May 09: Damascus Virgina (still) (mile 454???)

for future reference: don't expect to be able to hike all day then drink two pitchers of beer without getting a little bit hungover.


let's recap yesterday's activities:
7:00am woke up (yes, 7:00am. it's true)
7:05am ate half a box of raisin bran
7:10am ate three granola bars
7:30am left camp
11:00am arrived at first shelter
11:02am ate a snickers bar (slathered in peanut butter)
11:04am ate another snickers + peanut butter
11:06am ate four ounces of summer sausage
11:10am ate a bagel (slathered in peanut butter)
11:13am took a nap
1:00pm left shelter
4:30pm arrived in damascus, VA
4:35pm ran in to Half Moon, who suggested we drink beer
4:45pm took a quick shower
4:50pm stopped at the library for a quick web update
5:00pm started a long night of drinking and eating


now i'm taking a zero day. not that i could hike today even if i wanted too.


have i mentioned yet that i've only had to walk in rain THREE days this year? last year i hiked for eleven days and it rained on six. this year Mother Nature has cooperating by raining only during my town days. last night and today, as random examples :-).


Damascus is a happening place right now. hikers from all over the trail are getting stuck here, trying to figure out how to avoid taking a full week of zero days before the big party starts next week. i will most likely take a zero today and tomorrow because i need to get new sneakers, and i might have to order them online and have them shipped overnight. then i will get a shuttle 75 miles up the trail and walk southbound so i get here during trail days.

(it's now 1:15pm... time for another update)
town days are killer on the wallet. i just bought a really nice down sleeping bag. saved me over one pound in pack weight, but cost a few $'s :-). now i'm thinking about switching from my king size 10'x12' tarp down to something smaller. of course, then i'll also have to switch to a smaller pack. sigh...

maybe another update later. i've got a lot of time to kill today.


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