Finally arrived in Damascus, VA @ 1:30 pm, following 10+ hrs on a Greyhound, which followed a train ride just under 8 hrs from Boston to D.C. A train destination closer to Damascus with a shorter bus ride, or even no bus ride at all, would’ve been easier to endure.
John from MRO (Mt Rogers Outfitters) picked me up in a company van at Marion bus station @ 1 pm. Now I sit across the street from MRO @ Dave’s Place, a hostel run by MRO. I took a shower, bought some trail food & hit the post office to send back a book, “Eiger Dreams” by John Krakauer, a good read, my wallet, flask & the straps from my hiking poles.
I figure my pack, with food & water, tips the scale around 25 lbs. That’s about what it was when I left here last year, the last stop on the trail. If it was 22 lbs I’d be happier, but still, it’s less than most ppl hiking the AT.
The cell signal isn’t the greatest here, so hopefully, I’ll get to talk with Beth at some point tonight. It’ll be good to relax here for the night, catch up on some lost sleep over the last 32 hrs. It’s just about 5 pm now, I’m anxious about hitting the trail tomorrow morning. I’m wondering how my legs will fair over the next few days, and am debating on whether to cook or buy breakfast tomorrow.
Hey everyone, I returned home from a successful completion of this year’s section hike. The trip went great! I made a video here, just as an intro to the remaining videos I’ll be uploading soon. Hope you enjoy it. Feel free to leave a comment. It’d be nice to hear from ya!
One thing I didn’t mention in the video was that I lost 20 lbs. on my trip. It’s hard not to lose weight when you’re accustomed to hiking 15-20 miles a day. The body is the ultimate fat-burning machine on long hikes, and you simply cannot eat enough. Even the all-you-can-eat buffets in town don’t stay with you!
Thanks again to all for your donations to the Hike For Cancer this year! You helped raise money for a worthy cause. Keep an eye out for more videos of this year’s trip, as well as day by day entries from my journal & reviews on some of the gear I used.
Last year I was privileged to hike for 5 weeks on the Appalachian Trail. Since I returned, there’s been a burning desire to get back to the trail. In August, if all goes as planned, I’ll return to the trail to hike another 500 miles or more. This year’s hike is dedicated to raising money for colorectal cancer and to the memory of my mom who died from this disease. Mom passed away in December of 2005.
For those of you who don’t know, I’m a whipmaker; I build whips for a living. My whip website is something I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned on this site. The company is Noreast Whips and the site is www.neawhips.com. I also run a blog that’s linked to the site. It refers much to whipmaking & the techniques used in the construction of the whips I build. A full post was written explaining the purpose of this year’s hike on the whip blog. Here’s the post below:
If you can afford to give a little to this cause, it would be greatly appreciated! The donation button to the right will take you to the Paypal website. Once you’ve clicked through & given, you’ll receive an electronic receipt from Hutt Industries. Hutt Industries is affiliated with my whip company, Noreast Whips.
As an additional promotional offer, all who give $25 or more will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a nylon bullwhip. I realize this doesn’t appeal to everyone, but if you know someone who’d like a chance to win a bullwhip, please let me them know about this fundraising event. The ‘09 Noreast Whips Hike For Cancer will be from August to mid-September. Donations will be accepted all through September, with the drawing being held at the end of September 2009. Thank you again to all who’ve given & are supporting us in this endeavor.
Finally arrived in Damascus, VA @ 1:30 pm, following 10+ hrs on a Greyhound, which followed a train ride just under 8 hrs from Boston to D.C. A train destination closer to Damascus with a shorter bus ride, or even no bus ride at all, would’ve been easier to endure.
