इ कैन'टी वेट तो हिके इन माय एवेनिंग गोवन

Hey Everybody!!
So i decided to spend another night in Damascus, VA....we were going to leave this afternoon, but it's raining, i hadn't updated or called anyone and a couple of friends are getting off the trail due to foot pain, blues, missing loved ones, and a couple others set out today but turned back, also because of foot pain and are back in town trying to find a solution. So, it feels right to stay. I'm not punching any time clock, so it really deosn't matter.
It's been a really nice week. A couple of Huck Finn's friends from college came out for a week to hike. John and Ben....had a wicked good time with some kindred folks. The weather was near perfect for some of the most spectacular hikes so far. We traveled through/over the Roan Highlands. They are these beautiful open, bald top mountains. Grassy and windy. One sunny day after sharing 3 beers (that were given to us by some folks at a road crossing) between five people, we were sufficiently buzzed (hiker tolerance!! Fun!) hike a short distance to the grassy summit and sunbathed for a delicious two hours. I managed a couple of cartwheels and handstands, i am finally not too sore to do that. Although i would not be able to do it first thing in the morning. It still takes me a few minutes to get upright and able to walk, but once i get moving, i am fine. One night we slept in this big old barn converted into a shelter, open to east and quite a few people got up for the sunrise, it was mellow and sweet. That next was my favorite hike over little abd big hump (i think) mountains. Highlands grassy tops with grazing cattle and a couple of huge longhorn bulls with some serious horns....i tried to not make eye contact. I didn't even take their picture, i was intimidated. After that i came to a psture of grazing horses, all on the mountain top...they're all fenced in and hikers have to go through this akward fence/gate contraption..it's good fun.
Another sweet time was a few nights ago we (huck finn, john, ben, and nightfight) camped out in a grassy meadow on a riverside, made a fire, stargazed, passed around the guitar and played music all night. It was perfect, lots of Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan flyin' around, learned soome new tunes. My friends, Bonnie and Teigan just got their backpacker guitar the other day...so now we can jam!!
The hostels are usually memorable because they're most often run by the coolest cats you'll ever come across. I got early one morning, packed up and took off like a rocket because i was anxious to get to Kincora hostel, for a much needed shower....it was time. I practically ran the 6 miles, got there in record time...my friends arrived later. Kincora is run by this amazing fellow, Bob Peoples..i don't know how to describe the warmth and coziness of the place. There's a small kitchen and living room w/ a couch a couple of armchairs, pillows and blankets, but you feel at ease, and at home. There's a big picnic table out on the front porch, where i ended up giving a couple of massages. The hostel runs on a $4 donation..for a bed and shower, laundry, sometimes a meal. Noone's making any money off this...it's a labor of love. So I did some massages for hikers for donations of any amount and whatever that was, i donated it to the hostel. So that felt really good to me. So many good things happen, it's nice to do something good.
There was another really cool bald mountain called Beauty Spot...when we got up there, it was like a miny tent city....a beautiful evening. There's a road that leads up there so quite a few people (former thru hikers, etc.) were there. A group of lovely wild ones brought up some trail magic for us....rotisseree chicken, cheesecake, baked beans, apples, soda, and best of all..Bubbles!!! It was a bubble fest!! Sunset bubbly!! Good fun, good fun. The sweetness of life is always exaggerated when there are bubbles.
I met Dave's cousin/2nd cousin here yesterday..Gypsy and Lone wolf. It's always great to be far and find a connection. It turns out that she is an avid hula hooper as well (Hoooray!! There's another one!) and will supply some hula hoops for some fellow hoopers for the Trails Days Fest which is coming right up in 2 weeks...a big hiker fest here in Damascus!! I will hike ahaed and then come back...there will be a hiker parade(i have plans for that one!!) music all sorts of fun things for little freaks like myself!!!
I must go...library closing!!!!!! Pecae, Love to all!!!!
MANY NAMES Melinda