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Journal
| About Downunda | Trail
Facts | Hiking the Trail |
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29th April 2002
Location:
Damascus
After leaving the bus at Abingdon, I walked about a mile towards Damascus (to get out of the business district) and started to hitch a ride. It took around 20 minutes before an Afro-American guy in a pickup stopped for me. He was on his way to work (afternoon shift) at a factory just outside of Damascus. I'm now sitting in Sicily's Restaurant having a pizza. This place used to be Quincy's and was famous with hikers for good pizza. I'm happy to report that the pizzas are still very good! There are quite a few other hikers eating here also. They are talking about how many miles they did today and what shelters they stayed at. Most of the hikers I'll meet over the next few weeks I will probably never see again. The reason for this is I am starting at AT mile 450 and the other hikers have been hiking from Springer Mountain, GA, which is 450 miles south of here, so they have been hiking for about 6 weeks and are very fit and starting to put in some big mileage days. So, for about the next 4 weeks until I reach peak fitness, just about all of the other northbound hikers I will come across will be pulling ahead of me. After getting into town, I went to the supermarket to stock up on supplies. It was disappointing, as they didn't have a good range of hiker food. I then went to the outfitters and bought a fuel container and fuel. I am trying an alcohol stove (Metho) for the first time and am a little apprehensive about it as I expect fuel may be a little harder to come by; I guess we'll see. I have decided to start hiking tomorrow, one day earlier than planned. I had intended to stay in Damascus another day to allow adjustment for jet lag but as I got a good night's sleep last night, I am ready to go. I am staying at a hostel opposite the outfitter's store. Like most hostels it's very basic - no mattresses and bare concrete floors. I hate to admit it but I couldn't finish my pizza. I bet I don't do
that once I start hiking. Anyway, I'm off to get an early night.
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I left
Melbourne at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday and arrived in Knoxville, TN at 10:00
p.m. the same day. I think it works out to about 28 1/2 hours travel.
About 7 hours of this was spent sitting in Los Angeles and Chicago
airports. After spending the night at the Knoxville Day's Inn, I caught
the Greyhound to Abingdon, Virginia. For those Aussies reading this,
travel by Greyhound is something to be experienced. The bus is okay as far
as busses go; it's the Greyhound terminals and their inhabitants that
provide an "interesting contrast." Typically, the terminals look
like they were built in the 1920's or '30's. They are grotty and smelly
and so are some of the itinerant travelers who pass through. Let me set
the scene…I'm sitting in the terminal with a whole bunch of others when
one of the would-be travellers casually walks over and spits into the
waste bin!! {Keyboard Hiker - At least he
was considerate enough to spit in the bin and not on the ground!!}