June 5th: Another day in Damascus

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Honest business men are sometimes hard to find. We spent the day in Damascus
going over our gear trying to lighten things up a little. CC now has a pack that
fits and is about two pounds lighter, we both have lighter sleeping bags. The
three man tent will be replaced with a four pound lighter two man tent. I took
my pack down to the outfitters for evaluation and possible trade in on a lighter
one.
The owner of the place was quite friendly while he and I sat going over how I
packed and what I carried. He spent about an hour with me; and in the end, he told
me he could not in good faith sell me anything. What I have is about the best
pack I could have, and the weight I could save would mean a much less comfortable
pack. He did however notice that the shoulder straps that came with the pack
were defective. He knows the owner of the company who makes my pack who had
alerted him of some lower quality straps that had made it past QC. He replaced
mine with new ones free of charge and sent me on my way.
He talked with CC and I on how our hike was going and if there were any other
concerns we had. CC brought up her shoe saga and feet problems. He asked her to
come in later in the afternoon and he would size her feet, so the next time she
needed boots she could get the proper fit. He said he wouldn't try to sell her
any shoes, but just wanted her to be able to have the correct size shoes. We
returned to the store about 4:30PM and Jeff (the owner) spent almost an hour
with CC going over her feet and shoe choices. He told her that her arch is so
high she needs a custom insert to make any boot fit. He helped us make an
appointment in nearby Abington so she could get the insert made when we return
from graduation. True to his word, he did not try to sell us any boots.
We did the normal town things like laundry and general clean up tasks in
addition to the outfitter things. For the most part it was a lazy day. Tomorrow
we will head off for Alabama and Florida.

Patrick, Deborah Mooney aka OD & CC
All Who Wander Are Not Lost

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