Slackpacking Trip - Day 1

Left the house at 0645 this morning, bound for the mountains. I so so so needed this getaway. I used I-495, I-66 and I-81 to get to the hiking zone.  I got a gas fill-up in Toms Brook (0810) and another one in Glade Spring (1200).  Also got lunch at Wendy's before I headed south on VA-91.  Other than nearly trading paint with an 18-wheeler (he came into my lane while I was in his blind spot) about five miles from my planned exit, the nearly six hour drive to Damascus was actually pretty easy. Parked near the Trail Town Welcome sign and (after talking to a friendly black cat) headed SOBO at 1235. The temps were in the low 50s (pleasant) and the climb toward Backbone Rock didn’t feel as hard as it looked (maybe because I’ve been on a walking kick for the last month). At the top of the first ridge, I encountered three SOBO thru hikers who were resting by the trail. I usually stop to say “hi” in cases like that but imagine my surprise when two of them said they’d met me before - and not even in the same state! We pieced together how we knew each other: the young one had hiked with me in early February in Shenandoah National Park (he was prepping for his thru hike) while the older (bearded one) said he’d hiked with me in Vermont or New York (he remembered me because of my hat). They’d joined forces as they headed south and picked up the third hiker in Harpers Ferry. We were all blown away by the fact that three of us could have met in different places and then all met up again. What a small (hiker’s) world! I ended up seeing them a few more times as we each stopped to take pictures and enjoy the view. They were all stocked up on groceries (including pork loin) after three days in Damascus and weren’t happy about their pack weight. When I reached the campsite on “Unnamed Gap”, I turned around to start my backtrack. There was a lot more wind and threatening clouds by this point and sunset was only about two hours away, so I booked it downhill. Passed the “Three Musketeers” for the last time (today, at least!). Encountered two other SOBOs as I made my way back down the mountain and saw a white tailed deer when it got dark. Didn’t end up needing my headlamp but it was completely dark by the time I reached my car (1750). Not bad time for 12-ish miles - muscles and joints feeling good. Realized that I’d been out of cell phone signal since around noon so asked for help from the nice lady working at the Exxon - she let me borrow a phone so I could reserve a room at one of the hiker hostels in town. I was in luck: even though several were sold out (itinerant workers) I still found one for $23. Checked in and then the exhaustion of the climb and speed caught me. Glad I didn’t head further south for the night... Will probably go to sleep early - Larry says pancakes will be ready at 5 AM! AT Today = 5.90 miles (2.5 in TN) / Grand Total AT = 982.16 miles