So after we last blogged and talked about all the animals we were seeing it got even cooler. We saw our first bear and a note that said 'Rattle snake on the left' but we didnt see the snake which, made us even more frightened. The bear was scampering on all 4 legs across the trail and was definitely more afraid of us than we were of it as he ran right into the woods. That got our hearts racing quite a bit though and Camel took out his harmonica to play until we reached camp. The next couple of says before we got to Damascus for Trail Days we got pummeled by lots of rain, not to mention getting hit by hail the size of Jollyranchers. It was fun though as we raced to the shelter to wait out the rain for a bit. At one point when the trail was really bad we took cover in a Rhododendron bush and realized we weren't the only ones there and got chatting with one of the German guys on the trail.
So we survived the very anticipated Trail Days! And we can both check off our list, dance around a bonfire drum circle chanting 'WHO' 'HA'....
It was a huge whirlwind to get to Damascus as there was so much going on. We were able to tent in a previous thru-hikers yard where they allowed over 70 tents which was nice because it was right in the midst of the excitement. We listened to live music, ate lots of food, watched the hiker talent show, and shopped at the little vendor stations. It was cool to see a lot of hikers that have been ahead and behind us and hang out. We marched in the hiker parade which was... interesting. Normally on hot days everyone on the street soaks the hikers with squirt guns and hoses but since it was unusually cold most of the parade consisted of all the hikers walking through town as the towns people looked at us. The churches that were in town were awesome as they did our laundry, let us shower, and not to mention massaged our feet! It was a really welcoming feeling at Trail Days but after that much craziness we were very ready for the quiet of the woods.
While we have had absolutely amazing days on the trail, our best day yet just happened. We went to Grayson Highlands where we saw wild ponies!! We were in awe as we came down and saw the first group of them, as one of the babies was very playful. As we hiked forth, the skies turned gray but throughout the day no rain! There were more and more groups of them as we went and a surprising number of them let us pet them. We highly recommend anyone who is in the VA area to go and see the area as its such a cool experience, not to mention a beautiful area to hike around.
So we survived the very anticipated Trail Days! And we can both check off our list, dance around a bonfire drum circle chanting 'WHO' 'HA'....
It was a huge whirlwind to get to Damascus as there was so much going on. We were able to tent in a previous thru-hikers yard where they allowed over 70 tents which was nice because it was right in the midst of the excitement. We listened to live music, ate lots of food, watched the hiker talent show, and shopped at the little vendor stations. It was cool to see a lot of hikers that have been ahead and behind us and hang out. We marched in the hiker parade which was... interesting. Normally on hot days everyone on the street soaks the hikers with squirt guns and hoses but since it was unusually cold most of the parade consisted of all the hikers walking through town as the towns people looked at us. The churches that were in town were awesome as they did our laundry, let us shower, and not to mention massaged our feet! It was a really welcoming feeling at Trail Days but after that much craziness we were very ready for the quiet of the woods.
While we have had absolutely amazing days on the trail, our best day yet just happened. We went to Grayson Highlands where we saw wild ponies!! We were in awe as we came down and saw the first group of them, as one of the babies was very playful. As we hiked forth, the skies turned gray but throughout the day no rain! There were more and more groups of them as we went and a surprising number of them let us pet them. We highly recommend anyone who is in the VA area to go and see the area as its such a cool experience, not to mention a beautiful area to hike around.