Date: 2011-05-03
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Knot Maul Branch Shelter
Miles today: 25.5
Weather: scattered clouds

(In which I hike with the cows)Days after leaving Damascus, I finally figure out what, at its core, the town was missing. What makes a good trail town experience is the ephemeral, seemingly chance encounters with other hikers. But what makes those encounters possible is a good hostel, and the guidance and influence of a dedicated hostel proprietor. Bob Peoples at Kincora, Uncle Johnny in Erwin and Elmer at Hot Springs, each of these people's commitment and involvement with their hostel and the trail community is what facilitates positive hiker experiences year after year, hiker after hiker. The Place is simply a wooden structure, and so the hostel -- and by extension Damascus -- lack the consistent, welcoming personality of the other trail towns.The second thing that makes a good trail town is the easy availability of good, cheap town food, and here too Damascus failed miserably, at least for me. I still think back with fondness to the diner at Hot Springs, and wonder if I will ever find another place where within five feet of the AT at 6am I can order a huge, delicious breakfast for a shockingly low price.* * *The trail goes through Atkins, where most hikers stop to resupply. Still having plenty of food and just having showered I decide to skip stopping in Atkins and see if I can make it another 90 miles to Pearisburg before resupplying. Having time to only half charge my Kindle at the ranger station, Kindle battery life may well be the biggest downside to this plan, but there are a number of town hitchhiking possibilities if necessary.The weather has started warming up, and the trees and rest of the forest seem to be in full bloom. A comment in a register wonders if we have finally entered the Green Tunnel, and I think back to a conversation I had with Tippy-Toes in the Grayson Highlands. We were walking over beautiful rocky summits with incredible views, but without any trees for visible blazes both of us would occasionally lose the trail. "You know", Tippy-Toes said, "I'm almost looking forward to the trail in the rest of Virginia." I snorted incredulously. "You mean you're looking forward to the Green Tunnel?" "I guess. It'll be easier to follow." "Just remember you said that", I said. "When the weather is 90 degrees and humid, when the air is filled with mosquitoes and you haven't seen a view other than the inside of the Green Tunnel in a hundred miles, you can think back and say, 'Well at least I'm not in the Grayson Highlands with a cool breeze and a trail that's slightly difficult to follow sometimes!'" "OK", she finally admitted when she had stopped laughing, "you make some good points."Despite the trail register poster's worries, the day's hiking is actually some of the most scenic so far, winding in and out of grassy cow pastures. I am struck once again by how much more scenic the mountains I just climbed are when viewed from a clear pasture. From clear grassy fields the trail goes through orchards with pink blossomed trees with fragrances sweeter and subtler than any perfume.Turning a corner I see that the cows, which I've observed from a comfortable distance, have brought their grazing directly to the trail. They are large, formidable creatures viewed up close and I walk carefully as I get nearer. I cross some invisible threshold and the cows closest to me freeze mid-chew, grass hanging from their mouths. I take another cautious step and they turn with alarming speed, galloping away like horses. Soon the other cows follow suit. I can feel the ground shake under my feet and am very glad that I am not in the way of their stampede.Twenty-three miles into the twenty-five mile day it starts to rain. After the hot sun of the morning, it's actually a pleasant relief, and the water evaporates from my clothes and skin almost as fast as the rain can wet them. Nevertheless, I am glad when I reach the shelter before sunset and find that there is plenty of room. The forecast calls for thunderstorm tonight, and three walls and and a roof sound pretty good to me.