Date: 2005-04-29
From: Troutdale, VA

To: Troutdale, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Troutdale, VA, 509 total miles.I'm temporarily residing in a hiker hostel at a Baptist/Methodist church in Troutdale, Va. The food supply I picked up in Damascus ran out a little qicker than planned because of an interesting combination of low mileage and high food consumption days. In other words I spent to much time sitting around camp and eating rather than hiking. Now I'm loaded with a fresh suply of food and dry clothing, (it rained or snowed for the past 4 days) and ready to hit the trail.Troutdale is a small town of about 150 people. There is a restaurant/store and the post office. Nothing else. Abandoned buildings on the main (and only) street are allowed to crumble and fall. Quite a bit bigger than Moose Junction, but it still doesn't have a bar. There are sort of 2 churches, one Baptist and one Methodist. Unfortunately the town ran out of Methodists some years back and their abandone church was picked up for a hymn and turned into a hostel for hikers. They provide a floor to sleep on, clean towel, washer and dryer and a telephone for a donation. The kindness of strangers continues to impress me; I am taking nothing for granted.On a different note I have long wanted, but keep forgetting, to write something about the beer situation in Hot Springs, N.C., a very pretty little trail town. It is a very lively little community, a little more energetic than some southern communities who seem somnambulent by comparison. Perhaps it's the yankee influence, for they do abound. In any event Hot Springs has one bar which totals one more than most town in either North Carolina or Georgia, the Paddlers Pub.Local legend has it that the referendum to permit the Paddler's Pub a beer license was seriously contested in Hot Springs. No one cared to speculate as to the result of the vote, but all were keenly interested either for reasons of financial interest, thirst, or saving souls. Straw exit polls on election had it nip and tuck until only minutes remained before voting closed. The gathered crowd of perhaps 25 as hushed when a young man of unquestioned reputation (meaning he drank beer and everyone knew it) arrived barely on time and cast the deciding vote in favor of the beer license. Legend has it that the grateful owners of the Pub declared that this conscientious patriot be given free beer for life. I understand that the Baptists continue to band together, refusing to do any business at the Pub, preferring to continue their long standing relationships with both God and the local bootlegger. Thus another conflict of progress and tradition with all parties yet able to remain drunk in an otherwise dry county.As I'm typing this at the Library in Pearisburg, Va., I am stretching my mind to remember the story of the elephant in Erwin, Tennessee. It seems that many years in the past the Circus came to Erwin and something caused one of the elephants to panic and trample a child to death. The townsfolk were so upset that they formed a vigilante mob with the intent of shooting the offending beast. When they realized that no weapon in town was big enough to do the job, they borrowed a suitably large crane from the local lumber mill and hung the offending creature. I'm not convinced this story is true, but it ought to be. I'm reporting it as the gospel just for that reason.