TRAIL DAYS BIRTHDAY

Still here in Damascus, finally found a computer I can use, though it will have to be brief. Having a fun time here in town, with the festival and unofficial parties over the last two days. A great way to celebrate turning 33 years old. Friends here got me a surprise cake and everything - a really nice touch. And thank you very much to everyone at home who sent cards, etc! The main event of the festival has to be the hiker parade, where Trail alumni and current hikers line up by class, and townspeople bring waterguns and waterballons to throw at us. Our '08 Class anticipated this and was armed with ballons of our own, chanting the soccer-style chant "Ohhh Eight, oh-eight, oh-eight, oh-eight"... definitely a good time. I overheard former hikers saying that they'd never seen a tighter group of people than the current class. I plan on leaving late this afternoon - C-Bass and I are going to walk ten miles of the Virginia Creeper Trail, skipping a 13 mile section of the AT. This is my first large "blue-blaze" or side route that cuts out part of the official trail. We're doing it after hearing reports that the Creeper Trail (an old railroad bed, now a bike trail) goes through a scenic canyon and the AT crosses one or two more pointless climbs without views. AT purists will frown on our blue-blazing, but in my mind, its a "hike your own trail" experience that counts. It will be interesting to see who doesn't make it out of Damascus. For weeks this town has been the focus of the hikers, and in the last week or so, discipline has broken down and people have been blue-blazing or even yellow-blazing (hitching a ride past a trail segment) more and more often. Lots of people are "slack-packing" too, where they pay someone to drive them to a road crossing and they day-hike back to the hostel or whereever without carrying a full pack. Myself, I am purist as far as wanting to move in a continuous direction, and carry my full pack the whole time. I don't have a big problem blue-blazing, as long as I don't miss anything worthwhile. Still, here is where we enter the "green tunnel" that kills many a hiker's ambitions. The leaves are out, the mountains are lower and have less views, there's no more trail festivals or towns where everyone gathers, and the partying stops. The true sense of how long the trail is and how much time is needed to do the whole thing is becoming obvious. We are at mile 460, and at 6 weeks, slightly less than a quarter done in time. Damascus is the last stop for many hikers, for whom hiking becomes a boring job, not unlike what they left at home. But I feel good, physically and mentally, and am ready for Virginia's 500+ miles! I will hopefully get to a computer in another 6 days, when I reache Atkins, VA. Talk to you then...