Date: 2005-06-05
From: Iron Mountain Shelter

To: Abington Gap Shelter
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: scattered clouds

The Road to Damascus - Day 8!Well, the ol' Mileage Monster almost got me today. Whenever I plan my hike from one re-supply point to the next one, I always have an ideal plan and a more likely plan. From Erwin to Damascus, for example, is 120 miles. I was hoping to do it in 8 days, averaging 15 miles a day, but I knew that was optimistic. The first re-supply point would be the Kinkora Hostel, and that was 70 miles from Erwin, so I was hoping for 5 days, but allowed for 6. I did it in5 days, so then the next question was whether I could do the 50 miles from Kinkora to Damascus in 3 days or 4. I felt capable of doing three 17 mile days, but it is rare that the logical overnight stops (shelters or camp sites) will coincide with ideal mileage plans, so you basically you have to deal with shorter and longer days to make it come out right. Before I left the Kinkora Hostel, I'd asked Bob Peoples what a sensible hike plan to Damascus would be - for a guy with bad knees.... He said to do 10 miles the first day, since I'd have to summit Pond Mountain, and stay at the Watauga Lake shelter; day 2, do 14 miles to Iron Mountain Shelter; day 3 do 16 miles to Abington Gap Shelter; and day 4, do the final 10 miles into Damascus. So that was my plan, and I stuck to it the first two days. When I got up this morning, it was still my plan. But then I heard Buck say he was going to try to get into town, doing a 26 mile day, since we had the "Tennessee Turnpike" at our disposal. The turnpike is a section of the trail from Iron Mountain past Abington Gap and essentially all the way to Damascus - so named because you can just cruise along in fifth gear due there being only very minor elevation changes and extraordinarily good tread way (i.e., very few rocks). I didn't really give it much thought until I realized that I was, indeed, able to cruise along, although, with my knees, I seem to have lost fifth gear. And fourth gear isn't as fast as it used to be either. I plan each day's distance goal on the assumption of 1.5 miles an hour. If I can do better, great. I get to camp earlier. This morning, however, I arrived at the next shelter - 8 miles up the trail and my planned lunch stop since it was half way to my planned destination - at 10 am. That's when the Mileage Monster started in on me. "C'mon," he said. "You just did 8 miles in 3 hours. You can do 18 more in just 7 more hours, and get into Damascus by 5PM! Wouldn't that be great? It would give you your 15 mile average back, and you'd still have time to re-supply, etc., and be ready to leave again the next morning." Sounded good to me! If the turnpike did its part, and my knees were up to it, hey - why not give it a go? So, for the next three hours, I gave it my best shot. When I stopped for lunch at a road crossing with a nice picnic table, however, my knees got together and took a vote. The outcome was unanimous, and the basic message was: "Stop with the marathon fantasy already! There is no way in H**l that we can do 26 miles today!" I knew they were right, so I didn't argue. I recognized the insanity of what the Mileage Monster had proposed. All of which let to a leisurely lunch hour, pack and boots off, with new plans for a much slower pace over the next 5 miles to Abington Gap shelter. As I sat there, a tourist, an older man from Iowa, came up and asked if I was hiking the trail When I said I was, he asked if he could take my picture. I said sure, if he'd take another one of me with my camera, which he did. He then asked a bunch of questions about through-hiking, which I was happy to answer. It's as close as I've come to celebrity treatment, even if he didn't ask for my autograph. He probably wanted to, but was just too shy... Later, after resuming my hike, I met two hikers going south. We stopped to chat for a few minutes, and it was a very happy conversation for me indeed. The lady's name was Peg Leg, and she was slack packing with a younger kid whose name I've forgotten. He was coming from Harpers Ferry south to Springer, and was then going to flip flop - going up to Maine and hiking southbound down to Harpers Ferry. He said he had been off the trail with knee problems for a couple of weeks, and I said I could identify with that. Pegleg then asked me again what my trail name was, and when I said Longhaul, she said she was glad to meet me as mine was one of the journals she was following. Being of a certain age herself, she said she was more interested in following older hikers. I think she meant middle-aged ones, like me. Then she had even better news. She had mentioned several other members of M company, including Dorothy and Toto, and when I mentioned Phoenix, she said he was staying at the same place she was in Damascus, and would see him later that night. Even better, she said he would be there until Tuesday morning, which means I should be able to meet up with him when I arrive in Damascus tomorrow. I can't wait to see him - it will be a grand reunion. Now if we could just find a way to catch up with Butterfly Moon and Hopeful Hiker...! I got to the shelter at 3:30, set up camp and cooked an early dinner Then other hikers started showing up. Baltimore Jack was first, but he was only in for water and then going on a few more miles. Before he left, however, he was kind enough to share a piece of pork tenderloin with me to add a bit of protein to my Lipton Sides Broccoli and Cheddar Cheese noodles. Thanks, Jack! I first met Jack - one of the "legends" of the trail who, rumor has it, never leaves town without a carton of cigarettes and at least a fifth of Jack Daniels in his pack - when I stayed at Ms. Janet's in Erwin. I met him again at the Kinkora Hostel, and he will be in Damascus with me tomorrow. He seems like a nice guy, if a bit eccentric, but that's s.o.p. for legends of the trail I suppose. Paul showed up, but he also got water and then left - in his case to do another ten miles to Damascus. That will allow him to do a zero day tomorrow, and leave out when I do Tuesday morning. Then came a couple with a growling dog, but they got water and left also. I was beginning to wonder if maybe I smelled bad or something, but then Mike (the 75 year old Brit) and Gene showed up, and they're staying. I did another campfire, and am enjoying it as I type this. Today's hike is dedicated to "older hikers" - like Mike - and even to middle-aged ones. Like me... stay tuned, Longhaul Sent via PocketMail Email Anywhere www.pocketmail.com