Day 20

Tue. Sept. 16
Abingdon Gap Shelter to Damascus
10 miles
Weather: cloudy
As far as I'm concerned, today is the first day of fall. It was extremely cold last night, but my tiny sleeping bag held up well. Now, getting up to use the bathroom was another story. The hike down was incredibly easy. Three hours was all it took to do ten miles with an empty pack and the knowledge of the priveledges of civilization soon to come. Not really knowing which hostel to head to I picked Dave's place for $10. I found a bottle of laundry detergent, washed a change of clothes in the sink, and let them dry in front of a box fan as I showered. Soon, I was off on a walk down to Pizza Plus for their AYCE buffet. The homemade soup was far better than the pizza, especially on this cold day. I could barely walk back after eating so much. I spent hours analyzing every piece of equipment at the outfitter and was somehow able to walk out without spending a cent. Then off to the library to do some reading and research. I came back feeling that I've been wasting too much time and should be hiking. But getting back I took a look at the book selection here at the hostel. A couple months ago I started listening to an audio book before I went to bed. I was extremely upset when the tapes cut out just before the ending. Out of only 20 books here, that just happened to be one of them! So of course I backed up and read the last quarter of it. I talked to a bunch of people and found all the good mountain biking trails around here for tomorrow. Hopefully my knees will be able to handle it. I'll be off on other adventures until mid-October when I plan on hitting the trail again. How long I stay on all depends on how bad the weather is. Until next time, happy trails.