Date: 2005-04-28
From: Iron Mountain Shelter

To: Damascus, Virginia
Miles today: 25.9
Weather: overcast clouds

DAY 48It was a beautiful cool and clear morning. I felt great. There couldn¢t be a better or more invigorating day for hiking. About a mile after leaving the shelter, I passed the Nick Grindstaff Monument. It commemorated the life of Mr. Grindstaff. Words on the monument said, ¢He lived alone, suffered alone, and died alone¢. Kind of a sad thing to think about. This was momentarily depressing but I was feeling extremely energized. I started thinking about making it into Damascus, Virginia, today and enjoying a Zero Day tomorrow. If I could do the 25.9 miles into Damascus, I will have accomplished the ¢Damascathon¢. My last marathon race was 19 years ago. I wondered if I still have 26 miles in me. Maybe I was going to find out. So swiftly onward I went.I got to Double Springs Shelter and paused to read the register. I saw that Rocky and Hareball had been here last night, along with Sowega and The Blondes. I was brazen and confident enough at this point that I could do the Damascathon. So I made a rather spirited entry in the register that I was going to be in Damascus tonight. Shortly after leaving the shelter I caught up with August who was struggling up a hill. I was surprised that I had caught him, big and powerful as he is. However, he has a gigantic pack (probably from the all the stuff out of hiker boxes). I tried to make conversation with him. I found that this was at least his third attempt to thru hike the Appalachian Trail. He said his earlier attempts failed because of ¢psychological reasons¢, whatever that¢s all about. He is a bit paranoid about being an African American on the Trail. He said it was like having a target on his back. I don¢t believe that is his problem at all. I have not heard or encountered any racism on this Trail. However, I do sympathize with him about the isolation he must feel. He told me that this is his first thru hike attempt where he is not carrying a gun. Eventually I speeded up and passed him, as the conversation had become very difficult.In early afternoon, it became cloudy. I worried that rain might cut my Damascathon short. I came into Abington Gap Shelter, which is ten miles short of Damascus. Mr. Clean was there and he planned to spend the night there as he had completed a quite adequate 16 mile day. He urged me to stay at this shelter, as the weather was starting to look bad. He reasoned we could make Damascus early tomorrow. I sat for a few minutes to think about the situation. There was only ten miles to go, but it looked like rain. I thought about the two marathons I ran when I was a youngster in my late 40¢s. In both races I tired and ¢hit the wall¢ after about 20 miles. Would the same thing happen today?So I suddenly stood up and said to Mr. Clean, ¢I¢m going!¢, and off I went. It did start to rain, but not very hard. The annoyance of the rain was offset by the ease of the Trail. The Trail is a gradual downhill into Damascus. It is wide and has good footing. No wonder hikers refer to this section of Trail as the ¢Tennessee Turnpike¢.It was raining lightly as I descended the last hill into the edge of Damascus. At the bottom of the hill I saw two hikers huddling in the rain trying to make a phone call. Surprise! It was Rocky and Hareball. After the usual Trail hugs, the three of us walked into Damascus. It was an exhilarating feeling to finally make it into Damascus, a very significant milestone on the Trail. At the ¢Welcome to Damascus¢ sign Rocky and I had our picture taken together in triumph. I had not thought about what I would do when I got into Damascus. Rocky and Hareball seemed to know what they were doing so I tagged along. As we walked through town we heard about a hiker feed at the yellow house on the left of the main street, the Dancing Bear B&B. Trail Magic strikes again!We had a great meal there at the end of a great day. Lasagna, salad, bread, cake, ice cream. It was wonderful! After eating, I continued to walk through Damascus with Rocky and Hareball. I really had no idea where they were going, and I hoped I wasn¢t intruding on the Rocky/Hareball partnership. They seemed to know where they were going, and I didn¢t have the slightest idea. Eventually in the dark we came to a private home at the edge of Damascus. Sowega had rented the house for an entire group of hikers.Already at the house were Sowega, The Blondes, Pathfinder, and ¢Grey Walrus¢. Eight of us would be sharing the house and splitting the cost. Pathfinder and Grey Walrus are both in their 50¢s and are also Vietnam veterans. Grey Walrus had been an infantryman with the Marines.After settling in the house for the night, I went to Dot¢s, a nearby bar/restaurant, for a snack with Hareball and Pathfinder. They are obviously an ¢item¢ as they sat holding hands. Pathfinder told me of the difficulties he brought home from Vietnam, which eventually led to a disability. A sad legacy of a sad era in American history. I was able to borrow a portable phone to call family. I had to call from the bathroom of the bar to get away from the noise. As I sat on the toilet talking, I thought about the recent events in my hike. I had gone, in the course of a few days, from despair at Mountain Harbour to my Damascathon triumph.Tonight I will be sleeping on the floor on my thermorest, as all the beds are taken. I don¢t care. It¢s dry in the house; I¢m with friends; and it¢s been a great day. Life is Great on the Appalachian Trail!