Date: 2004-05-16
From: Interim Update

To: Damascus, VA (Trail Days)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Today was the final day of Trail Days¢¦and I¢m spend! I had only 2 12 hours sleep last night¢¦Grrr! I attended the church I went to 2 weeks ago. Two weeks ago it was great. That was 2 weeks ago. There was a guest speaker talking on evolution. Not once did he use the Bible (or even science) in his talk. After 15 minutes of propaganda I left. I should have slept until noon L Nevertheless, the day would improve.After church I ran into Skippy and Matt along with Poppins. I knew they would be leaving soon and it was nice to talk to them. Skippy seemed stressed, as though she was a different person than 2 days ago. After talking at their tent, I walked to the tended ¢town area¢ with Poppins. We saw 70 tents of various hiking gear types. In addition, crazy foods were being sold: Alligator, fried pickles, and fried oreos to name a few. I didn¢t partake. It was fun to chill with Poppins though, who seemed very pleasant and laid back. I also ran into Bonnie & Clyde for the first time in a month. By 1 PM, as we rejoined Matt & Skippy, I was tired but enjoying myself.I finished my time with my 3 new friends with a meal at Dairy King. It probably is the last time I will see them L We all ate and they planned. I was half asleep in a coma of sorts. By 2:30 PM we finished eating, they packed up, and we said goodbyes. I promised the ladies bad ¢love poems¢¢¦he, he. I have no doubt I will leave a few in the register. It¢s weird on the trail, you make friends and lose them so quickly. I know I will miss these friends more than most.Around 3:30 I went over to chill at Sidetracks. I was still exhausted. I met tons of people from the last few days, but it was all a blur. I was planning on going to perform in the talent show, but Sidetracks¢¦well it sidetracked me. From 4:30 to 6 PM I fell into slumber on the keyboard of one of the Sidetracks computers¢¦Ugh! When I did awake I saw Gordy, one of many talented hikers I have met this weekend. She informed me she had slept, too¢¦but she had heard that 3 hikers with far less talent had won some rather high-priced prices¢¦DOH! Then I went to see my water-logged dent¢¦Doh! Doh!After the weekend rain and the idiots who moved my tent, I returned to a DISASTER! My sleeping bag was soaked, my ¢town stuff¢ ruined, all my gear waterlogged. Originally I was going to leave Sunday night, but I amended my plan. I threw away the unsalvageable stuff, made a pile of things I could send home, and packed up my essential gear. Thank God I wrapped most of my essentials in trash bags. By 7:00 I had 2 wet boxes in hand and my pack on the end of my pole as though I was Johnny Appleseed. Thank goodness for Matt.Matt (of Matt & Elizabeth of the other day) came to the campground with a truck. It was quite clear it would rain soon, and I could not feasibly carry my stuff. We quickly struck a deal: I would help him pack up and he would give me a ride. 30 minutes later we put the last of his camping gear in the pick-up bed and covered it with a tarp. As we fastened the tarp, it began to pour. I hopped in only mildly soaked after sliding my gear under the tarp. Right as I did, the rain rose to monsoon level. Matt¢s truck was my first huge blessing of the day.Matt drove me to the Hiker¢s Inn, where I stayed with Suzanne 2 weeks earlier. I was able to stay in the bunkhouse again and Matt helped me get my stuff into the garage. I thanked Matt and sorted my mess. Suzanne let me use the washer to clean my mud-plastered clothes and suggested I hang my tent on the clothes-line. Then she took hold of the clothes cleaning responsibilities and gave me scrubs to wear - Suzanne rocks! As I retired to the bunkhouse, I finished cleaning my stuff and I took a nap after discussing my gear with a kind section hik3er. Wow, did I need the nap.At 10 PM I awoke, starving, due to a lack of dinner. The hideous storm subsided and only drizzle was left. Suzanne gave me an umbrella and said goodnight. I headed to the only place I ever hang out in Damascus: Sidetracks Caf©. Still mildly in a stupor, I had a pizza and went to the electronic suction device: the computer. I vegged out for about an hour or more. As usual, the food was great. While there I met a female hiker named ¢Powder Finger.¢ She was beautiful, but seemed to be just as out of it as I. We did not talk much and I accidentally called her ¢Crack Finger.¢ Ugh. Before I left I said goodbye to the Sidetracks Staff. I hope to see them in the morning, though. I¢m headed to bed soon in these scrubs J Tomorrow a 2002 thru-hiker here at the Inn, ¢BallPark¢ is going to give me a ride most of the way to Bland. Wow! Before I sleep, here are a few Trail Days reflections:- I never did shave my head.- The Mill was a huge blessing. The food, money, and people were awesome!!! I can¢t thank God enough that I was able to work there.- I¢m going to miss my new friends.- I¢m going to miss the singing.- I¢ve now taken 8 zero days in Damascus alone L- Even on rough days, God blesses me so much J- I want to catch up to Krispy, but it will take me a few days- Hopefully I will return to Traildays next year as a successful 2004 thru-hiker (only 1600 miles left J)- I¢m ready to be back on the trail and keep walking toward Maryland.God has blessed me so far and I know he will continue to. This festival break has been wonderful, but I long to return to the heart of my journey. I don¢t know what crazy unexpected things will happen, but I¢m ready to find out. Goodnight,Beatbox