Date: 2004-05-14
From: Sugar Run Gap - Wood's Hole Hostel

To: Damascus Trail Days - Zero Day
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Day #61KrispyKritter has asked that I write about Trail Days from my perspective. Forgive me if I babble but there is so much to say.Our wake up call spoiled the sanctity of our sleep all too early. On the trail, one wakes to the natural sounds which are much more gentle, more beckoning. Dashing around the room in an attempt to find clothing and equipment for the day, we must have looked like squirrels digging for nuts. It was comical. Met AWOL for our continental breakfast and headed back to Damascus by 8:30.It was almost peaceful when we arrived.   Not many hikers were about this early, I¢m sure still recuperating from the night before. We walked to the auditorium to listen to Model T¢s humorous rendition of his THREE thru hikes on the trail. I finally met One Leg, a very determined young man. We wandered through the vendors, priced and compared equipment, viewed the latest and greatest must haves for the trail. Krispy had arranged to meet several friends at the Side Track Caf©. We arranged to meet AWOL there at 4:00.The Side Track was a flurry of activity when we arrived at noon. Hiker¢s biding their time for use of the internet, others eating much appreciated ¢real¢ food, and then there was Boo Boo. He was working at the caf© for meals. Many hikers were ¢ some took orders others waitered, Boo Boo did dishes. A great trade-out for all. There were still more hikers outside¢¦ and around the corner. Apparently this was THE place. Krispy secured us a table for eight which was our outpost for several hours. Hikers coming and going ¢ it was musical chairs. Boo Boo, Bear Tracks, Bramble, Scholar caught up with us as did Pegasus and company, Benny and Franco, CuppaJoe, Footslogger, Crash Test Dummy, PA Mule, Beast, Gaia, Baltimore Jack, Blaze, Jester, Dutch, Burn, Vagrant, Paddler and many more I¢ve overlooked or just didn¢t catch their names.   I finally met Queen Diva, another Trail Angel extraordinaire, who had waited for us to arrive at Woods Hole days before with full dinners for our ¢Magnificent 7¢ but we missed each other.I needed to push my re-set button. I left Krispy and friends for a chance to get some more photos and check out the vendors again. Hikers were still arriving by every means. Damascus had also kindly provided a shuttle around town. Tent city was sequestered as far away as possible, it seemed, yet close enough for hikers to walk from ¢ 7/10ths of a mile from ¢ground zero¢. I laughed to myself when I heard someone say "After six weeks on the trail, most of the men look like prisoners in a concentration camp and most of the women look buff!" Men in kilts everywhere ¢ nice legs, man! Hiker garb is a whole ¢nother story! These folks have more common sense when it comes to clothing than most. It¢s not necessarily color coordinated, sometimes not even sized properly, but it¢s comfortable, it dries quickly, lives up to abuse and is commonly used as an expression of each individual¢s personality (just check out BooBoo and Jester pics). I meandered in and out of vendors looking for a token of Trail Days to bring home. Nothing seems to be sold in small.Back to the Side Track to meet up with AWOL and check on Krispy ¢ who was still at the same table, different group again. More introductions, joking and relays of who had gone off trail, who was up ahead, who had split up or joined up with whom. Krispy had managed to secure one of only six shirts that were printed with: I slept with Miss Janet. A few hours later Miss Janet arrived with a shuttle full of hikers from her hostel in Erwin. Everybody adores Miss Janet and I can understand why. I handed her a sharpie pen and she signed Krispy¢s shirt ¢And I liked it! Miss Janet¢. Krispy wore it for the rest of the night. Miss Janet is a big love of a woman who adores her hikers and seems to adopt some from time to time. We were offered a ride as we walked to Tent City where many of the hundreds of hikers elected to camp. There were tents everywhere ¢ some hikers even had to resort to ¢stealth¢ camping (camping in non-designated areas) in order to stay overnight during Trail Days. Tents were butted up to one another in haphazard fashion (photo credit to AWOL). The place had been drenched with rain the evening before and must have been a mud bog. This didn¢t seem to affect the spirits of the masses though. Bear Tracks managed to find a piece of vacant real estate for his Hennessey hammock between two trees. He was surrounded by poison ivy! Well, enough good medicine (remember - beer) and one can thumb their nose in disdain at any trivial little bother.We watched as Burn, assigned as the Tent City fire marshal, started the huge bonfire for the evening. The three of us planned to have dinner at The Mill, a wonderful restaurant on the river in town. BeatBox had gotten a job there as a waiter and we wanted to give him our support ¢¦ and a bit of a hard time just for fun. It was the best dinner I had in ten days.   BeatBox was very professional until we started cutting up.   As we left I made a pit-stop. The kindly bouncer tapped me on the shoulder as I began to enter the wrong bathroom. With hands over my face, I allowed the bouncer to aim me to the ladies¢ room as I explained ¢I just got used to using trees ¢¦¢ It was a very entertaining day.