Date: 2009-04-29
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Miles today: 0.0

Here is Tonto's entry describing his hike from Davenport Gap to Damascus.Dear Friends,   I retired from the Army Reserves on Friday April 3rd and on the following Wednesday I was back on the Appalachian Trail (AT)-what a way to begin retirement! Early Bird (trail nickname) and I had a reunion hike for 7 days (we were partners for two weeks over the beginning of his 2,175 mile ¢thruhike¢ in 2007) and I continued on for 6 more nights by myself. The time flew by as we got caught up on the past and talked about future adventures. Initially we had planned to begin at Newfound Gap but 15¢ of snow the night before closed the road so Penny dropped us off at Davenport Gap which is the ATs intersection with I-40. As we climbed from the gap we encountered snow and, while slogging up the steep approach to Max Patch Bald, we hiked through drifts up to our knees for a short while. Someone preceded us and did the initial trail-breaking but it was still challenging. Other notable climbs were Mt Pisgah, Roan Mountain, and Big Bald which are all in the 6,000 foot range. The hike up Roan took 2.5 hours and when topping Big Bald we had fog and winds of 25-35 MPH to deal with for about 3 hours. Hiking the next day with negligible wind was such a pleasure and we very much enjoyed the quiet. We said good-bye at Erwin and expect to be trail partners again some day.    During this section hike I covered 230 miles in 13 days and put on the rain gear for only about 4 hours total which is pretty amazing during spring in the southeast. There was more rain, I just didn¢t have to hike in it. The food situation worked out the best so far; I only cooked dinners and ate trail-mix, Fritos, granola bars, and Snickers for breakfast and lunch. A restaurant in Hot Springs, TN served me 3 pancakes of which I could only eat 75%. I no longer carry a water filter and simply use a few drops of betadine or chlorine bleach per quart to purify my water-much lighter and the plastic bottles take up the space of about 2 packs of gum. My hands still suffer in the early morning with the temps close to or below freezing, but I think I have found some mittens that should solve that.    The AT is a 2,175 mile footpath and the more time one spends on it, the more it becomes a story of the people you meet while on the path. 30 and under is the main age group, the female ratio now seems about 1 in 4 (up from 1 in 5 two years ago), and there were more foreigners this year. A fiddle, small guitar, and Wiffle Ball bat/ball were some of the unusual items being carried. ¢Texas Chill¢ a 23 year old Texan had been to 2 NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School-premier non-military outdoor survival school in the US) classes and a leader at Philmont for 3 years. Early Bird and I guessed he was likely the most capable outdoorsman we met. Another couple from DC had only completed 2 years of teaching and were granted a leave-of-absence to do their hike. (The superintendent was a section hiker like me). One young man ¢Almond Joy¢ was from Israel and having the time of his life. ¢Kotter¢ is a science teacher at Lawrenceville School in NJ where the high school tuition is 45K/year (you read that right).   On my last hiking day I completed the ¢Damascathon¢. There were 7 of us at the Iron Mountain Shelter and one of the youngsters, while looking over the AT Data Book, saw that it was 26.2 miles to Damascus, VA. Since the next day was the Monday on which the Boston Marathon is run, she came up with the idea of hiking all the way to Damascus. Enthusiasm slowly grew, and by bedtime everyone was in and someone had made up entry numbers out of new/used Ziploc Bags to put on our packs. I was the oldest by a huge margin, finished 4th, will likely never again hike that far in a day, and was ever so glad to see Damascus.    Another story worth telling is of my 502 mile bus ride from Bristol, TN to Louisville, KY. Bill Bryson said riding a bus in the U.S. is one step above living out of a plastic bag and he is not far from wrong. Perfectly on schedule, the 11 hour ride was an up-front-and-personal visit into the lives of individuals from a different background than me. Immediately seated behind me, a lady nearly screaming into her celphone at 12:45 at night, let many of us know what she thought about her EX, his girlfriend, her 2 kids, politics, taxes, etc. for 45 minutes. An elderly gentleman sat down next to a mid 50s woman he did not know and talked non-stop for 3 hours. Most riders are smokers and rushed off at each stop to lite up then brought the smell back on the bus with them. The terminals were slightly cleaner than the grungiest bathrooms you can recall from an independent gas station in anywhere USA. Just another part of the adventure of life I say.   My next section will be done this late June through mid July from North Adams, MA, through Vermont and end at Franconia Notch, NH for another 230 miles.    All is well,         Ron (Tonto)