Abingdon

Beth, Poppy, and I spent the past weekend with Ward in Abingdon, VA.  At one time we discussed staying in Damascus, but Ward let us know ahead of time that we would probably want to stay elsewhere.  Damascus is a very small town geared for hikers.  Wad knows we are more interested in food and a decent hotel, and my guess is Ward wanted the same.

Abingdon is nice town at its core (downtown), but it's becoming more box-store/commercial around the edges.  The downtown area has the look and feel of an earlier time  We had dinner at The Tavern on Saturday night.  The Tavern is housed in a building built in 1779, and has a nice, old-feel atmosphere with good food served without pretense.  The very beautiful Martha Washington Inn is located downtown, as is the Barter Theatre.  The Barter was built during the Depression and is so-named because people with no money could barter goods to attend productions there.  As the designated State Theatre of Virginia, the Barter offers an unusually wide variety of productions one would not expect from a small town in Southwest Virginia.  I like towns like Abingdon.

We had dinner in a non-descript italian restaurant on Friday night.  I now understand why they laughed when i called and asked if reservations were needed.  The most memorable part of the evening was the nice lady that Beth and I noticed flirting with Poppy as we were leaving.  I can't remember what she looked like other than the fact that she had a 4 1/2-foot long pony tail.

I wish I could remember all the stories Ward tells.  He stayed in Kincora hostel near Hampton, TN last week where he enjoyed hearing stories and trail history from the owner, Bob Peoples.  Mr. Peoples is something of a legend, and even hiked with Earl Shaffer, the first person to thru-hike the AT.  He also organizes project groups every year to build bridges, paths, shelters, or anything important to the trail.  H sounds like a really neat person.  Ward has also crossed paths with a number of college students on spring break.  I never thought of going to the mountains for spring break.  Driving to Florida was hard enough for me back then.

We back-tracked to Johnson City, TN on Saturday to revisit Mahoney's, an outfitter that Ward and I found on an earlier trip.  Poppy was very generous and set Ward up with new hiking shoes (to replace the prematurely worn out boots) and a new pack.  Poppy bought a book of maps for himself, which I'm sure he will memorize over the next few days.  The old pack has worked well for the past five years, but it's a bit bulky for a lightweight trek on the AT.  I received a text from Ward tonight, and he says both are working out great.

We dropped Ward off at Beech Mountain road on Sunday morning, in the middle of nowhere.  The snow from Thursday/Friday's storm melted away and the view was completely different than the one from two days earlier.  That eerie, foreboding, and desolate feel was gone.  Ward planned to slackpack 5-6 miles and then meet us at the place where we had planned to meet the previous Friday.  Beth and I returned to Damascus to pick up a Subway tuna-on-white-with-provolone-lettuce-and-banana-pepper sandwich for Ward (which I now understand to be his is favorite) and then gas the car.

At the gas station we spotted a young man in his early 20s who looked (yes, looked) like a thru-hiker.  Beth and I also noticed something about him that gave the appearance of someone from a nice family, even in hiker gear and a beard.  We ran into him again in a coffee shop and asked if he was hiking.  He is.  It turns out he left Springer Mountain on February 14th, 11 days after Ward and Matt.  He is from Connecticut and is pushing hard to finish by mid-June so he can vacation with his family and attend a couple of weddings.  His girlfriend is planning to meet him briefly in a couple of weeks, so he's trying to log miles by himself while he can.  Unfortunately, the grueling pace has taken a toll on him.  He had severe shin splints and needs at least two days of rest before leaving again.  He's at least three days behind Ward and Matt.  I hope they meet up, as he seems like a nice person.

We left Damascus to meet up with Ward.  He and Matt had planned to meet up at a shelter that night.  They ended up finding each other within minutes of when Ward was dropped off at Beech Mountain road.  Too bad for Matt.  I wish we could have carried his pack for him.  He could have used the break.

We left Ward at a parking lot near Mt. Rogers.  There were lots of college students around.  One of them had a puppy - a cute Husky that was curious about everything.  While we were talking the Husky decided to pee on Matt's pack.  Instinct.  The Husky was simply marking his spot over one previously left by a cat in Hot Springs.  Matt is an official animal target.  Let's hope the bears, bobcats, raccoons, and other creatures don't find out.