Day 38: Damascus

Hmm, What Do I Need?

I hiked 126.4 miles and climbed about 29,000 feet in the last seven days, averaging just over 18 mpd. I walked into Damascus tired, footsore, dirty, smelly, shaggy, and seriously behind on my calorie count. And yes, Tentman, I could use a frosty cold one.

Damascus is set up to take care of those kinds of problems. I ate, showered, ate more, slept on clean sheets, ate again, did the laundry, got a haircut, took Gus to the dog park for some fetch, and ate more. Then I lounged around with Northstar all afternoon. And then we ate dinner. But the Dollar General is still open…

Lesson Learned

One word of advice: small town barbershops in the south may not be best place for a Phoenix boy to get a haircut. Fortunately, I brought my favorite Alaska ball cap. Expect to see it in photos for a few weeks.

Batter Up!

Tomorrow I’ll start on Virginia’s 541.7 miles of trail. That’s 71 more miles than I’ve done so far, and about 25% of the entire AT. I’m guessing Virginia will take me five weeks, Lord willing, two more pairs of shoes, and a few more audiobooks.

Daily Stats:

• Start: Damascus (Mile 470.7)
• End: Damascus (Mile 470.7)
• Weather: A nice day to hike, and a nicer one not to.
• Earworm: Earworms don’t visit on zero days.
• Meditation: Rom 11:33
• Plant of the Day: The pricker bush Gus covered on his morning walk. LOL.
• Best Thing: Hamburgers. Plural.
• Worst Thing: Northstar accidentally tossing out my leftover pizza.