After what seems like many days of biking through run-down, depressed towns that have somewhere along the line abandoned their main streets and embraced the strip mall, I made it into the Appalachians proper yesterday. The first town I stayed in was Troutdale, which basically consists of a supply store-cum-restaurant at a crossroads, and a church. The church had a little house behind it that serves as a shelter for bikers and (more frequently, it seems) hikers coming down from the Appalachian Trail. The supply store was a nice place to relax and refuel. Nothing on the menu cost more than $5. Since leaving New York I’ve been constantly astonished by how cheap everything is (by the time I get back I’m sure I’ll be horrified by how expensive New York is.)
Troutdale was my first real brush with AT culture. I didn’t know this, but there are quite a few people hiking the AT, and there’s a sort of social scene that springs out of people meeting each other along the trail. They give each other trail names, talk about the less usual trail itinerants (like the guy who’s walking it without shoes,) sing trail songs, and share stories. They band together in temporary hiking groups, camp together, overtake each other, leave each other behind, and take “zero days” that hold the promise of letting slower friends catch up.
A zero day is simply a day in which you cover zero miles (i.e. sit around, do your laundry, get your mail, and eat a lot.) The ultimate zero day town, apparently, is Damascus, where I find myself currently. People have been known to get stuck in Damascus for weeks, taking zero day after zero day. There’s good reason for this: for one thing, there is a plethora of free or extremely cheap hostel-type housing.
Mostly thogh, it’s because the entire town is a hiker mecca. There are signs everywhere proclaiming “Welcome Hikers!” There are multiple outfitters selling anything the hiker might need. There’s a coffee shop, a library, a couple ice cream stores, a few bars, restaurants, and in each and every shop and restaurant there’s a computer terminal with intenet access.
That is to say: I am enjoying Damascus quite a lot. It’s got all the amenities one could want. And it has a population that seems to be composed largely of former hikers and bikers who couldn’t be more welcoming, helpful, and friendly. It’s really too bad I have to hit the road.
Posted by: sam