Isaiah 27 - 42
Stealth site into Damascus - 2.5 miles hiked - 471.0 total AT miles hiked to date.
NERO day in Damascus. Started early and hit town by 8:30. Went the the Damascus diner for breakfast, where we ran into Meta and Grasshopper, who we’d crossed paths with several times.
After breakfast, we shopped the local outfitters. Rick picked up his shoes that had been shipped to Mt Rogers Outfitter, and I bought a replacement sleeping pad and some additional tent stakes to replace ones that I’d broken.. At the Sundog outfitter, I got a new pair of shoes! In their clearance section they had a pair of last years Altra Lone Peak 4.0 at 25% off. The had my size and they seemed to be better constructed than the current version I’d worn out.
Leaving there with my new shoes on, we stopped at Crazy Larry’s hostel to see about beds for the night, as a severe storm was heading in. No beds available, but Crazy Larry had stories to share. Moving on, our next stop was the Broken Fiddle Hostel. We were in luck as they had two (bottom) bunks in their bunkhouse. $30 each got us a warm, dry bed for the night, including showers and free laundry service. We signed on and dropped our packs for a later check in.
At that point, Rick decided to take advantage of a local attraction and do the Creeper Trail bike run. He rented a bike, got a lift to the top of the run, and rode the trail back down to town. As that particular endeavor held zero appeal to me, while he was doing that I headed across town to Food City for my resupply. A leisurely stroll along the river to the grocery was particularly pleasant without 35 pounds strapped to my back. I saw Canadian geese coasting down the river pacing me as I walked. Filling out my food needs for the next 6 or so days at the Food City, I headed back to the hostel. A shower and laundry followed, at which time Rick returned from his ride. We headed over to the 7 Trails Cafe for a late lunch of a couple of burgers, and hustled back to the hostel as it started raining.
The afternoon was dark and dreary with a continuous downpour, so we hung out with the other hikers, trading trail stories for the balance of the day. I was also able to do some minor grooming as they had some Wahl clippers at the hostel as well. The hostel host cooked up a batch of Trail stew, which provided a free and convenient dinner. Rocky Road ice cream was supplied for dessert.
Things have quieted down as the evening progresses. I’ll finish this update, read a while, and hit the sack early.
Tomorrow the worst of the rain is supposed to be done by late morning, so we’ll head out by mid day. Initial thought is to shoot for a shelter about 15 miles up the trail, but we’ll see what time we get moving.
Until next time...
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