Day 7 - April 27

Damascus is a real outdoorsy town.
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As I was saying, Damascus is a very cool town.  But, the main reason I was hanging around there on Day 6 was because of the rain - and the fact that everything I owned was wet.  So, after a trip to the laundrymat (along with all the AT hikers - who smell worse than me - which is hard to believe) - and milling around town for half the day - it finally stopped raining.  It was 3:00pm and I had already made the decision to stay another night in Damascus - but I was beginning to feel like Dan Martin's caged animal - I needed to get on the road.  So, I packed away the tent and all my gear and away we sailed - at least for a while.  I started to re-think my strategy when I met a good ol' mountain boy who warned me about Hayter Mounter.  Well, Hayter Mountain was a real nasty bugger - MEAN and STRONG.  It took me 1 1/2 hours of steady climbing to get to the top and about 10 minutes to come down.  What a ride the down hill was - but I'm not sure it was a fair deal.  The same good ol' boy who told me about the mountain also told me about a "bed and board" another 30 or so miles down the road.  I didn't ask too many questions - I wasn't sure if a "bed and board" was a "bed and breakfast" or a motel or a campground or a hostel.  Didn't matter to me - they all equated to a place to stay.  And, having re-adjusted to tent life - I just as soon sleep on the ground as in a bed.  Especially with my new sleeping bag pad I picked up at Sundog Outfitters in Damascus - but I digress.  So, I found the "bed and board" which actually was none of the aforementioned types of places.  It was a Methodist Church that let bikers sleep in the church.  Really, right on the pew or wherever.  Pretty cool. I talked to the preacher and his wife who lived in a beautiful house beside the church.  Did I mention the two Dutch girls biking across country?  Well, they had arrived before me and were sleeping in the church sanctuary and seeing as how I snore real bad I figured I'd give them the peace that the situation warranted - and pitched my tent in the back yard of the church.  It rained again last night but this time I was better prepared and everthing stayed dry inside the tent.  I was up this morning about 7:00am and after oatmeal, coffee (leftover from a funeral the day before at the church) and packing away the tent and gear - I was on the road by about 9:00.  It's been a georgeous day - absolutely delightful - the best of the trip thus far.  I crossed the Kentucky state line about an hour ago.  Now, I'm resting up in Elkhorn City, KY for my final push of the day.  I should come close to reaching 400 miles later today. Note to Uncle Richard: I should reach Berea, KY on Sunday or Monday.  Cell phone coverage is spotty in the mountains.  Leave me a message and let me know if you are thinking of joining me and on what day.  We'll make a plan. 

Well, Hayter Mountain was a real nasty bugger - MEAN and STRONG.