Date: 2007-05-06
From: Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

The weather was amazing today...sunny, crisp, cool. Lala said that there was no need to ruin such a perfect day by hiking! Actually, we were initially planning on taking a nero and a zero, but we did the 25+ mile day and decided to reward ourselves with two zeros. We're trying out the "hike hard/play hard" approach for the time being. I suspect this mode will last until tomorrow when we'll be faced with the "hike hard" mode, at which point we'll take it down a notch. I feel like I really needed the extra day of rest--for mental rather than physical reasons. Hiking is like a job...an awesome job...that requires a weekend off here and there. Virginia is a notorious state when it comes to inflicting mental burn-out on northbound thru hikers...everyone says, that from this point onward, the hike will be predominantly mental. Of course, everyone also told us that it would be downhill after the Smokes...so who knows?Grin has decided to get off the trail to be with is wife who he missed very much. His departure sparked a dialog about what sort of lives we have on the trial versus what we have waiting for us at home. It seemed as though those people with significant others at home have a whole slew of homesickness issues to deal with that us single folk don't. There was also the issue of missing jobs, families, cars, comfortable houses with electricity and running water. Only Spaceman and I agreed that there was nothing substantial off trail to lure us, siren-like, back into the murky waters of civilization. At any rate, it's sad to have Grin leave the trail, but it truly seems like he has a better life waiting for him at home. I can't help but wonder how this trip would be different for me if I had a home or a husband waiting for me? It would certainly be more complex, but would it be less delightful an experience? What would it be like to have to consciously will myself into staying away from a good and civilized life for 6 months?I called Dr. John today for my update. If you remember from my earlier March entry from the Hiker Hostel, John is conducting research on the effects of thru hiking on the body. I remember him giving me his card and telling me to check in with him in early May when I got to Damascus. It felt like an eternity ago...Dr. John and his crew are going to meet me at a trail town or road crossing to do a follow-up exam. I can only hope that the 50 pound pack, nose clips, and aerobic step exercises won't be involved in this one! I've become super conservative with my energy lately (lazy, that is), and while I'm more than happy to give blood or nap in the name of science, step aerobics with a 50 pound pack fills me with dread and loathing!I took full advantage of our posh B&B by the river and took a long bath this evening. It's nice to be able to have a bathroom all to one's self. I read a book and watched my toe skin become pruned.We reunited with Moon Goat and Otto the dog only to have him hike out with Spaceman and Forrest this morning. We should catch them by the end of the day tomorrow. Two Dogs has blazed ahead and we probably won't see him again for a while. And, Step Small and Cheeks rolled into town today too. In fact, everyone we know on the trail has been in Damascus in the past 48 hours: The Maine Train, the Texas Boys, Kevin and Little Siter, Magic Horse, Nova...we're all walking the streets and waving to one another from shop doorways and intersections. Last night, the mill was over run with hikers cashing in on the dollar beers, and tonight, the hikers drank Baja's out of business (when I left they had 9 bottles of beer left in the restaurant). We're all so mild mannered in the woods but become extroverted drinking and eating freaks in town! The deprivation on the trail turns us into a pack of werewolves at the sight of a restaurant or Internet cafe. We descend on these peaceful little trail towns like a swarm of locusts.