Date: 2005-05-08
From: Low Gap campsite 444.6

To: Damascus
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: clear sky

Happy Mothers day!!! I'm giving my mom 15 miles to hike, hope she enjoys it...We actually hike five miles before I realize I should be extra nice to her. And that's only after I read some of the register entries at Abingdon Gap shelter... what kind of a daughter am I ???Anyway we're doing really well and after my mom says goodbye to the nice dog she'd been playing with we move on. Mom is getting in the hiker groove and is thinking of hamburgers and pizza. I'm still suffering from having eaten too much the five weeks I was off the trail. I'm not hungry.While hiking we hear a loud sound. Wow! It's a tree fallling! That comes down fast! We're lucky that we're not walking underneath it. I can see the headlines now: "Hikers injured (or worse) by tree on the AT".Mom is about as patient as I am so when we hit the first paved road she expects the pizza place to be right there. Sorry mom, we have to hike another half mile or so. After taking the obligatory pictures at the 'Welcome to Damascus' sign mom asks how much longer it is to the pizza. I say it depends on how fast she walks... So much for being nice to my mother ; )I eventually do get her the pizza and she's very happy. I then introduce her to the luxuries of 'The Place'. The shower is great. Laundry will have to wait because there is a sudden plan to go to the movies. Mom will rest while I go enjoy the magical world of make believe. Yay!!!The idea is to call a shuttle but nobody is answering the phone and a taxi is deemed to expensive. So we hitch. Five hikers trying to get a ride at the same time. Doesn't sound like a good idea. We don't have to wait too long for someone to pick us up though. Unfortunately the guy only brings us half way. He drops us at a spot he thinks will be good for hitching. Right! The only place to pull off is on the other side of the road and we're standing right after a curve. We line up with about ten meters between us in the hope that repetition will work. First it's Mr. Sweepers turn to get their attention. He's got a bright orange shirt on so that should work. Then it's Camel, Taz and me. Sugaree decides to sit on the other side of the road for a while. I offer the theory that people in big trucks really should give rides since their so polluting and therefore should give back to the community. Just as we're thinking that we might actually be better off just hitching back the biggest truck we've seen comes from the other direction. It had passed us earlier and stops. I run over to the other side and they ask what the heck we are doing. 'Just trying to get to the movies'. After some more talk we're allowed in the back of their truck andw e're off to see Kingdom of Heaven (it was either that or a horror movie). It didn't really matter what the movie was about since it had the elf guy from the Lord of the Rings in it. Very pleasing to watch ; ) I finally remember his name, it's Orlando Bloom.Taz almost choked on some nachos but otherwise everything went well. We decided to be smart and get a cab for the way back. Fortunately we had to wait a half an hour so we could get a quick round of miniature golf in. I say every thru hike should have at least one round of miniature golf in it. Or bowling. That's about as good.All in all, a great day in my book.