Date: 2018-04-15
From: Abington Gap Shelter

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

What is a Nearo? Is it below 5 miles? Below 10? Not entirely sure but I do know that the 6 of us sleeping in the Abington Gap Shelter planned on hauling down to Damascus, VA this morning in part because of excitement and in part because we were attempting to outrun a storm. We had impeccable timing! As I woke up, there was a warm breeze cooling us off. It was extremely comfortable weather but off in the distance you could see the sunrise and dark clouds. A storm was coming during the mid morning. Half the crew woke up around 6 and were headed down hill by 630! I myself didn't get out until 7 but I was okay with that.We headed down hill quickly in hopes of avoiding an uncontrolled shower and in hopes of food and beer. The 10 miles went by so quickly that by 9am I was at the TN/VA border 3.5 miles from Damascus. I made it down to the bottom of the mountain by 10am and only caught a bit of the rain for the last 10 minutes of my hike! I was extremely lucky and even luckier to catch soothe at the bottom enough for him to snap a picture of me under the "welcome to Damascus" sign. We waltzed into town and asked to loiter under an overhang outside of the rain. The business owner approved! Damascus is well known as the most popular trail town and so far we were loving it.We milled about for at least 30 minutes. The 6 other hikers I was with were calling to find a room and I was killing time until roughly 3pm when I could check in at my B&B. I was spoiling myself for sure. They eventually found a spot and headed there to put their gear down. In the meantime, I walked to the only diner I could find open... Mojo's. It was a nice breakfast/lunch diner where I found a spot near an outlet to charge my phone and ordered a Reuben and coffee (weird mix I know but I couldn't decide between breakfast and lunch). I washed my hands for the first time in about 5 days too so that was good! Especially when we just hiked with a man who had to stop because of strep throat!I ate my sandwich and let my parents and Abby know I had made it. I was on the phone with Abby when my uncle Skip called. Skip lives in Raleigh, NC and had been hoping to meet up with me. Meet ups are so hard to plan because I have no idea my plan more than a day out and weather/conditions change a lot! However, he had managed to track me using the GPS I have and figured it was worth a shot to try to meet me in Damascus. He drove 4+ hours in hopes of finding me without being sure. He even brought an overnight bag in case he had to wait for me! In the middle of talking with Abby I answered my phone. We said hi then he asked where I was. I said "Damascus, VA!" And he goes "Me too!" It was crazy. Reminded me a lot of Franklin, NC when John and Linda Jones rolled into the gap as soon as I arrived. It was crazy! I paid my tab then ran around the corner of the small town to find Skip! He said he didn't recognize me quickly because of the facial hair but he pulled over nonetheless!We chatted outside of the car for a bit until the rain picked up. The hikers I was with (Soothe, Stoic, Two Clicks, Duracell and a few others) walked by to meet me at Mojos. They met Skip quickly and I told them I would see them later instead. Skip treated me to AYCE pizza AND salad as we chatted and he told me about his recent cruise and his 50th anniversary! Congrats Skip and Carolyn! Soothe then called me in hopes Skip would be willing to drive them to the liquor store a town over. I felt so bad but Skip was extremely willing. He was definitely a trail angel for them and me as he drove 7 smelly hikers 20 minutes to Abington, VA for liquor. A few of them got some drinks while the rest of us waited. We then dropped them off back at their hotel. Shortly after our side trip, Skip and I went to the B&B I had reserved when I was back in Erwin. The Mountain Laurel B&B is a quaint, historical home with original wood interior and stocked full of antiques! It really is beautiful and affordable for a "treat yourself" point on the trail. Natalie and Jim who run the place are so accommodating! I highly recommend it!They gave Skip and I a tour then Skip said his goodbyes. It was so nice seeing him and I'm so grateful for him driving all this way just to hang out with me and deal with my stench. The rain picked up a bit and I jumped in a warm shower and got settled. I came out and talked to a few people on the phone as I sat on the back porch of the inn in a bathrobe with a Guinness the owners gave me in a chilled glass as they did my laundry and I listened to the rain fall. How could today get any better??I sorted some of my gear and caught up on a few things. I filmed some quick videos to say hi to Aria, Abby's little sister and to the 7th graders at Hampton Academy I had worked with for a few months. Eventually I ran across the street to grab some beer as I hung around and watched TV for the first time in a month. I have a list of things to do tomorrow but I'm so excited to have my own bed, have a fireplace indoors to hangout by, a few cold beers and to be avoiding the crummy weather outside. Excited to hangout tomorrow and get some new shoes, look into a new sleeping pad and to resupply.P.S: as I write this my mom texted me that Skip was slowed down on his way home because of traffic and because of a Tornado! Crazy! Even more thankful Skip came out and braved some crazy weather. I guess I'm glad I didn't have to hike in any of that! Thanks Skip!