The road to Damascus

I'm posting this from the library here in Damascus, VA, the site of the massive Trail Days celebration which officially starts this weekend. Its pretty exciting being here, having passed into my 4th state on the trail and reaching the first big milestone; at 470 miles in, this is essentially the quarter mark. The road here from Erwin, TN, has been interesting with several waterfalls, lots of good people and some strange situations.
Its taken awhile, but everyone seems to have found their pace at the moment and as a result some groups have formed up. There are quite a few people who I've been traveling with lately, as we've all been keeping the same pace to get here in time for the festivities. Bad Dinner, Geoff, Wookie, Wasabi, Mike, Matchstick, Red Eyes... and many others that I hope to see more of as things progress here. After the festival however, it seems like everyone is going to scatter, and there will be many new faces on the trail as well, so we'll see how that goes.
Highlights for this section have been some great riverwalks, including one down a small rock gorge with overhanging rhododendron trees, several balds with nice views, an awsome shelter in a convertaed barn at the head of a long valley, and a challenging hike to the top of Roan Mt. in the wind and fog. The trees are getting their leaves, and the "long green tunnel" is beginning to emerge, yet another milestone to tally up. Unfortunately, time on the computers is limited and I have to go, but hopefully I'll have the opportunity to post again before I leave here and keep everyone updated on the goings on in town. Talk to you later.