We got into Damascus late last night, actually early this morning. A hiker from Germany (there's been lots of them on the trail so far) was riding down with us too. We parked on the outside of town at 'tent city'. Police were there to check us in, they work 24/7 for Trail Days. There was still plenty of space in the fields. The officer we talked to asked us what we were looking for, and we smartly set up in the 'quiet' section of tent city. Woke up this morning and got breakfast at a coffee shop in town. So far today has been great. I've walked all around town. There's arts and crafts, tons of concession food, pony rides and facepainting for the kids, free food/internet/showers sponsored by the Baptist church in town, lectures, gear repairs, vendors, etc. I talked to Gene Espy, who was the 2nd person ever to thru-hike the AT in 1951, at the outfitter downtown. I got a signed copy of a book he authored. Really cool! I mentioned I grew up near Shenandoah, and he told me about his hike through that section, when he stopped at Skyland. I went to a presentation on the history of Damascus and the surrounding area this morning. I checked out all of the gear rep's tent, and Big Agnes is repairing a couple holes in my tent's mesh right now for me for free! Plans for this afternoon: I want to go see this presentation about the Israel National Trail, and tonight I'm going to go see a movie about some people that thru-hiked last year. So far it's been really fun, and informative here. The field we are set up in is filling up fast. Literally hundreds of tents all around. From what I hear the late night atmosphere can get pretty wild. Bonfires, drum circles, until the wee hours of the morning. There is a huge police presence to keep things from getting out of hand. There's definitely a kind of rock concert type of vibe in certain areas. It might be fun to observe things for a moment, but I sure am glad to be on the quiet side of things. Definitely using the earplugs tonight, haha!
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| Me and Gene Espy at MRO in Damascus |
I just got out of the presentation on the Israel National Trail. This is on the to do list now. I remember from my travel to Italy several years ago, being overwhelmed by the history there. The presenter described the Israel Trail as a daily history lesson. Instead of visiting as a tourist, you should go walk the land. Walk by Jacob's well, walk where David slew Goliath, walk were Moses led his people through the desert. Sounds amazing. I'm only 600 miles into my NOBO hike, and already the wheels in my head are turning....what's next? SOBO? PCT? I hadn't even thought about international trails. The world is such a huge place. And the best way to see it is to walk.
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