Date: 2005-05-15
From: VA 311 crossing (Catawba)

To: Campbell shelter
Miles today: 4.2
Weather: light rain

5/9 I decided that my knee was in rough condition and it would be good to head back to Damascus early and rest a bit. The problem was getting there from Catawba. In all, it took four rides. One of them was a younger woman named Hilary whose aunt, Slow n Steady, is thru-hiking. Then I got a ride to Dublin, where I thought I'd never get a ride out. I had my thumb stuck out for almost an hour when The Tennessee Walkers (couple with a dog that got lost) rolled by. They are getting off the trail and gave me a ride straight to Damascus. Hey, a little rest won't do me no harm.5/10 Mouth also had come back early because of an injury and so we had breakfast at the Dairy King. The woman who works there, Grandma, offered to sew a piece of fabric over the hole in my backpack from my fall and also sew the seam over on my shorts where they've been rubbed away. I offered to pay her but she wouldn't take it. Thanks Grandma! I was pretty bored today, jealous of hikers on the trail. What am I going to do with myself when all this hiking stuff is done? It's one of the coolest things I've ever done. In the evening, I went to see "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" with some other hikers. It was alright. I'm looking forward to Trail Days and getting back on the AT.5/11 Today I wandered around town, not doing much of anything. I socialized with a lot of hikers, and it was good to see a few of my fellow thru-hikers from the very beginning of the trip roll in to town.5/13 Highlights of today: It was wonderful to see Lion King's documentary ("Walking with Freedom" by Michael Thomas Daniel). He really captured the essence of the trail experience, the joy and challenge of it. The soundtrack was amazing too, I think at least half of us in the packed auditorium were in tears by the end. Another highlight was meeting Stumpknocker, who hiked most of the Florida Trail behind me. He is tall and a really nice guy. I also got to meet and speak with Flyin' Bryan for a good half hour, which was really helpful. Bryan holds the (major, imo) accomplishment of being the only person to have hiked the Triple Crown (7400 miles) in less than one calendar year. He's really humble for someone who has accomplished so much and was telling me about his trip and I was gaining some insight on how I can hike harder and faster. He says that joints and bones take longer to get into shape than heart, lungs, etc., and they stay in shape for longer. I'm interested in get! ting into marathon and maybe ultra-marathon running when I'm done with this hike; Flyin' Bryan has an ultra-marathon background. He's 43 but looks around 10 years younger.Another highlight of the day (or night rather), I have to mention, was having a bit of success with this cute female who spoke Spanish the same as me...hehe Trail Days is fun :-).Back on the trail this afternoon thanks to a ride from Leize, a young woman who plans to thru-hike next year. Vision Quest came along and we answered some of Leize's questions...it was just four months ago that I had all the questions...and now I have some of the answrs :-).It was dreary and overcast as I walked up to Mcaffees Knob, the "classic" AT photo shoot. About 10 minutes before gettin' up there, the clouds broke and the sun came out. Trail magic. So I got a great view. I am exhausted from the lack of sleep during Trail Days and arrived at an empty shelter in the late afternoon. Lots of sleep for me and a real day tomorrow.