Date: 2007-05-29
From: Damascus, VA

To: Campsite near VA 601
Miles today: 18.3

I awoke this morning around 7:15 and slowly began packing by backpack. The other 6 hikers in this room at the hostel also got up at the same time and were beginning their day. The plan was to go to the Post Office at 8:30 when it opened and pick up my bounce box and any other mail that might be there for me. Huck needed to pick up his bounce box and a food drop. In case I have not explained what a bounce box is I will do that now. A bounce box is a package of items that you normally will only use occasionally and don't want to carry in your backpack all the time. Therefore you mail them up the trail to a town where you think you might need the items. If when you arrive there you don't need anything in the package, you can forward the box up the trail further for no charge, as long as you do not open it. I picked up my bounce box at the post office and removed a few items I currently need. I also added a few items to the box. I have decided to try an alcohol stove in replacement of my MSR Whisperlite stove which uses white gas. By doing this I will be reducing about 1 lb. from my pack weight. I put the stove in the bounce box. I also decided to add my rain pants to the box, since I hardly ever use them. I will mail the bounce box up the trail, in case the alcohol stove does not work out. After that, I will probably just mail the box home, since I have found that I really don't need it.After the post office stop, I walked about a half mile to and from the grocery store to pick up some food items I needed and could not find at the dollar store in town. I was finally on the trail by 11:00. As I previously mentioned, the trail runs right through town. It then connects with the Virginia Creeper Trail (a very popular bicycle trail) on the north end of town. After about a half mile the trail leaves the Creeper Trail and enters the woods.The hike this morning (or should I say aftenoon) was pleasant. No big ups or downs, just level and smooth. The trail followed a wide, and fast running stream for a good part of the day. By about 1pm I decided to stop for lunch at a campsite right next to the stream. I made tortillas with re-fried beens and slices of cheddar cheese and ate them by the stream as I soaked my feet in the cold water.I later caught up to Huck and we hiked together for the rest of the day. At one point the trail came out of the woods and followed the Virginia creeper trail for about 1.5 miles for some very easy hiking. The rest of the day, the hiking was fairly easy. A few minor ups and downs but mostly level. Towards the end of the day, the trail left the woods and entered some pastures. I really enjoy hiking in this setting and it was a great way to end the day. When we got to a road about a quarter of a mile from where we planned to camp, we met 5 thru hikers camped right by the road cooking dinner. Huck knew a few of them and I had met another. Four of them owned dogs, so the combination of this large group of 5 hikers and dogs was an unusual sight. There was one big alpha dog that wanted to keep the other dogs in line and the barking and growling was quite noisy.They had bought some food (steaks, potatoes, etc.) and invited us to stay with them. Huck and I cooked our own meals and shared some of their steak, but knew it would be too crazy camping there. When we were finished eating, we put on our headlamps and groped down a dark trail until we found the campsite. We set up our tents as quietly as we could, since another group was there, and called it a day.