Saturday, May 16th - (At the Day's Inn in Abingdon, VA) - Got up at 6:40, and grabbed a shower; Mark got up around 7:00. Packed up my gear, but removed my tent, tarp, and the associated hardware and ropes, and also about a half a dozen other small items that I had either barely used or not used at all over the previous 6 weeks. At 7:45, we noted that Mark B. was reloading his car, so we dragged our stuff down and he packed that in as well. [He'll drop off my removed stuff to Marco at my house.]
The "Continental Breakfast" at the hotel was totally lame, so we headed over to the Huddleston's across the highway, and Mel treated us all to breakfast. We spent a pleasant hour there, then headed back to the hotel for a final bathroom break and Weather Channel check. Looks like heavy rain later today and tomorrow morning, then great weather all next week. We all got back in the car, and Mark B. drove back to Damascus, where (again) the crowd wasn't living up to the hype - though there were a lot more than yesterday. However, there was some sort of a Boy Scout Bike-o-Ree going on just outside of town, on the Virginia Creeper Trail, so a lot of the vehicles were associated with that, not Trail Days. There were also a bunch of Little League games going on at the local stadium, too. Mark B. dropped us off at Tent City, then he and Mel returned to the main vendor area. I picked up my poles (new expanders, cleaned, lubed - nice job) while Mark picked up his pack (now repaired). Pretty good service for free!
We grabbed a shuttle back to the main vendor area, where I bought the "Heartfire" tent that I had been eyeing the day before - 1 pound, 10 ounces, pretty hard to beat that! All told, probably 5 pounds less on my back; worth it, despite the expense ($225). I'm hoping to be around 35 pounds now, about 10 - 12 pounds less than I started with on April 4th. We linked back up with Mark B. and Mel, and slowly toured the vendors again, and also greeted a few more familar faces. Finally got to the parking area, where Mark W. repacked all his gear into his pack, while I made a mid-day report on my digital recorder. Weather increasingly hot and humid, looking threatening, but no rain yet.
By noon we were done with the vendors, and slowly headed back through the town, heading towards the parade assembly area at the far end of town (near Cowboys). I hit the three outfitters in town, looking for the new Therm-a-Rest, which weighs about a half a pound less than what I have, and is 2 1/2 times thicker; unfortunately, no one had one in my size. I guess I'll try and pick one up later. Certainly the one I have will do for now, just as it has for going on 15 years now....
We finally ended up at Cowboys, where we all bought some cold drinks, and later got some free hot dogs nearby. Mark W. had a long chat with "James," a Double-H and Philmont staffer who knew Megan Wray from the previous summer [Aside - It really has been amazing how many conversations have been initiated by Mark wearing his Philmont Staff Shirt, both on the trail and in town.] Mark W. got the guy's personal details and promised to relay them to Megan.
At this point (about 1:00 or so), we sat down on the railroad ties outlining the Virginia Creeper Trail - hoping not to get run over by the dozens of Scouts that rode by over the next hour - and just took in the scene as the hikers began to assemble. Plenty of things to gawk at, with hikers wearing all sorts of strange attire, and arming themselves with water balloons and a variety of water guns, ranging from child-size squirt guns up to Super-Soakers and Indian pumps. Tops in the weird department was the German Shepherd whose hair had been trimmed into a Mohawk, followed by a guy who had shaved his head in the back and painted a white blaze on himself. One guy was dressed only in a large bandanna - a view best left to the reader's imagination. Next to us was the Through-Hiker Class of 2006, with a large banner, and many happy reunnions were going on.
The actual parade started around 2:10 - it was supposed to be organized by class (year), but in fact it was just sort of go place yourself wherever; Mark and I ended up about 2/3rds back. The start was two ambulances with sirens blaring, leading a slow march about a half a mile through the town. There were maybe a thousand hikers and about three thousand spectators. The water battles started immediately, with the hikers giving as good as they got for the first quarter-mile or so, then everytone ran out of ammo. Not so with the spectators! Mark and I didn't get all that wet, with the exception of one guy who got us with a garden hose on full blast. I will add this was all in good fun, everyone laughing and having a good time. Eventually we passed "our" B&B, and Mark and I waved and caught Suzie Montgomery's attention, thanking her one last time. Finally to the park, and the battle ended, with a fire truck bringing up the rear of the column. And blessed relief for all the cars that had been backed up on U.S. 58 for an hour or more. We linked up with Mark B. and Mel (I think they walked behind the fire truck), and made our way back through the vendor area one last time.
On the way we linked up with Gaucha, who we hadn't seen since the day after Blue Mountain Shelter - she was about 40 miles back at this point, but was still plugging away. We waved to a few others too; as I previously wrote, this was the "last hurrah" for many of the hikers, so also was our last opportunity to say farewell. Finally we reached Mark B.'s car, and after helping a few other cars get out or in, we were on our way back to Elk Garden, arriving at 3:45. Quite a difference from the riotous scenes in Damascus! We said our goodbyes, and headed up the hill at 4:00 on the nose, Mark B. and Mel departing for Arlington soon thereafter. A surprisingly easy hike up Mt. Rogers (the Virginia "high point.") We took the side-hike to the peak, which has zero view - the standard joke you ask people who climb Mt. Rogers is "How was the view?" Well, now I understand. Lots of clouds but (despite the forecast) still no signs of rain yet. Also no signs of any of the local wild ponies. Did the final quarter mile to the shelter (I think it's "Thomas Knob Shelter"); had about 8 people on the lower deck, but only one upstairs, "Cas," a female former Army M.P. There were also roughly 20 more people tenting in the area, over about a half-mile stretch of the A.T. Chilly again (doubtless due to the altitude and breeze), so we did a quick dinner by 8:00 pm. After getting some water from the spring, I went upstairs, but Mark stayed outside to write some postcards. It started raining (at last) around 9:30 or so, and rained hard on and off through the night - I was happy to be quite dry in the shelter attic area. 4 1/2 miles today, plus an extra mile for the side-hike to the peak - a good "nero."
The "Continental Breakfast" at the hotel was totally lame, so we headed over to the Huddleston's across the highway, and Mel treated us all to breakfast. We spent a pleasant hour there, then headed back to the hotel for a final bathroom break and Weather Channel check. Looks like heavy rain later today and tomorrow morning, then great weather all next week. We all got back in the car, and Mark B. drove back to Damascus, where (again) the crowd wasn't living up to the hype - though there were a lot more than yesterday. However, there was some sort of a Boy Scout Bike-o-Ree going on just outside of town, on the Virginia Creeper Trail, so a lot of the vehicles were associated with that, not Trail Days. There were also a bunch of Little League games going on at the local stadium, too. Mark B. dropped us off at Tent City, then he and Mel returned to the main vendor area. I picked up my poles (new expanders, cleaned, lubed - nice job) while Mark picked up his pack (now repaired). Pretty good service for free!
We grabbed a shuttle back to the main vendor area, where I bought the "Heartfire" tent that I had been eyeing the day before - 1 pound, 10 ounces, pretty hard to beat that! All told, probably 5 pounds less on my back; worth it, despite the expense ($225). I'm hoping to be around 35 pounds now, about 10 - 12 pounds less than I started with on April 4th. We linked back up with Mark B. and Mel, and slowly toured the vendors again, and also greeted a few more familar faces. Finally got to the parking area, where Mark W. repacked all his gear into his pack, while I made a mid-day report on my digital recorder. Weather increasingly hot and humid, looking threatening, but no rain yet.
By noon we were done with the vendors, and slowly headed back through the town, heading towards the parade assembly area at the far end of town (near Cowboys). I hit the three outfitters in town, looking for the new Therm-a-Rest, which weighs about a half a pound less than what I have, and is 2 1/2 times thicker; unfortunately, no one had one in my size. I guess I'll try and pick one up later. Certainly the one I have will do for now, just as it has for going on 15 years now....
We finally ended up at Cowboys, where we all bought some cold drinks, and later got some free hot dogs nearby. Mark W. had a long chat with "James," a Double-H and Philmont staffer who knew Megan Wray from the previous summer [Aside - It really has been amazing how many conversations have been initiated by Mark wearing his Philmont Staff Shirt, both on the trail and in town.] Mark W. got the guy's personal details and promised to relay them to Megan.
At this point (about 1:00 or so), we sat down on the railroad ties outlining the Virginia Creeper Trail - hoping not to get run over by the dozens of Scouts that rode by over the next hour - and just took in the scene as the hikers began to assemble. Plenty of things to gawk at, with hikers wearing all sorts of strange attire, and arming themselves with water balloons and a variety of water guns, ranging from child-size squirt guns up to Super-Soakers and Indian pumps. Tops in the weird department was the German Shepherd whose hair had been trimmed into a Mohawk, followed by a guy who had shaved his head in the back and painted a white blaze on himself. One guy was dressed only in a large bandanna - a view best left to the reader's imagination. Next to us was the Through-Hiker Class of 2006, with a large banner, and many happy reunnions were going on.
The actual parade started around 2:10 - it was supposed to be organized by class (year), but in fact it was just sort of go place yourself wherever; Mark and I ended up about 2/3rds back. The start was two ambulances with sirens blaring, leading a slow march about a half a mile through the town. There were maybe a thousand hikers and about three thousand spectators. The water battles started immediately, with the hikers giving as good as they got for the first quarter-mile or so, then everytone ran out of ammo. Not so with the spectators! Mark and I didn't get all that wet, with the exception of one guy who got us with a garden hose on full blast. I will add this was all in good fun, everyone laughing and having a good time. Eventually we passed "our" B&B, and Mark and I waved and caught Suzie Montgomery's attention, thanking her one last time. Finally to the park, and the battle ended, with a fire truck bringing up the rear of the column. And blessed relief for all the cars that had been backed up on U.S. 58 for an hour or more. We linked up with Mark B. and Mel (I think they walked behind the fire truck), and made our way back through the vendor area one last time.
On the way we linked up with Gaucha, who we hadn't seen since the day after Blue Mountain Shelter - she was about 40 miles back at this point, but was still plugging away. We waved to a few others too; as I previously wrote, this was the "last hurrah" for many of the hikers, so also was our last opportunity to say farewell. Finally we reached Mark B.'s car, and after helping a few other cars get out or in, we were on our way back to Elk Garden, arriving at 3:45. Quite a difference from the riotous scenes in Damascus! We said our goodbyes, and headed up the hill at 4:00 on the nose, Mark B. and Mel departing for Arlington soon thereafter. A surprisingly easy hike up Mt. Rogers (the Virginia "high point.") We took the side-hike to the peak, which has zero view - the standard joke you ask people who climb Mt. Rogers is "How was the view?" Well, now I understand. Lots of clouds but (despite the forecast) still no signs of rain yet. Also no signs of any of the local wild ponies. Did the final quarter mile to the shelter (I think it's "Thomas Knob Shelter"); had about 8 people on the lower deck, but only one upstairs, "Cas," a female former Army M.P. There were also roughly 20 more people tenting in the area, over about a half-mile stretch of the A.T. Chilly again (doubtless due to the altitude and breeze), so we did a quick dinner by 8:00 pm. After getting some water from the spring, I went upstairs, but Mark stayed outside to write some postcards. It started raining (at last) around 9:30 or so, and rained hard on and off through the night - I was happy to be quite dry in the shelter attic area. 4 1/2 miles today, plus an extra mile for the side-hike to the peak - a good "nero."
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