Date: 2013-05-15
From: Sugar Run Gap (Pearisburg)

To: Pearisburg
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: clear sky

My apologies to all for my lack of entries.I am finding posting from my SmartPhone frustrating and will from now on only attempt to do as I have done for the last two weeks - post destinations and mileages by phone, and comprehensive entries less regularly.The comprehensive entries will be more general observations than normal journal blogs as a result.Most of these will be aimed at Austraalian readers than USA one.I will continue to try and post pictures with captions etc when able.Blog.... The country and it¢s people.This is my first trip to the USA and I came here thinking I had a fairly good idea of what to expect from the people and the country.   As far as the people are concerned we have not been disappointed. The welcome has been warm and sincere across the board. The generosity of many here in the South is amazing and spontaneous.   There has been one notable exception which when considered is understandable.   There is a significant unemployment problem in many of the areas we walk with low incomes the norm. There is a small number of people that ¢prey¢ on hikers to some extent. This is usually involving shuttle rides to and from trail heads and towns. Formal shuttles are usually listed in the various guides but many do charge a very high rate for their services in my estimation. More of a problem are some who hang about at trail heads and offer rides to hikers coming in. Quite often these start by posing as ¢trail magic¢ and give the impression the ride is free and then demand fees like $10 a head.   It would be nice if authorities could ¢clean up¢ this element but hikers never want to hang around to make complaints.The countryside is generally beautiful, although as mentioned in the next blog the vegetation has a uniformity of type. We are obviously in mountain country and the views are impressive everywhere for those of us from much flatter lands.   The only thing missing is ocean views. Housing has amazed me with its pricing and it is possible to buy homes in the small towns we pass through for under $100,000 and $500,000 buys what I would call a bit of a mansion. I saw an ad for 90+ acres of golf course and house for $577k. I thought of how my brother Steve would have liked that one.Invisible Man and I are also surprised at the lack of fencing between houses, with boundaries between housing not obvious. Obviously we are in the rural south so this is not likely to be the case elsewhere but has been the case in all four states we have walked through so far.Construction is of very different type, with what I would describe as long ¢dongas¢ quite common in the lower socio-economic areas. Towns such as Damascus are full of picturesque two story homes that appear to be mainly constructed of wood. Pre constructed small garages are everywhere, particularly on the more rural blocks. There are very large numbers of decrepit barns and sheds on the farms and we find it surprising how much has been allowed to fall into decay.Commercial buildings in towns are generally very ¢blocky¢ and constructed of brick. To be honest, we have found the bigger buildings in the towns to be quite ugly and aged. Knocking down the old and rebuilding does not appear to have happened around here for many years. We are also in the Bible belt. As an example, we have been told (and it matches our observations) that Damascus has 9 churches and 3 bars. This ratio is not uncommon from our observation. Also counties have different liquor laws. Damascus again as an example does not sell hard liquor anywhere. Beers and low alcohol beverages only are permitted. We had a meal in Robbinsville and that is a ¢dry¢ county and IM and Army Ant were disappointed to find they had to have soft drink to wash it down.