Date: 2009-05-03
From: Montgomery House

To: Hikers Inn Hostel
Miles today: 23.8

I ate at 7:30 and I appreciated Suzy making the extra effort to feed me earlier than usual. It was raining, of course, when I walked over to the Hikers Inn.Lone Wolf was our Shuttle driver and I had one of the deluxe seats in the bed of the truck. At least he had a topper on it so it was a dry ride. Gentle Ben had decided to hike south with me so the vehicle was full.There were two vehicles parked at the trail head at Elk Gardens and they had both been broken into via broken out windows. Glass all over the inside and around each vehicle.Left the trailhead at 9:15 in the rain. Two of us went south the rest north. I was a little faster than Ben so we split up. Vagrant was taking a zero at the first shelter so we talked for a half hour while I ate. Vagrant told Ben that I had just left but that he was 30 minutes behind me by the time Ben finished eating and got underway. Actually I didn't see Ben again until we were back in Damascus. I tried to keep as fast and as steady a pace as I could knowing that I had a lot of miles to do. Perhaps two fast. My hip, knees, and feet were all sore by the end of the day. I wore my new shoes and the bottoms of my feet at the pad at the base of my toes were very sore, like they were bruised. No blisters though and they feel super light compared to my old boots.I met a lot of people heading north and had to be careful not to spend to much time talking or getting back before dark was going to be unrealistic. Somewhere along the way I lost my Marmot DriClime Shirt. When my rain jacket fell out of the pack it hit me in the back of the heal so I noticed it and checked my pack. Either I had not zipped it closed, or the zipper was not secure once zipped. I'm thinking the latter. I zipped both sides down to the same side to fight the possibility of it opening again. I'm hoping someone will hold my shirt for me. Ben saw the shirt and was asked if it was his but at that point he didn't know it was mine. I told Wicked Wahine, who was heading north, that I lost it and she mentioned it to Ben when he passed her. She was probably going to catch up to my shirt at the next shelter. Maybe I will see it again.Hiked a portion of the Virginia Creeper Trail when it ran concurrent with the AT. It is just an absolutely beautiful trail along the river. Part of the Rails to Trails program. If you continue along the Creeper Trail you can get back to Damascus on a well groomed, level bike trail, and 5 miles shorter than if you continue on the AT when they separate. Either way you can get to Damascus. I continued on the white blazes which follows the ridgeline and had some very good up and downhills. I walked out onto the highway at 6:40 for the last half mile walk into town wondering how far behind me Ben was. Almost as soon as I crossed the road Suzy from Montgomery House drove by and gave me a ride the rest of the way. I will come back tomorrow and get the last half mile along the road because I already knew that I would be zeroing again tomorrow. I was sore and tired. Within 15 seconds of getting into the car we passed Ben reading a roadside informational sign about the trail. I wondered how he had passed me.Got back to the Hikers Inn and met my new roommates. Four beds,and I'm in one of them, three other hikers and two hiker dogs, talk about gamey in the room. I took a long hot shower and went to dinner.Once back at the hostel I crashed in very short order.See you on the trail.Nice Lenses