The road to Damascus

A great many conversions have come to pass since the beginning of the trip so it is fitting that Damascus is the place where I have found my "hiker legs". Since Erwin TN, I have been able to do many 20 mile days without being completely exhausted at the end of the day; on the way into town I pulled what was later called the "Damascathon" with a ~26 mile day.
Coming out of Erwin and the few days after were harder than I expected, especially since I made myself sick from all the fried food at the AYCE KFC. The weather was again no help in the matter with steady showers and thick fog as we scaled mountain tops accented with blustery wind whipping up from the valley. At one point the rain and my physical fatigue had taken such a toll on my body I did not have the push to scale Roan Mt in the last 3 miles of the day. The climb was too daunting so I found a thicket of pine to wait out the rain and make an early dinner. I fashioned a simple shelter intertwined in the branches out of my Tyvex (a waterproof groundpad) while I ate and listened to the thunderous downpour. Finally arriving to the highest shelter on the AT at 6,200 ft late in the day, I found a house-like establishement with a door and attic where 5 other hikers whom had passed me during the day were neatly tucked into their sleeping bags.
The night was one of the more miserable and damp times I have spend in my sleeping bag as I attempted to dry out some of my clothing with body heat. None of us slept well that night as the temperature dropped so that the morning turned out to be the coldest I have experienced at 30 degrees. It made for some beautiful scenery once I crossed the balds which had been painted white with iced trees and high grass from the cold wind and light rain. The wind was so steady and cold the ice on the grass was jutting out 4 inches.
Later, lower and warmer in the day I was surprised by the huff of wild horses in the fog. At first I thought they would run away so I quickly took my camera out to take pictures and video but they have seen enough hikers to know we are friendly enough to share food and salty enough to lick the pack covers of. What impressive creatures!
A day or two later (cause in between is just more hiking in a cloud), I came to Watauga lake where I spent the day in the sun with a few other hiking buddies, had pizza delivered and jumped in the frigid waters for 30 seconds. Things were looking up, drying out and the afternoon was as relaxing as you could imagine. These are the times when I don't feel like continuing my hike only because the weather is so perfect lounging in the grass without a care in the world seems like the only right thing to do. Still the rambling road calls so staying too long goes against the daily habit.
The trail to Damascus after that was a breeze and the trail does seem to flaten out a bit. It was also nice to see cars with familiar VA license plates upon coming into town. This little town is the home of "Trail Days" which is a yearly hiking festival where many past thru hikers and new ones gather to share stories, gather gear from company reps and reconnect with hiking friends who may have fallen behind or pushed on ahead; it will be held the weekend of May15th this year.

The rolling hills of Virginia are in my sights and the Shennandoah mts were many hikers say 30 mile days are possible will be a welcome change.