5/16-18–466 miles
I enjoyed Trail Days in Damascus, VA, a lot more this year than last year. Last year I was just a spectator watching from the outside and this year I was part of the whole festival. It’s kind of like a reunion of sorts. You see all the people you’ve hiked with, some that you met way back in the first part of your hike, some that passed you or that you passed, and always there are questions. “Have you seen this person? Do you know what happened to John? Where is this person?” Everyone is brought together like family. That is the best part.
For the three days we were in town all we did was eat. The Baptist church in Damascus offers free showers, internet, medical help, and lots and lots of food. They fed us every night with great meals.
I went to a couple of presentations, one about the Camino de Santiago in Spain and I also bought a book by Gene Espy, the second thruhikers, which he autographed for me.
Most everything else in town was just like last year: The gear was the same, the stores the same, the programs the same. I decided to leave on Saturday to get ahead of the wave of hikers that had decended into town. There will be hundreds of hikers leaving town on Sunday and the shelters and campsites will be crowded. I’m on my own for a while now. Chicken Feathers is headed home to Atlanta and them he is going up north to finish a thruhike he started I’m 2010. I’ll miss him.