Date: 2004-04-18
From: Damascas, VA

To: Damascas, VA
Miles today: 0.0

After a wonderful breakfast at The Victorian Inn, Tommie and I said goodbye to Linda and headed over to get Pat. We headed over to the Outfitters, as Pat was needing to get some supplies. Specifically, a one man tent and an alcohol stove. "Why would Pat need a one man tent and a lighter stove", you might ask.The Twist: Because I, Michael, decided a week or so earlier that I would end my hike(for now) in Damascas. Pat would be going on solo from this point forward. Pat and I discussed this early, before Erwin, TN and I contacted Tommie at Kincora Hostel and gave her the news.Thanks Pat, for being understanding and supporting my decision. I enjoyed the experience, but the day to day hiking(sun up to sun down) became tedious for me and I was not having fun. The physical demand was not an issue, just the routine of each day. I promised myself, before we began the journey, that I would not continue if I was not happy and having fun. Meeting all the wonderful people on the trail was, by far, the best part of the trip. I will miss being in their company every day. We got all geared up, tested the pepsi-can alcohol stove(works great), bought a new one man tent, packed it all up and headed over to the outfitters to weigh in. 40lbs...that's lighter than when we first started. This is a relief for me, Michael, as I was concerned my leaving may prove painful to Pat's back.Hung out with Pat until around 3:30pm and left him playing dominoes with Grass. He seemed very happy. I think that I may have kept him from experiencing the "social" scene...never was my thing. This new freedom will be a good thing for Pat. Tommie and I left Damascas for home and that's where I have been since Sunday. It has been great to be able to spend time with my wife, work on the house, play with Owen, looking forward to working again with my father, seeing friends and hopefully, soon, do a little fishin' with Erik.M.Pat: Damascus, VA (0 mi)Stayed in tent.It was hard to say goodbye, but my girlfriend and Sam had to leave early after our great breakfast at the Lazy Fox. I was sorry to see them go, but I was thankful I had the chance to see my girlfriend before she left the country. (Sam, I'm sure, I'll see again soon.) We had a great stay at the Lazy Fox B&B, Ginny took great care of us and serves an unbelievable breakfast. It is like your southern grandmother made every breakfast dish she new and put it all out on the table. Thanks Ginny!After meeting up with Michael & Tommie, we went over to the outfitters and I purchased a tent that I had seen the day before. It is the Vela Extreme from Exped. It is fairly light, 3lbs, and very roomy with a huge vestibule/awning. If I get trapped inside due to rain, I wanted to be able to move around, protect my gear, and have some place to cook. It should work out great. After that it was back to the other outfitters to replace my Wisperlight stove with something lighter. I bought a homemade soda can stove from the Sidetrack Cafe and found a few accessories for it at the Mount Rogers Outfitters (Great place!) I bought some alcohol and we went over to the Mount Rogers Hostel to try it out. It boiled 1 quart of water in about 9 minutes with just an ounce or two of alcohol, not bad. I think it should work out fine. Michael and I took my pack over to Mt Rogers Outfitters and put it on the scale. 40lbs, not too bad considering I had 4 generous days of food. After that it was time to say goodbye to Michael & Tommie. I'm going to miss hiking with my brother, but I know he'll be back to visit from time to time. I thought about hitting the trail in the afternoon, but just didn't feel like hiking out alone today. So, I set up my tent at the hostel and spent some time with the other hikers we've been hanging out with. We had another great dinner at the Sidetrack Cafe. Everyone was sorry to see Michael go, but understood, and took the time to let me know I wasn't alone. Thanks everyone for being so supportive of both of us. We were lucky to have fallen in with such a great bunch of people.