Date: 2009-05-09
From: Troutdale, VA

To: Troutdale, VA
Miles today: 0.0

The last couple days have been amazing. I zeroed in Damascus after my 33. The town is starting to gear up for Trail Days and hikers are starting to pour in so it was a good scene. Yesterday some of us slackpacked 24 miles from Elk Garden, just below Mount Rogers, back to Damascus. There was some rain, but overall it was a gorgeous day. The trail was really nice too and we ended up trail-running a good bit which was really fun. I spent the majority of the day walking/running with a guy named Coyote and his dog Boomer. Good company, especially because I miss Bismark. Though the last two days were nice, today may very well have been the best day I've had since I've been back on the trail. The weather was beautiful--sunny and warm with a cool breeze. I started out by hiking over Mount Rogers which then leads into the Grayson Highlands which many would argue is the best section of the trail. It was unreal. There are wild ponies that live in the Highlands. I was nervous Boomer would chase them off so I got ahead Coyote and pooch and rolled through the section on my own. I saw a TON of ponies, even got to pet one. There was a group of four of them that I ran into first. They were right on the trail, and as I stood there watching them, one of them start whinnying and crying and headed off to be with what I assumed was it's mother. Well, unless this particular pony has an Oedipus complex, I found out very quickly that the other pony was not it's mother and exactly why he was making so much noise. Ahh, fornicating ponies.... The young lad had his fun then hit the road.I made my way through the Highlands, back into the forest. The rivers are all full and the trees are all green from all the rain. The trail was real easy going and before I knew it I had made the 20 miles I was planning. I was having a banner day so decided to walk 5 more to come stay at the church hostel here in Troutdale, VA. SO glad I did because in that last section I saw the first bears of my hike. I've been itching to see bears! The first glimpse I got appeared to be a monkey swinging from a tree branch. It occurred to me that a monkey in VA is unlikely (though I suppose the emu I saw in PA was not realistic, and yet it existed). Anyways, it took a moment before I realized it was a baby bear playing in a tree. If baby is playing then surely Mama must be nearby. Sure enough, she was right in the middle of the trail about 50 yards away from me. She saw me and reared up to get a good look. Little did she know I am a tall drink of water myself, and I may very well have been bigger than her as she did not appear to be very old herself despite having a cub. I took a picture then walked the next quarter mile or so banging my trekking pole and barking like a dog in hopes of keeping her from coming to measure me up any closer. Baby eyed me from way up in a tree, not sure where Mama got off to. Lord only knows where Papa bear was...I hit the road and got a hitch from a family of five in a minivan. The three small children seemed as entertained and awestruck by me as I was by the bears. I ate some good food and am gonna roll down the hostel in a bit. All in all things are wonderful. Flowers, leaves, babies having babies, and dead-beat dads... it must be Springtime in southern Virginia