Date: 2009-05-15
From: Damascus (Trail Days) Virginia

To: Montebello, Virginia
Miles today: 161.4

Friends and Trail Followers:Well, I'm back from Alaska and back on the trail. Back on the 'trail' may be stretching it, as I am back in Damascus, Virginia for Trail Day's weekend festivities. Damascus is on the trail, but I would be misleading you to think I was actually hiking. To be perfectly honest, I am just continuing to do what I did on the Alaskan cruise ship - eat and drink.I put 8 of my recently lost 23 pounds back on. That is what happens when Carnival Cruise Lines installs soft ice cream machines at certain strategic locations on their ships. The great thing is that I don't worry about being able to take those pounds right back off. Now after I finish the AT, that will be a more difficult proposition.This weekend was planned as a reunion with some good buddies. We rented a cabin in Damascus, only a block off the main drag. Bart, Danny, Kevin and Rich are joining me for the hiker-centric activities of Trail Days. We are eating and drinking well and taking full advantage of the gas grill and back porch over looking the creek. It is great to see these college buddies, though I'm sorry to say we only get to do it once a year.On Sunday, after packing up, I will ride north with Bart and Kevin to be dropped back off in Montebello, Virgina. I will get back on the trail at Spy Rock Road (Mile 813) and begin north again. I am anxious to get walking again.Strange to think I have been missing that sweaty sheen that covers your body after 2-3 days of warm days on the trail. At Trail Days it was perversely pleasurable to smell thru hikers with a couple days of showerless 'eau-de-trail'. I am looking forward to getting into the Shenandoah National Park and to finally see a live bear!As promised, here are my estimates of dates for reaching certain geographic milestones along the upcoming trail:Waynesboro, VA/Shenandoah National Park - 5/19Harpers Ferry, WV/Maryland State Line - 5/28-5/29Pennsylvania State Line - 5/30Pine Grove, PA - 6/6Delaware Water Gap - 6/10New Jersey State Line - 6/15**New York State - 6/18Connecticut State Line - 6/23These estimates could slide forward or backward a day. Note that when I get to the Delawaqre Water Gap, I plan to get off the trail and head home (again) to Charlotte. My daughter Shannon will graduate high school and turn 18 on back-to-back days. Can't miss that...There is a tradition here in Damascus during Trail Days, where by the local barber gives FREE buzzcuts. I have been seeking this barber out, but thus far unsuccessfully. I have stopped asking people's opinion on whether I should or shouldn't experieince a buzz-cut. I thought my friends and family would be a little more supportive of my desire to experiment. I will report back if I track down the barber.One word on Alaska. If you try to say more, you'll find it difficult to find a breakpoint. Alaska is tremendous. It is bigger than life. It is hard to describe. I think by seeing it from a cruise ship you get to cover alot of ground but you still don't appreciate its size. I was sorry I didn't have as much time to walk around on its trails. I read John Muir's "TRAVELS IN ALASKA" during our trip. When he was traveling up to Alaska on his first trip in 1879 he said, "To the mountaineer, a sea voyage is a grand, inspiring, restful change." I couldn't agree more. Unlike a cruise passenger, Muir was lucky enough to get off his steamer, the Dakota and take to the hills, on foot.Taking a week-long break from the Appalachian Trail requires a diversion as special as an Alaskan cruise. That hike is for a future time...See you up the trail.