~*~ Trail Days 2005 ~*~

Damascus, VA

Date: May 13-15

Hikers: BroodX & lilmountaingirl & about 1200 others

The ride took about 7 hours, stopping a couple of times to stretch and once to switch drivers. BroodX took the first shift in the wee hours of the morning but I stayed awake to make sure he stayed up too! No sleeping at the wheel! About halfway, we switched and I took over the driving while he got some much needed sleep. By 10am, we were rolling into Damascus and thru-hiker craziness. As soon as we got into town, BroodX’s demeanor changed slightly. I could see the anticipation on his face and the excitement of seeing his Class of 2004 friends. Admittedly, I was a little jealous…I’m ready to get out there myself and I can’t wait to be a part of Trail Days as a thru-hiker.

Who We Met Up With: Scorch, Mr. T, London, Bluejay, Baltimore Jack, Caption Hook, Paparazzi, Garrett, Yukon Jack, Screamin’ Steve, the Garland 5, T-Bird, Bama, Miss Janet (most of whom were in the 2004 class with BroodX) Who the heck am I forgetting???

Approximate number of MSR shelters I saw: a gazillion.

Sleep over the weekend: About 14’ish hours if you combine Thursday, Friday and Saturday night.

Main staple of all attendees at Trail Days: Beer

What Time it is at Trail Days: Beer thirty PM, always.

What I Learned:

~ Road trips are fun, passenger is DJ, driver makes requests.

~ West Virginia is a beautiful state! (And it is required to play “Take Me Home, Country Roads” upon entering it)

~ Gear testing, even when done unintentionally, is a good thing. Black Diamond headlamps can withstand sitting in a pool of water for hours on end and still work. So can TNF pants (are they dry yet, Brood?). Charcoal…not so much.

~ Which finger to use as leverage when opening a beer with a Bic.

~ Americans and Englishmen should not be in cars together for long periods of time.

~ Hikers are a talented bunch of people, funny, and very kind.

~ BroodX doesn’t like slugs. At all.

~ Trail magic can happen even in a crowded parking lot/campground (thanks Randy, again, for saving my tent from being water logged!)

~ Beer is good when you drink it out of a Platypus or Nalgene. Water out of the same Nalgene on Monday morning? Not so much…

~ Don’t walk near Baltimore Jack in the Hiker Parade.

~ Barefoot after torrential rain = ouch on the rocks & mud in the toes.

~ Buy Croc’s. NOW.

~ Hikers sing…but not well.

~ Don’t sit on a microphone stand when hitchhiking.

~ If you don’t eat your pineapple burger, the limey bastard will take it.

~ Don’t pass out if your friends have a life size picture of your head…you will end up seeing in the morning all the things you missed the night before.

~ If you don’t like the weather, wait 15 minutes, it will change.

~ Reality sucks.

Highlights:

~ The people! They were amazing…all of them. Nothing dampens the spirits of these folks when they all come together to celebrate.

~ Watching the parade and experiencing the energy of everyone… they are all intoxicating. And they are ~ every single person is just as excited about your hike as you are. It’s a great feeling after dealing with day to day people that look at you like you have 6 heads when you tell them your plans.

Ahhhh Trail Days was a great time. I am so glad I decided to go. I wish I had bumped into the other forum members that were there…but I suspect they will be back in full force next year. MadAtlantic Crew ~ y’all better come on down!

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