Saturday, April 16, 2016

Mischievous Bears

I just finished two and a half days on the trail and am checked into Crazy Larry's Hostel in Damascus, VA. $23 for a tent spot in the backyard (nice lawn) a hot shower, a load of laundry, and breakfast tomorrow morning. Not bad. He's not crazy, but actually a pretty nice guy. I crossed the TN/VA border last night after dark and then found a campsite.


A long day on the trail yesterday made for a short one today as I only had a three mile walk into Damascus, a very hiker-friendly town. Being the 16th of April, my journey from the start of the trail to Damascus took exactly one month, which is considered fast. A typical through hiker will take 40 days to walk that stretch.

Two days ago, after I started out from Hampton, TN, I came across a shelter with a big note on it describing how two bears had torn up several tents looking for food. One of them then violently shook the "bear proof" pole where people had hung their food bags, successfully dislodging two of them. That shelter was closed during 2014 and 2015 because of bears. They might have to close it again. I later ran into one of the guys who had his food stolen and offered him some. Other hikers had already given him enough to get to Damascus though.

The shelter the bears can't seem to get enough of....
It was a nice two-day hike and I met a few new people. I've met a lot of people from Michigan for some reason, including a guy yesterday who had injured his knee and was limping. I donated my elastic bandage to him. I walked on the trail for a while with a young guy from New Hampshire who was hiking the trail before starting a master's program in the fall to become a physician's assistant. I just met a guy at the hostel who just got out of the Air Force after being stationed in Montana for three years. He loved Montana but not the Air Force. Some people take to the military more readily than others I suppose.

That's it for now. My laundry is almost done and then I'll head out for a "real" meal. I'll be in Virginia for about the next 500 miles.

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