Date: 2004-04-16
From: Nick Grindstaff Monument

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 25.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Around 4:30 AM, Sasha started to bark & growl. It ended up just being Bramble and Uncle Ben on a night hike. Woke us all up and really freaked us out. Freaked out Sasha too. We should've just started hiking then, but we decided to get another hour of sleep. That, of course, turned into nearly 3 more hours of sleep.   Since we're on the "Tennessee Turnpike," we figured we could easily pull a 25 mile day straight into Damascus. I will never, ever, EVER hike 25 miles in one day ever again. EVER. My knee was actually doing pretty good until the last 10 miles. During those miles, I tried overcompensating with my right leg. I didn't know it then, of course, but this would result in not just a hurt left knee at the end of the day, but also a swollen right foot. VERY swollen.   Earlier in the day, before my foot and knee was giving me problems, we ran into some good luck. As Sarah and I were coming down a hill to a road crossing, I optimistically said, "There's gonna be a van down here. With ice cold sodas."   There was no van. Just our friends sitting at a picnic table. Just before we were about to continue heading north, 3 vans pulled over.   "Hey look. Real-life Appalachian Trail hikers," one guy said to the few other adults and the slew of high school students popping out of the vans. They were a church group from Ohio volunteering for Habitat for Humanity. Just pulling over to check out this AT-thing before heading home.    After a few questions, we could see the awe in some of their faces that these hikers actually started in Georgia and are walking to Maine. One of the adults said something about how "really great" this goal of ours is. I think Butthead said it best at that point.   "It's like winning a prize that sucks."   Everyone is so happy for us and so full of admiration and sometimes even envy, but they don't realize the awful parts. People get so caught up in the romance of it. I guess almost everyone does. Even we did at the begining. That's one of the reasons so many people quit so early on. It's romantic and adventurous to think about walking the Appalachian Mountains from Georgia to Maine and battling the elements and any other challenges that come your way. Sure. It's romantic to THINK about. But once you get out here and realize what you've gotten yourself into, it's a whole 'nother story.   We mentioned that we were hoping to get town by the end of the day, where we would enjoy these wonderful things called "showers" and "laundry."   And food.   "Well, I have some apples in the van. Do you want some?"   All of our eyes went really wide and there was suddenly a breadline formed outside of the van.    Apples. Oranges.    And ice cold sodas.   Ask and ye shall receive.   After many more hours of hiking, I said goodbye to Tennessee and entered state #4 around 7:30 with Sarah and Beavis & Butthead (whom I hadn't seen since Day 3 when they were simply Ryan & Chris.) The downhill into Damascus was torture with my knee and foot feeling as the were. And every once in a while I would accidentally kick a rock or root, sending waves of pain straight to my knee.    The first thing we did in Damascus was enter an Italian restaraunt. I make the mistake or ordering manicotti. Not that it wasn't good, but no manicotti anywhere will ever live up to Mom's and Grandma's.    We then found the much-talked-about Sidetrack Cafe. Nuffy was behind the counter. She had decided to leave the trail and get a job here. And she's been happier in the past 2 days that any day on the trail. I think her hike is done. Good for her.   We were told that we could pitch out tents in front of the outfitter for free. So we did.   I remember being told by Baltimore Jack back in Hot Springs that more than half of all aspiring thru-hikers never even see Virginia.   We're so cool.