Date: 2012-05-18
From: 88 mph 1.21 gigawatts

To: Trail Days
Miles today: 0.0

Before driving over to the hotel to pick up "K2" I stopped at the "Friends and Family" restaurant across from the Walmart. Their "ultimate breakfast" was fantastic. I then drove up to the hotel and K2 loaded his pack in the trunk. Damascus here we come. K2 is a wealth of information. He told me about his thru-hike of the PCT and 700 miles on the CDT. He also talked to me about how he's dealt with plantar fasciitis. He has special insoles direct from "New Balance" designed to prevent it. Before heading into Damascus we stopped at the Golden Corral for lunch. I'm really glad I came to Trail Days, it's been a reunion. I've seen a lot of people I was on the trail with early on who are now either ahead or behind me. I'm a part of a hiker family now. It's been really cool to catch up on stories. Many big name gear companies are here as well as trail celebrities. I met AWOL who prints the AT guide and tomorrow I'm going to listen to Jennifer Pharr Davis at the Methodist Church. She set the record on the A.T. last year by walking 2,186 miles in 46.5 days! She averaged almost 50 miles a day!! There are tents everywhere. I'm not sure how many people are here because it's so spread out. There is a place called "Tent City" 2 miles outside of town where they try to corral all the drunks. Downtown the churches are providing free medical screening, hot showers, and free food. There is live music and hikers tenting in front of people's houses (with permission) as we'll as the yard beside the hostel. I'm camping in the Malibu just off the street. The vendors have some really nice ultra light gear on display. There is a cuben fiber backpack made by Hyper Light Mountain Gear I really want. The thing is I already have a backpack, although it's twice as heavy and not nearly as slick. Most every company had a lightweight cuben shelter to show off and they are all very expensive. Cuben fiber is a high tech material originally designed to make sails for racing boats. It's light, waterproof, stronger then Kevlar, and expensive. The lightest and most durable backpacking stuff is made out of it. Hennessy Hammocks are having a 50% off trail days sale. I don't like that they make their stuff in China, but it is a great deal. The Hyperlight Hennessy Hammock usually sells for $250 and this weekend they are selling them for $125. By the time I heard about it and went to the booth they were sold out of that version. They told me I can still get one for that price if I buy it this weekend. I just have to wait for the boat to arrive before I can get it I guess. The good thing about a hammock on the AT is that there are trees everywhere, but not always a level spot for a tent. I tried out a display model and if you get in it diagonally you can actually lay pretty flat. You could also sleep well on your side. A hammock gets you off the wet ground and you don't have to worry about splash back. It would be about the same weight as the ultralight tent I had, but I wouldn't need to carry an air mattress anymore. That would save me almost a pound. In the beginning I brought a heavy 2 person Grand Trunk hammock out here. I only used it one night before sending it home. Even with the rainfly the Hennessy is still smaller and lighter then the Grand Trunk. Cuben tarps are at least $300 and that doesn't include a bug screen. Maybe I'll buy a roll of Cuben fiber and a sewing machine when I get home. I went to dinner with a guy named "Tarp Water", he's a trip. I met him the last time I was in Damascus at the hostel. Even though he only got out of town one day before me, he's 70 miles ahead. He walked 1,700 miles of the AT last year until he had to get off because he had lime disease and a spider bite that was turning his toes black. He was only able to wear shoes again this past December. Instead of coming back to do the last bit of the trail and calling it good he decided to start from the beginning again. He's obviously nuts, but that's what I like about him. He plans to thru-hike and then yo-yo back to where he got off last year. That will give him two complete hikes in two years. Tarp Water was called "Overload" last year because he started with a 50 lb. pack. He smaller then me and can't weigh much more than 130 lbs. soaking wet. This year his pack is under 25lbs. Tarp Water camped out in tent city last night, he said that it's full of noisy drunks. It's funny to listen to him talk because he's so intense. I'm pretty sure he's suffering from giardia. He hadn't eaten in a couple days before tonight and in his words he's been "shitting his brains out". Tarp Water entered the mental toughness stage long ago. He shared that he had pooped 14 times yesterday with a big grin on his face. It's hard not to like Tarp Water, nothing gets to him.