Ah, "Trail Days" in Damascus,VA - I remember them
well! In fact, I was there for the very first "trail
days", which was part of the AT's 50th anniversary
celebration back in 1987! I managed to time it just
right, starting at Springer Mt, GA on April 27th and
backpacking all the way there with no shuttles, side
trips or layover days! (Whew!) Back then there were
lots of friendly local folks, homemade cookies for
everyone, and a little parade where I was asked to
carry the Grandma Gatewood banner, which was kind of
appropriate since she had hiked the AT 3 times, and I
was also working on my 3rd AT(and 2nd PCT!)that year!

Well, it seems things have changed quite a bit since
then! On my last time through a couple of years ago,
"trail days" had become one HUGE "Tent City", with
people drifting in from everywhere! Even though it was
fun to see a few old friends (like Warren Doyle with
his traditional half gallon of ice cream!), it still
seemed to be rather a disappointment for most of the
folks there who weren't into gear, drugs or crowds!
Personally, I couldn't wait to get back "into the
woods"- thank you, Bill Bryson, for your good humor!

Anyway, that reminds me that I should probably still
toss in my choice for Ryan's Harper's Ferry arrival
date. I'm going with June 9th, since that was MY
actual HF arrival date for my first AT, and it's just
too hard to imagine that someone as young, fit, and
self-confident as Ryan seems to be is going to be THAT
much slower than I was back then!! :-) Just about all
the backpackers I've ever met have been able to get
well into their strides by the time they reach VA, so
hiking 20+ mile days through that long and lovely
state comes relatively easily, especially - as I
recently told Amanda - in the northern ridgewalk
portions near Skyline Drive, which are generally
considered the easiest parts of the whole AT! So, I
certainly expect that Ryan should be able to pick up
his pace by then, too! Just hope that in the process
he can somehow manage to keep that incipient swelling
of "thru-hikeritis" under control as well!

Good luck and happy trail days to all!

Wanda



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