Date: 2010-05-16
From: Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

In the morning we walked to MoJoe's Coffee for breakfast. Their small kitchen was cranking out everything they could for the huge crowd of hungry hikers, setting up a sort of assembly line for food outside. After breakfast and coffee we again piled into Cosmic's Forester for a resupply at Food City. Funky and Cosmic also invited us to a BBQ at their cabin that evening, picking up plenty of steak, burgers, and snacks. Cosmic was sure she bought too much food but she said he hadn't seen hikers eat!It was very hot so we stored our perishable food in their fridge and dropped our dry goods in the tent, before heading out again to explore more of Trail Days. I began the walk out to tent city with Beth and the others to visit the gear vendor booths but grew frustrated at the slow walk and constant stopping to talk to people. I wanted to see the hiker parade so I doubled back to town. My gear was holding up well anyway and I didn't need any repairs.Back in town I walked to SunDog, the start of the parade, and ate a free hot dog courtesy Deuter. Here I ran into Stacy and Christina, the two girls we started the trail with. Earlier in my post I mentioned Stacy being taken off trail and to a hospital for Hyponatremia (water intoxication). She was now back on trail and making good progress! I cant remember Christina's trail name, but Stacy is now known as "Waterlogged". Appropriate, but I dont know if she likes that.I walked the parade route back to town and picked a site near the church to watch it go by. Before long the air-raid sirens started, announcing the parade. Soon after the police cars rolled through, lights flashing, followed by the fire trucks and ambulances. Then the local girls softball team in a pickup truck and some young beauty contest winners, along with a few restored hot-rods.And then came the hikers. Anyone is welcome to walk in the parade and encouraged to group into "classes", making a banner announcing the year they hiked. Many people walked through, including the "Rif-Raf" crew, with Superman in a cape no less. The parade is also a giant water fight between the passing hikers and the observing crowd. Barrages of water balloons and squirt gun fire flew everywhere, with the occasional garden hose joining in. My favorite part was the one hiker at the end walking backwards and carrying a "SOBO" sign.Once the parade passed I rejoined Beth and we met Hot Foot at Quincy's for a drink. The service was awful and rude, though in fairness they were overwhelmed. Funky and Cosmic joined us for awhile, before we all headed out. As we left Seoul Patch came in. He'd hiked into Damascus more than a week ago and stayed the whole time. He even said he's become a "local" now, with someone offering him a place to stay in the loft of a half-finished barn!I again lost Beth, who went to the medical trailer, while I walked to the park to see the hiker talent show. I had high hopes for this, expecting strange acts of "hiker talent" but it was a disappointment. Pretty much every act was someone and their acoustic guitar. As I arrived an 11-year old girl was singing "A Horse With No Name" and she was pretty good. I only watched a few acts before wandering back to The Place.Reunited with Beth, Bear Blaze, Gonzo, and Funky, we all walked again to Tent City to hear the results of the Backpacker Magazine raffle. Beth also picked up her newly repaired trekking poles. Though they were MSR brand poles, Leki helpfully repaired them with all Leki parts, making them lighter! We milled around and listened to the raffle results. Towards the end they called out "Hot Foot" for one of the boxes of gear! We all cheered, then realized he was nowhere to be seen! Another hiker tried to claim it, saying she went by "Hot Foot" last year, but we all booed her, hoping to still pick it up for the absent Hot Foot. Instead they drew another name: "Hedgehog!". Instantly we all forgot about Hot Foot and cheered for them to give it to Hedgehog! Inside the box he won a cooking pot, backpack, and other random gear.Making a stop at the gas station for drinks, we all headed to Funky and Cosmic's cabin for the BBQ. It was a very nice place and they even generously shared the shower with us! We all sat out on the covered porch and ate. Joining us were hikers Bismark, Hedgehog, Hollywood, and then Long-Shanks. It was a great time and much more relaxing and fun than the craziness we'd witnessed all day. We ate as best we could be Cosmic won the bet: Funky had bought too much food. We carried the leftovers back to The Place where it disappeared by morning.