 50. But Catdog, Hawk and I were elated by the accomplishment we made today.All three of us rose at 3 am, packed up, and hiked in the dark with our headlamps toward Damascus. Our goal was to pass Easy-Duzit et al and be at the Cafe sipping coffee when they arrived.We knew they went ahead two more hours after they left us at Abingdon Gap Shelter, but we weren't sure where. Negotiating the trail in the dark was arduous at first, but we were so focused on our mission that we didn't care. As we passed empty campsites, our hopes dropped that this would work. Could they have hiked the whole 10 miles into Damascus the night before?When you walk at night, your vision is on the two-foot stretch infront of you. Everything is stripped of color and the woods around you are a black hole. If one of us fell off the side of the trail, we would be lost to oblivion.But there were some interesting discoveries. We noticed that reflective tacks were placed along the trails for night hikers to stay on the AT. We also could see the bright lights of Damascus and realized what a huge town we were approaching.As the horizon glimmered with blue light from the sunrise, we shut off our headlamps and used night vision to follow the trail. Then Hawk, in front of me, halted and motioned us to be quiet. We could hear voices--deep voices. We were near a blue blaze trail Easy had mentioned the night before as a potential resting stop. They had not stricken camp yet, so we hurried past.When we were well beyond, we laughed very quietly and exchanged high fives. We were ahead of them. Now we had to get to Damascus before them.Hawk and I sped ahead while Cat ran with Wags in tow. I'm sure the dog thought we were nutty humans. She just wanted to sleep.We got to the TN/VA border and took a few pictures. By now we could see colors and shapes, but still needed our flashes. Another state line crossing. 3.3 miles to go. The excitement was too much. I felt like we were on the run or something.By 7:45 am, we reached the arched sign welcoming us to Damascus, VA. More pictures. Catdog called it the Eco Challenge (Wags is our fourth team member).We looked back at the trail. No sign of anyone else. We had reached Damascus first. As we walked along the street (the trail runs down the middle of town much like Hot Springs) we spied Mountain Dew on a pay phone. Guess he did his 40 miles yesterday.Unfortunately when we reached Sidetrack Cafe, Palmtree and Wizard were already there. They had not camped with the others and arrived 15 minutes before us. So we sat down to join them and waited for our reward.Sure enough, Easy, Alright, and Nobody arrived. They could see Wags tethered outside--a very distinctive dog--which caused them some confusion. Easy walked in and acted calm but his eyes were wide with surprise. Alright just said, "How? How?"I don't know if it ever registered to Nobody.Ah, it was glorious.Later, we reunited with Coyote and Saltlick at the Spartan establishment "The Place." Big hugs all around. Also in town were Michigoose, Lefty and Boonie after arriving the night before.The rest of the day was spent doing laundry, picking up mail, and eating. I made an ill attempt at finding a new backpack but was too tired to have the patience for combing through the varieties. I took a nap instead. We topped the evening with a trip to the Old Mill for dinner out on the patio overlooking the river.It was a good day.