Date: 2006-05-10
From: Damascus, VA

To: Lost Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: overcast clouds

After spending the night at "The Place," a hostel run by a local church in Damascus, we stopped by the gas station on our way out of town for a quick breakfast. Chocolate donuts and a Powerade was my breakfast of choice for a quick sugar rush and energy before hiking. We strapped on our packs and began our journey back to the trail as it was crucial for us to escape the Damascus "vortex" that seems to suck all hikers in like a vacuum. These small trail towns are notorious for catching hikers during their journey as they pass through town delaying their trip as much as possible. The slightest sight of civilization and the smell of a local pizzaria are all too enticing for any hiker to pass up. Before you know it, the hiker who planned on just stopping in for a good meal, has now spent hours in town eating, shopping, or talking with the locals. It's another obvious parallel to our lives: The trail is our "straight and narrow" or our walk with God. The towns are distractions or temptations that pull us off our path or cause us to lose focus. How easy it is for Satan to know the very things that he can place in our lives to slowly and gradually drag us off the course we are on. How powerful and merciful is God that He should give us such inner strength to resist certain temptations and welcome us back on the journey He has laid out for us! It was around 9am when we started out for the trail. Mouse and Roxie stopped in at the local outfitters to "fit" Roxie for a pack of her own. She was becoming one of us and a part of our family. She would now be responsible for carrying her own supplies- food, treats, and her own little water bowl. A blue bag with 2 compartments(one for each side of her body) would be the dog backpack of choice. Mouse placed it on her and put equal amounts of food and treats on each side so she would not be off balanced as she walked. With her red collar, red bandanna, and blue bag she was ready for the trail! So Baro, Mouse, Roxie, and myself all headed out for our hike. We normally have a long, hard, uphill hike out of towns, but this time the trail was a nice, gradual, smooth, winding path out of Damascus. This served as a very nice warm-up (not just for, but for Roxie as well) after taking a couple of days off while in town. As the trail continued we would slowly begin to create more space and distance between the person hiking in front or behind us. It wasn't a problem though as we all had the same place in mind for camping tonight. Roxie was still adjusting to the new pack as several times I would pass her and Mouse sitting on the trail. Mouse used to be a fast hiker; but, now he was having to slow down as Roxie would get so tired that she would just stop and lay down in the middle of the trail- refusing to move until she had at least a 10 minute break. She's been a good trail dog and we all love her, but she hasn't been properly trained for such a hike as this. She and Mouse both may have gotten themselves into more than they know! I spent most of the afternoon hiking by myself without coming across any other hikers for a few hours. It was rather nice and peaceful as it was easy for me to collect my thoughts and spend time in prayer. The time seemed to go by quickly as my mind was focused on other things instead of the actual physical part of the hike. Later on up the trail our little group met back up at the shelter and campsite where we are staying tonight. Tonights guests include: Baro, Mouse, Roxie, Donkey Love, Corey, Cabernet, Chardoney, Scarecrow, River Weasal, and me. Gringo and Slim are one day ahead of us. There is still no sign of Shasta or H-Bomb. We are hoping they were able to escape the Damascus vortex as well and will come in late tonight. It's starting to rain again as I sit here in my tent finishing this entry. I have a feeling I'll get a really good nights sleep tonight.