Date: 2007-12-04
From: Lost Mtn. Shelter

To: Damascus VA
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: scattered clouds

mi 15.8sleep hosteldest. Damascus, VA day 145 I slept like crap last night. I think it is the lack of body fat I have now. I was using what I had been warm at well below zero before I left. The temp on my ridgeline inside of my hammock sock, underneath my tarp was 22 degrees when I woke up in the middle of the night. That is freakin cold. It is usually at least 10-15 degrees warmer inside of the hammock sock. I woke up with condensation all over my sleeping bag and the inside of the sock. I think it is time for some drastic changes in gear in order to stay warm at night. I have decided that above all I need to be warm and well feed at night, at whatever the weight costs are. I hate to say it, but I am really close to sending the hammock ahead a couple weeks and trying it without it. I have a little while to make that decision. I got up when I saw everyone else had a campfire going. It was still way before light. They said they usually get up around 5:30. Skipper has a talking alarm clock that they get up to. I got up slowly and went over and warmed up. I had put my waterbottle in the bottem of my hammock sock. It had a little ice on it, but it wasn't frozen. With the early wake up, I was able to eat, get packed, and headed south by 7am. Not a bad start at all. Now a couple miles in the trail follows the VA Creeper Trail for a couple hundred yards. It follows it again 15 trail miles away into town. It is an old railroad bed. It is part of the rails to trails program. During warmer months it is packed with people walking, biking, or horse back riding. This is a definite blue blaze. We talked about it last night. Catz was definitly going to take it. Skipper was definitly not. The other 3 of us were undecided. After getting there I decided I was going to. The other two were split. It is a great little trail. A nice little gravel bed all the way to town. It follows a stream the whole way. Had this been summer, I would have definitly stopped to swim. There were a few great little swimming holes. It follows the valley the whole way into town. It was a nice little change from the trail. If the whole trail was this way, there is no way I would hike it. Bike maybe. Every once in awhile it gives me a nice contrast to the rest of the trail. During the busy months there is also a couple cafes on it you can stop and eat or have ice cream at. Definitly a nice way to go. We ended up in town by noon. Perfect time for lunch at Dot's. a famous hole in the wall place here. After lunch it was off to the outfitters. Mt Rogers Outfitters also runs a hostel. It's all of $10 a night to stay there. A church runs a free one here too, but it closes when the weather turns cold. I heard after the fact that there is some bad talk going around about one of the outfitters here. I don't want to get into any of it. All I can talk about is my personal experiences. I was pleased with both. They were both extermely helpful. I'll get into tomorrow what I added and switched out of the pack. After the others came into town, it was dinner time. We decided to keep it cheap and ate at Subway. Then it was beers at Dot's. It was fun to sit in a hole in the wall bar and drink and watch TV. Other than us there was only 4 or 5 other people. When Jeparody came on, everyone was shouting out answers I mean questions or whatever they are. After a late night at the bar we headed back to the hostel around 9pm. But we sat up talking there to after 11pm. I really think my body uses everything it gets as soon as I put it in. Food wise I am usually hungry soon after or starving by the next meal. Sleep wise I get extremely tired the next evening if I stay up later than usual. My body doesn't seem to have the reserves that it does at home. There I cam skip a meal here or there or go on little sleep for a few days to a week. Not here. Every meal and nights sleep needs to be complete. Tonight I am going to sleep on 2 foam mattresses, my zrest foam pad, and my torso foam pad. Why, because I can. I am not sharing my little room with anyone. Tomorrow it is town chores and relaxing. I'll go over all my gear things then.