7 is the new 9

It was nice to wake up without all that condensation inside my tent. It helped me to get up pretty early and start out for a 14.6 miler. The first half of my day was physically rough. My knees were sore, my lungs weak, my neck hurt, and I was sleepy. I pushed to continue to a water source before taking a break though. On the way there was a great open bald to gawk from. I look forward to camping on some balds when the timing works, more likely in the North.
At the water I refilled and ate to my hearts content. I finished listening to The Windup Girl, which was pretty spectacular, and started back with The Singularity is Near.
After resting up and eating up I threw my pack upon my back. That's fun to say in my head. The second half of my hike found me greatly rejuvenated. The brief respite had solved my knee and neck pain, and the food solved my energy problems. I dreamed futurist dreams while walking the green tunnel, feeling my hiker legs returning from Trail Days. All that partying and time in Damascus has us all feeling like we need to start to limit our time spent in towns. We need to forego zeros (barring any incidents) for a while, and get ready to increase our mileage. I finished at 3pm today with plenty of gas left in the tank.
Everyone else arrived at the shelter feeling similarly strong and energetic. We were joined by some new faces, as well as Golem, an elderly British gentleman (a wandering Brit, as he would say) whom we had sheltered with in the Smokies.
We heard thunder most of the evening, though never saw any rain. The shelter is full of bees, there's no privy or bear bag wires, and the water source is far and just a trickle. Not an ideal shelter, but it doesn't seem to get anyone down. Tapeworm started a fire by our tents, and Golem started one by the shelter, in an attempt to smoke out the insects.
After dinner everyone got everything ready for rain, hung bear bags, collected water, and then played stretching frisbee. Tapeworm plans to bring this frisbee all the way to Maine, and it certainly makes for a good end of day game. Everyone stands around and stretches, while we throw the frisbee around, and seems pretty perfect for the trail. Meta also showed James and me the lighter game, which involves throwing a lighter among each other, but throwing and catching on the back of your hand, not with your fingers. It's entertaining enough for trail giggles.
Around 7pm we all started to fade though, and it was unanimous that 7 is the new 9. Seeing as how I'm drowsily writing this from my tent, it's hard to argue. Tomorrow will be 7 miles into Erwin. Mr. Fantastic and I plan to throw some laundry in, do our food and fuel resupply, and keep on moving. I may take a sink bath, which still makes me laugh to think about. Warm water is nice though, as the streams on the trail are all quite cold. After that we'll do as many miles as we can with the remainder of the daylight. Now that the parties are behind us, and the terrain should be mellowing out some, we can really start to burn some leather.
I can currently hear a lot going on around camp. On the far end I can hear someone breaking up dead branches for a fire whilst listening to a radio. Next to me Meta is chatting with someone about the joys of a new piece he got for his hammock that means no more knots and much quicker setup/breakdown. Behind me at the shelter Mr. Fantastic, Optimus, Golem, and a couple others discuss how they all scoffed at people who counted ounces, but that now that they've been out here for a while they look at everything and wonder what they can get rid of. What's worth carrying, and what's just a waste of energy and space. All of these sounds are about as common as it gets for being out here. The conversations are so frequently the same, but always interesting and entertaining. If you can't share intimate thought processes about trail life with the people you meet out here, then it just isn't going to happen. Now let's just hope the storm passes next to us, and not over us.

Trail Days concluded

I was very happy that this morning would by my last waking up in this field, as I wake with dense droplets of condensation covering the inside of my tent. Unfortunately during the night both Too Far and Stonechair got sick. It seems like they got the stomach virus that is going around in Erwin. When we get to Erwin in a couple of days everyone plans on stocking up and hiking right through. No need to spend too much time in a town that hikers are getting sick in.
Mr. Fantastic and I walked over to Mojoe's for an everything bagel and some free wifi. We met up with Milkman, who we hadn't seen since the NOC, and Aspen Glow who have been hiking together. I picked up the next few maps at the gear store as well as an inflatable pillow to help quell my allergy problem at night. After that, a quick trip to the Dollar General (thank you Mom and Vince for the trail funds!), and then back to tent city.
The place was already mostly cleared out when I returned. I passed Meta, Optimus, and James on their way to the shuttle, and I set about the task of breaking my 3 night campsite down. Mr. Fantastic and Stonechair were doing the same, though Stonechair stayed behind in Damascus along with Too Far and Reidiculous. We're not sure when we'll meet up with them again. Trail Days gives, and Trail Days taketh away.
Because there were 7 of us (Meta, Tapeworm/Landfill, Optimus, James, Sleeping Bear, Mr. Fantastic, and myself) needing to get further South the church shuttle driver brought us right back to Sam's Gap. 5 rides North, 1 shuttle South. Sleeping Bear was further back, so continued South while the rest of us moved forward.
It was 4pm by the time we got back to the trail, so it was a short day at only 4 miles to a campsite. The first time we haven't stayed at a shelter since all the way back at Bly Gap just past the Georgia border.
It feels great to be back on the trail! The sun was too hot without all the shade of the trees, and breezes on the ridge lines. We all set about our tent/hammock setup routines, and collected around the cold hearth to feast.
Dinner was enjoyed by all, as was the company. A couple of other hikers joined us at camp, and Mr. Fantastic, Tapeworm/Landfill, and myself worried away the last of the light with a little light frisbee. It's good to be back in our natural habitat, quiet but for the sounds of birds, frogs, and insects; dark except for the starlight. Though I think many of us do relate in our feelings of loss over the tipping of the ratios back to their normal trail state. It was nice for a while to have more than 2 girls around within a days hike. Now it's back to men, and a few ballsy girls.

Trail Days Pt. 2

The hunt for breakfast began around 8:15 today. Our little entourage (Too Far, Detour, Optimus, Stonechair, Meta, Tapeworm/Landfill, Mr. Fantastic, and myself) decided on Dairy King, and enjoyed a long wait for filling food. CVS joined us with his entourage and puppy. Always a welcome return to the group!
We then visited the vendors, which was a fun little collection of people. Plenty of people carrying water guns. There were raffles, sales, free schwag, a talent show, auction, carnival food.. it was a great place to wander. Like a small town fair flooded with people, but no rides. Mr. Fantastic got a new tent. Dirt cheap, incredibly spacious, insanely light (1lb 3oz). The brand is Appy Tents, or abbreviated, AT. That alone will shave 2.5lbs from his pack weight.
We wandered back to tent city, passing some people filling water balloons, and I changed into shorts and put my shoes on so as not to burn my feet. By this time we were already running a little late for the parade. We met up with the rest of this years hikers at the Mojoe coffee shop, grabbed some cold water, and enjoyed the mass of like-minded people mingling. We were also joined again by Reid, whose name has changed (and rightly so) to Reidiculous. We were following a fire truck down the main drag of Damascus, filling the street en masse. The true purpose of all the water fight paraphernalia became apparent, as the first few houses we pass start lobbing water balloons. The further we walk into town, the more the water fight escalates into a water war. Hikers in our group are carrying coolers on wheels full of water for resupply. I saw an old man sniping from his second story window, only to have a high pressure blast of water knock him back and cause him to slam his window shut. I saw a line of 15 people on top of our frequented pizza joint, with a seemingly endless supply of water balloons, raining down hilarity and a chance to cool off. Children with water guns hiding behind their parents. Water balloons, under-filled, careening off of people's heads without popping, a resonating wet slap and a gasp from everyone in eyeshot. It was pretty epic, and a hell of a lot of fun.
The parade was definitely the highlight of the day, but when night came CVS brought the feast. First Triscuits and homemade salsa, then caramel Brie with bread, a cold salad with a grain I forget the name of, corn on the cob, and hot buffalo chicken sandwiches. It was amazing to say the least. Between all that wonderful, the Benadryl, and a couple of beers I needed a nap. It's kinda awesome to just have that option always available.
When I woke up we wandered over to see the bluegrass band playing. They had a pretty amazing sound, and recruited a hula-hooping-hiker into dancing for their last couple songs.
By the time we got back it was dark, and everyone was in a food coma. Another relatively early night for our group. No complaints from me. Our ride leaves at 1pm tomorrow for Erwin. Before that I have to restock my food a bit, and maybe siphon some wifi from the coffee shop. After that we still need to hitch back to Dan's gap, and hike to the next shelter. Trail Days has been a ton of fun, but I think we're all about ready to be back on the trail. I know I'm looking forward to it.

Trail Days Pt. 1

I awoke to a soaking wet world. Since I had so much damp gear crammed into my tent it turned my quarters into a musty steam room. I carefully extricated myself from my the condensation, and made my way to the port-a-potty. Like living in the lap of luxury!
Mr. Fantastic and I went to the fire station to enjoy a nice, albeit small, breakfast. After that it was off to the Mojoe coffee house to enjoy some A/C and wifi. I took full advantage of this fact by watching the latest Game of Thrones. Joyous. Plus I downloaded two audiobooks: The Singularity is Near (because I wasn't willing to carry the book, but still want to finish it), and The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (at the behest of Mr. Fantastic).
Then we grabbed some pizza. It was very good yet again, and definitely helped fill the void.
After pizza, we wandered over to the gear shop to look around. Mr. Fantastic decided to try out a super lightweight sleeping pad. He's trying to cut down on some pack weight. The big three items that make up your gear are your backpack, your tent, and your sleeping situation. His pack is 2lbs heavier than mine, his tent 1lb, and his sleeping situation about 1.5lbs. It doesn't sound like much, but when you carry it up mountains everyday you really start to count ounces. He could go even lighter than me on all three, starting with this sleeping pad which is around 10 ounces lighter.
The rest of the day was a blur. It was insanely bright and hot out. I got a noticeable foot tan going just from walking around in flip flops today. It's strange to be out of the forest in that regard, no tree cover.
It was insanely social. I started back to the tent city (about a half mile away from the main drag of town), and kept having to stop to talk to people I knew. It's very fun to come into a town that you've never been to, but feel like you know everyone you pass. Even when I passed people I hadn't met we shared niceties, making the whole experience distinctly social and friendly. Of course there was a full gamut ranging from a car driving by in the middle of the night bellowing the statement "Get the F out of Damascus you dirty hippies!", to a woman handing me a bag of Fritos and a Coke saying "I hope you have a great hike!". To be fair, that was the only negative experience I've had at Damascus.
I saw so many people that I haven't seen for weeks, or have heard of but never met. We found Beast Mode, who actually arrived at Damascus in time and didn't need to hitch. I met Cyborg, whom our group talks about all the time as the guy they started with but could never keep up with. I guess every group has one or two of those. We didn't find everyone though, as no one knows where Waldo went.
I discovered that my tent had dried, as well as everything inside of it. The heat was so oppressive that I didn't even need to air anything out. Unfortunately I also discovered my solar charger acting up, but bought a new one (with a donation from my dad, thank you again!). Trail Days means big gear repair and sales, so I was able to get a much more functional charger (waterproof, double battery storage, 3x charging speed, lighter, low light charging, designed for my backpack), and gave my glitchy one to Stonechair. He's let me use his phone on occasion because he has signal, so it seemed appropriate. Hopefully it'll last him at least a couple of usages before it breaks down completely.
Once finished walking all around town I went back to tent city again, and more specifically to the newly christened Fort Hammjob (the tri-hammock, tented tarps construction I referred to yesterday). We hung out and drank before heading to a close by tent for free chili. While not as meaty as I prefer (ALL MEAT CHILI!), it was free and delicious. We relaxed in the circle of tents set out as a display while downing the chili, and then relaxed into a short food coma. Beast Mode and Lars also joined Mr. Fantastic, Tapeworm (whose name may be changing to Landfill, but for the same reason of how much he eats), and myself.
Back at Fort Hammjob we continued to drink and laugh, being joined by a few new faces to me: Brown Banana, Big Daddy Tickle, and a few others. As the sky started to turn dark the headlamps all came out. It never looked more like a tent city, with bright bulbs carving highways between the myriad of tents. Now as it gets closer to midnight the drumming has taken hold deeper in the woods. There's a beautiful spot people tented at by two fast rolling creeks, and the fires and music were always going to end up there. Even at the far end of the field it's all you can hear, making for a massive wooded party environment. It's all pretty crazy, but I'll join in more tomorrow. CVS should be here in a couple of hours, so we just plan to see him tomorrow as well. That'll be our big party day. Tonight is just a warm-up.