Date: 2015-04-06
From: Elk Gardens 

To: Damascus
Miles today: 23.8
Weather: clear sky

Today's hike was a split decision. The first half was great, the trail was wide, clear and dry with well-placed rocks and plenty of blazes. The last ten miles became very difficult, particularly for Princess. I'll elaborate shortly. We got another early start, met Bill and DOG at 7:00, and climbed out of the Subaru at 7:45. We were slack-packing SoBo back into Damascus. Our biggest concern was the potential for rain and winds at the higher elevations. So we put on our ponchos as we climbed out of the car. The major highlight for the day was Whitetop Mountain, and it was our first climb of the day. It wasn't difficult, just long. We saw Pa Bert and Dude & Bow on the way up, it was a beautiful morning and everyone was in a good mood. We didn't take the side trail to the actual summit, but as we crossed Whitetop Mtn Rd, we saw that Fresh Grounds had his trail magic tent set up in the parking lot and a number of hikers were enjoying his treats. At this point the landscape turned into more of a bald, leading to Buzzard Rock, an outcropping with impressive views. We found Felix there, taking photos at various angles and sending them to his friends. As we crossed the bald, we descended and decided that the rain wasn't going to happen soon, and the winds weren't as bad as predicted, so we took off our ponchos. We met a couple along the way who just started hiking last week and were trying to get acclimated, Red Rhino, Gray Dog and their dog, Slick. A little later we crossed into a series of meadows separated by fences and stiles.As we descended further, we crossed several streams that appeared to join and eventually grew into a larger and noisier stream. The landscape had shifted from forest to rhodo groves. We followed a larger stream for a while and eventually crossed the Luthur Hassinger Memorial bridge, a large wooden structure that spanned the stream and the Virginia Creeper Trail on the other side. The Creeper Trail is a gravel trail that is well-known to cyclists. Several hikers we know decided to zero in Damascus on Sat, rent bicycles, and ride out to Mt. Rogers and back. The Creeper Trail passes right through Damascus and is coincident with the AT in several places. We followed the Creeper Trail for about a mile, then veered off uphill to some vantage points over what had now grown to a river. About this point, Princess began to have trouble with her boots. About a week ago, she asked her brother to send her a pair of new Salomon boots that she had ordered before we started the AT. She has been wearing trail runners, but she is concerned that she isn't getting the ankle support she needs. She wore the same Salomon boot on our AT hike last year, but wanted to try a lighter shoe this time. It probably wasn't a wise decision to switch to new boots on a long hike, even if you had used the same boot before. Her problem wasn't blisters, but a bad bruise above her right ankle when the top of the boot beat against her leg on every step. She was in pain for the last 10 miles. She tried various things, but nothing seemed to work so she just toughed it out. So tonight, back at the Lazy Fox, we both soaked in Epsom salts (my feet are sore from the pounding). And she's been icing her bruise. Tomorrow she's going back to the trail runners, and she's packed the Salomons to ship home. So, as I suggested, part of today's hike was great and the other part was torture. It's way past 9 (hiker-midnight) and we have a long hike again tomorrow. Not as long as today, but potential for rain & thunderstorms.