Thacker Babble: Camping at the Creeper

This blog post is a overdue and chronologically out of order. Are you impressed with my vocabulary? What can I say? The dude (that's me) has been having fun, slowing down only to sleep and practice my vocabulary words. Ok so I'm kidding about the vocabulary words. I can do those while I'm on the go too.

On Saturday, April 23, Paul, Mom and I loaded up Paul's car with a bike, a bike trailer, and camping gear. We were headed further into the mountains of God's country - southwest Virginia, about 17 miles east of Abingdon, VA - to a little town called Damascus, VA. Damascus is well known among the thru-hikers of the Appalachian Trail as it is about the halfway point between Springer Mountain, Georgia and Mt. Katahdin, Maine.

We had lunch in town, rented a hybrid bike for Mom, set up camp at the Beartree Campground in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, and hit the Virginia Creeper trail.

The trail is an old railroad that has been converted to a trail. The trail got its name from the pace at which the trains used to go up the 17 mile stretch of railroad between Damascus and Whitetop. Most people take a shuttle up to Whitetop and ride downhill all the way to Damascus, but we had to be different. We jumped on the trail about 7 miles down from the top and started climbing. Let's just say the ride down the 7 miles was MUCH faster. On Sunday, we started in Damascus and climbed the 10 miles up that we didn't cover on Saturday. Again the miles flew by on the way back down. Plus on Sunday, I sat on a pillow to cushion the little bumps in the trail. All in all we logged 34 miles! Here's some photos of our weekend.

Weekend Chariot

Bridge break

We crossed over 30+ bridges as the Virginia Creeper Trail winds its way back and forth over the creeks. The creeks help keep the air cool and the shade of the trees was divine.

Sing it with me, "Digging ditches, pulling switches, dodging pitches, as I was working on the railway."
(me at Green Cove Station)

If you're a railroad buff in this area, you've most likely heard of O. Winston Link. His photography is amazing. The Green Cove Station is the subject of a couple of his photos. Here's a link to check 'em out. http://vacreepertrail.us/greencove/gclink.html

Taking a break from the Creeper Trail (in the background) and hiking uphill for a view

Cheesin' on the bench with Mom

The view

Christmas tree farm in the background that smelled oh-SO-good and made for a great game of hide and seek with Mom

Soaking up the creek views - yes, I HAD to put my feet in the water to be convinced that the water was still WAY too cold to jump in

Back at camp and rehydrating

Having a little chat

Speaking of chat, I need to catch you up on the success of my potty training. My Mater underwear is faring much better these days as I am consistently peeing and pooping in the potty. However we all know that when you're camping, the potty facilities may be scarce at times. I have discovered that the world is my urinal. Being a boy, I can pee on anything, any time, anywhere...alongside the Creeper trail, my backyard, my front yard, the u-pick strawberry patch. Yep. The world is my urinal. While out on the Creeper trail, I also learned that firepit rocks make a fine place for balancing while squatting down to take a poo. Before Mom could get up from her resting spot to find a more "private spot", I had balanced a pile of poo on a firepit rock and declared, "It looks like peanut butter." Needless to say we've had a few giggles over that one and a few conversations about when and where it is appropriate to pee and poo outside. All of these rules...