Date: 2009-04-25
From: Damascus, VIRGINIA!

To: Damascus, VIRGINIA!!
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Cell noneOG notesToday we traveled around town taking care of town chores. We walked to the Sun Dog Outfitter today to get information about C6s pack. She carried a full pack across town (fortunately it's a small town) to get there. We then went to the pharmacy for a few items and then to lunch. A few more stops, and our walking was completed.We then headed back to The Lazy Fox Inn to sit around and rest. This place is located near the river and there are two hammocks on the river edge. I laid down in one and rested a while. We've been just sitting around writing journals and just staying off our feet. Miss Janet said it best when she said "You need a day of just resting when you take a zero." Tomorrow we'll try to be very lazy and walk as little as possible. We'll head out on Monday and go only as far as we feel like it. The rest and easy start should help us stay strong.We're really loving The Lazy Fox Inn. Miss Ginny is an excellent hostess. Her breakfast was fantastic. We had bacon, eggs, grits, fresh fruit, pancakes, orange juice, coffee, hash brown potatos, biscuits and gravy. We are treated more like family rather than two smelly hikers. We were lucky to get in here, we called from the trail a few days ago and got the last room. It will be hard to leave this life of luxury.Tonight we plan to go to dinner with Old Gear (Neal) and Red Leg (Adin). I don't know where we'll go, but we'll enjoy being with friends.More to come tomorrow.C6 notesI packed my pack completely today and we went to the outfitter who handles Granite Gear equipment. Turns out I have the wrong size pack. We have heard (and were told by this outfitter) that the companies whose equipment thru-hikers use bend over backwards to help thru-hikers. We have heard of someone who has had a company send him a new pack, and someone else who has traded a couple pairs of hiking boots. Serious thru-hikers mean a lot to the companies because we will praise companies who do what they can to help, and thus help their product sell better. A company that is hard to deal with, or has shoddy equipment will get bad "press" from us. Next time we have cell phone service on a week day, we're going to call Granite Gear and talk with them about my pack. If that doesn't help, we'll look into another brand somewhere up the trail.I'm also having problems with a pair of North Face rain pants I bought almost a month ago. Within 2 weeks they started having holes along the inseams. Now I have two rather large holes in the pants and need rain pants that aren't holey. I'll do the same with them...I'll call North Face when we have cell phone service on a weekday and see if they'll send me a new pair.It's interesting to learn how companies are about thru-hikers. OG said it so well in yesterday's entry when he wrote about the difference between those of us who are living with the gear day in and day out for months verus those who use it for a limited amount of time. I found it funny that when we hiked through town to the outfitter to get my pack checked no one asked why I had my pack on (and it was obviously full) but OG didn't have his pack. We ran into people we know, and not one appeared to think that was odd. That struck me funny. Of course there are folks all around town with packs on, but people know OG and I are always together. We were excited when Neal (Old Gear) came running out of the Subway restaurant to say hello. He had just gotten in town and got a bed in The Hike Inn, then grabbed some lunch. We're going to go to dinner with Neal and Adin this evening, and we're looking forward to that. We haven't seen Neal since we did the Easter trail magic with Jodie and John. Oh, Thursday evening we were surprised when Dan arrived at the shelter where we had stopped for the night. Sadly, he was alone. Elizabeth had a very sore throat the last time we saw her, so we figured they were staying in Erwin until she got better. Dan said Elizabeth continued to get sicker (lost her voice), and decided to call her folks to come get her and stop hiking. So Elizabeth is off the trail and Dan is continuing alone. We're sorry to hear that, Elizabeth, and hope you're all better now.Going back in time, also, the British couple who came down the mountain in the snow with the group we were in has gotten off the trail as well. She had twisted her ankle. It sounded like her ankle was doing better, but the snowstorm must have been the last straw for them. They stopped hiking in Hot Springs.Right now I can't think of anyone else who has gotten off the trail. This is a grueling experience, but the good times are so wonderful. It's sad to hear of anyone whom we've gotten to know having to get off the trail.Oh! "Pirate," from Neels Gap is here! He's hanging around for Trail Days, then he'll start his annual hike. It's good to see him again...still the fun character. When I asked him today what he's doing with himself, he replied, "getting interviewed by the media." I didn't get more information except it's for something that will be on TV at some time. He doesn't know when and doesn't care because he won't see it. "Don't have a TV."Old Goat & Check Six