Woke up to the warmth of the sunrise. That, and the voices of dozens of hikers stirring.
B got his headlamp fixed, and I a cold shower--I've learned not to be too picky when you have indoor plumbing.
We socialized on the front porch of the Open Door Ministries then stopped by the Appalachian Long-Distance Hikers Association reception.
We walked to the festival in the Damascus town park and marveled at all the vendors. At AWOL's booth we could see the entire map laid out and where our friends are at on the trail. At the Black Diamond tent, I was able to trade my cheapy headlamp for a supped-up one.
My most exciting find was zip-off hiking pants to replace the ones I had wore through nearly 500 miles ago!
About noon-thirty we called it a day and packed up to begin the journey back to the trail.
With Stan at the wheel, the three of us--B, DNA and I dozed off to the rhythmic noise of the road.
One last splurge before reentering the wilderness--the Home Place. A family style all you can eat restaurant outside of Catawba, Virginia, we dined on fried chicken, mashed potatoes and peach cobbler to name a few. Definitely a gem--all the Virginia Tech graduates and their families can attest too. We felt a little out of place; us in our hiker gear, them in the Sunday best. But after we were tucked away at our table it didn't matter.
Back at the trailhead, before hiking a whooping two miles for the day, we enjoyed one last cold beverage with Stan and DNA. We cheers'ed to a good weekend and to the journey ahead.
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