Blue Blazing
Day 42 of the Trail: 16 miles hike approximately
Our last morning at Woodchuck Hostel and we of course had to have our blueberry waffles before we left. They were great, as expected, and I think I am starting to gain some weight back after all these town stops and lodge layovers.
I don't think I mentioned, yet, but by I have lost 25 pounds since I started my hike. That's what burning 6000 calories a day will do for you. I just can't carry enough food to make up for it but than again why would I? A little weight loss ain't so bad; with one exception: loosing muscle. I thought that maybe I could do push-ups or something to save some upper body strength but I just don't. Now I am losing muscle with fat. I have to look at it like I am stripping my body to the frame and starting over, like rebuilding a car.
Besides body weight, pack weight is the other big topic out here. When I started my pack was close to 40 lbs with 3 1/2 days of food and full water. After two different purges of unneeded gear my pack, with 4 1/2 days of food and full water, is 34 pounds and I hope to get that down some more later.
After our breakfast we walked to the park where Trail Days is held and hung out for a few hours to catch up with some hiking friends we hadn't seen in about a month that had just got into Damascus.
After our chat, Thomas and I hit the trail; not the AT but the Virginia Creeper Trail. It is a trail made from an old railroad line that parallels the AT for several miles then rejoins it. "Why." you may ask "Did we commit the sin of "blue blazing?" The creeper trail is beautiful. We crossed more than 20 bridges, I think, and followed an awesome river the whole way. It was far more enjoyable than I suspect the AT portion was and it's my hike. I am in it for the experience and if I can get that blue blazing, then cool. My plan is one foot path from GA to ME and if I detour that's fine. It's not about being a AT "purest" and if it's someone else's thing then fine but they just might be missing some cool stuff. Trust when I say the creeper trail is worth the detour.
After rejoining the AT we had about 2.5 miles to camp and about a mile out is when the rain started. I wasn't amused, but Thomas and I tag teamed putting up our tents in a lull of the rain and made it before it started again. All in all, Damascus was a great time and that's one place I would visit again!
Day 43 of the Trail: 18.4 miles hiked
Well, it rained off and on all night. Initially, I was concerned that sleeping in my damp clothes while in my down sleeping bag may be a mistake but it turns out it was a good idea. By the time I woke up I was completely dry and my bag and clothes were too. Like I said, I was damp and not soaked. I don't know if that make a difference but I suspect it should. Thomas and I packed our soaking wet tents and got out of camp before anyone even knew we were up. I am guessing no one wanted to get up and deal with the wetness but we've got miles to do.
It wasn't until about 1 pm that we reached the Grayson Highlands and saw the wild ponies. Then the sun came out. We stopped and aired out our tents to let them dry. It would be better setting up dry tents later than wet ones plus it would reduce the weight we had been carrying with the wet tents.
I never really studied the trail too much before hiking and I don't remember anyone mentioning how rocky the Grayson Highlands are. I know PA is supposed to be rocky and if it is anything like the trail was today, it's gonna be rough. My feet were done after that rock scramble. We did make good time, and miles in today, and found a nice camp site a park service lady had told us about. We got everything set up with no weather issues.
There is more rain forecasted for days to come so being wet is just going be a way of life, I guess. There is plenty of water, however, and that's the silver lining, I guess.
