Mile 580.5 Laurel Creek, VA

Wed 5/7

We camped last night at a campsite a half mile outside of town. It's so easy to get stuck in these little towns, especially in a town like Damascus. Progress is made each time we leave, even if it's only half a mile. We saw a trail cat on the hike up to the campsite. 

It's not unheard of for people to be hiking with cats. Some even complete thru hikes with them! Here's a photo of a hiker a few years ago that just put his cat on the top of his pack and hiked with it. 

People thru hike with all sorts of stuff. The strangest thing I've heard of was a man who thru hiked with a tuba. In 2000, Super Scott the Tuba Man hiked southbound with a 30 lb tuba! Today our group spent a couple hours relaxing at the river which included lunch and naptime on some rocks.

I hiked back to the trail after this. The rest of the guys continued on the Creeper Trail along the river. The Creeper Trail is a 35 mile multi purpose rail trail that goes through Damascus. 

By hiking the Creeper Trail, they bypassed a mountain and were able to stop for ice cream and burgers at a place along the trail. I spent the night at Lost Mtn Shelter. 14 miles for the day. 

Thurs 5/8

Today I hiked alone 12 miles to Thomas Knob Shelter. This has been one of my favorite days out here so far. Lots of awesome views.

The AT skirts around the summit of Mt. Rogers, Virginia's high point. There is a side trail that takes us a half mile to the summit. I wasn't planning on doing it ended up doing it anyway. Besides being the high point in VIrginia, there is really nothing special about the top of Mt. Rogers. There are no views from the top, not even a sign marking the summit. All we get is a little geological marker at the top. But I knew this was the case before I went up anyway. Apparently, I had nothing better to do besides perhaps taking a nap at the nearby shelter (or hiking the remaining 1690.3 miles to Maine). The AT passes over several other state high points: 

Clingmans Dome, Tennessee 

High Point, New Jersey

Mount Greylock, Massachusetts 

Mt. Washington, New Hampshire 

Mt. Katahdin, Maine

I also saw some ponies! The little pony in this photo was only a few days old and still didn't have her teeth.

Fri 5/9

Today we hiked the Grayson Highlands many more ponies. There were lots of heards grazing throughout the park. 

I hiked 16 miles today and slept at Hurricane Mtn. Shelter. Today we passed the 500 mile milestone.

Sat 5/10

I rained most of the day as we did 20 miles to Partnership Shelter and ordered pizza. 

Reason #16 to hike the AT: You can call and have pizza delivered right to the shelter. I ate a large pizza and breadsticks. It was a pretty nice shelter too- a double decker with a shower. 

Sun 5/11

Big Spoon called a cab to take us to Marion. There is usually a 50¢ shuttle to town but they don't come on Sundays. We went did laundry and ate lunch at a Mexican restaurant. Here we are goofing off at the laundromat. Thru hikers doing laundry is loads of fun (pun intended)!

At the Mexican restaurant, Big Sexy ordered the "special dinner for 2" and ate it all by himself. I had ate fajitas and had fried ice cream for dessert. We spent the night at a cheap motel with all six of us in one room. 

Mon 5/12

I took the 2:30 shuttle back to the trail. The rest of the crew stayed in Marion an extra night but I didn't want to take two zero days in town so I left. I met up with K-Wamp and hiked until we got to an old farm and set up camp. We got some nice views and hiked through rhododendron tunnels along a stream. The rhododendron is now starting to bloom. We hiked about 9 miles today.

Tues 5/13

In the morning we came across an old one-room schoolhouse. There was trail magic inside provided by a couple whose son thru hiked last year. The man's great grandfather used to teach there.

We were told that hikers are welcome to camp anywhere on this property. This included the 1890 farm where we stayed last night. There is also a museum here that hikers get to visit for free.

We hiked across a stream and took a break to jump in the water.

I found my first tick crawling on me. I know ticks are a big problem on the AT but I was really hoping to not have to worry about them just yet. The moment I crossed over to Virginia was the moment the bugs came out. The bugs are only going to get worse as we hike north. I hiked 17 miles with K-Wamp to Knot Maul Branch Shelter.

Wed 5/14

After a 2000 ft climb, we took a break under a tree. The climb up in the morning was tough but the heat is making it even more difficult. I continued climbing and arrived at Chestnut Knob Shelter at the top. Chestnut shelter is made of concrete and is fully enclosed with cables in place to secure the roof. I imagine it gets pretty windy up here.

At the shelter, I took another nap and ate dinner. I night hiked an additional 15 miles and camped just passed Laurel Creek. My friend, Ryan, thru hiked last year and is driving down from Connecticut for Trail Days. Trail Days is a big hiker festival in Damascus. Ryan is picking me up from here to take me to Trail Days.

Thurs 5/15

Ryan picked me up at 6am to drive me to Damascus. It rained all day. The festival doesn't start until Friday. The venders were setting up and people were slowly starting to trickle in. Hikers come back to Damascus from wherever they are along the trail. We set out tents up in a field called tent city. Tent city will soon be packed full with tents. Tents will be set up all over the town- in the woods and on people's front lawns. There was a shower truck available for hikers and free haircuts were being offered to hikers. I showered and got my hair cut. Ryan met a friend that he hiked with from last year and the three of us went to dinner at Pizza Plus. In the evening, a video of last year's hike was shown. 

  

Mile 468.5 Damascus, VA

Wed 4/30

Yesterday was my birthday. Today the group paid for my breakfast at the B&B. it was the best breakfast I've had yet! They wake up and start preparing breakfast at 4:30 every morning. It was quite a feast.

I hiked 25 miles today with a girl named Tortoise. There was a small group that was slackpacking to the next hostel. For a fee, you can have your packs dropped off farther down the trail and hike without a backpack. It's called 'slackpacking' but I call it 'snackpacking' because you take a small daypack and fill it with snacks. I didn't slackpack but I did hike the 25 miles with them. Within one's day hike, I saw many new flowers and changes in the landscape.

Thurs 5/1

I felt great last night but was left feeling wiped out this morning. I just hung out at the hostel all day and took a couple naps outside. I was at the Kincora hostel. The hostel is owned by Bob Peoples. Bob is another legendary member of the trail community. For a $5 donation, you get a bed, shower, laundry, and a shuttle to town. The name comes from the Celtic word meaning kinship of the heart. Bob Peoples, originally from Boston and complete with a thick Boston accent, travelled the length of the trail in search of a location to have a hostel. Bob takes thru hikers out to the trail and does trail work with them. Bob puts in hundreds of hours doing trail work each year. The writings found scribbled on the inside the shelter walls along the AT are epic:

"Bears hang Bob Peoles' bear bags for him." 

"When Bob Peoples builds a switchback, an angel gets its wings."

"When Bob Peoples hikes, mountains take notice."

Over 20,000 hikers have been through Kincora since it opened 18 years ago. The walls and ceiling of the hostel are covered with postcards and thank you letters from past thru hikers.

I enjoyed hearing Bob tell stories about his hikes of El Camino Santiago and Portugal. Also working at the hostel is a man named Lumpy. Lumpy has thru done the trail twice and has two pieces of advice for fellow thru hikers:

(1) Say "yes" to everything. If someone offers you a ride into town, do it, even if you weren't planning a town trip. You never know what good may become of it.

(2) Always take candy from strangers. They've got the good stuff: Snickers, Butterfingers, etc.

Fri 5/2

I left Kincora, hiked past a really nice waterfall, and made it to Watauga Lake. There were picnic tables, bathrooms, and a swimming area. 

Beth came up from Asheville to hike with me for a couple days. We camped at Watauga Lake Shelter. 10 miles for the day.

Sat 5/3

We hiked about 12 miles today, most of which was uphill. We stopped at Vandeventer Shelter to cook dinner. Nice views were had at this shelter as well.

We did some night hiking and camped at Turkeypen Gap for a total of 12 miles.

Sun 5/4

We hiked 15 miles to Double Spring Gap and hiked some pretty sweet green pastures.

Mon 5/5

Beth and I finally made it to Damascus. We did about 13 miles. 

I picked up my resupply package at Mt. Rogers Outfitters. I got some food, a new pair of shoes, and my summer sleeping bag. I mailed home my winter bag.

Beth and I ate at a pizza buffet and then camped outside at Woodchuck's Hostel. Woodchuck is thru hiker that moved from Maine to open a hostel here in Damascus.

And here is Beth. Beth took a hike with Mike.

Tues 5/6

Beth went back to Asheville and I spent the day at a coffee shop with the Piñata Party Posse. That's the name of our little hiking group. We sat there all day until the shop closed. And then we sat outside a little longer. AT hikers are often referred to as "hiker trash." This term describes the type of people that we now have become. We simply have a lower standard of living.

We are hiker trash.

We have Ziplock bags for wallets.

We take toilet paper from public restrooms.

We choose where to eat based on whether a restaurant has wi-fi and electrical outlets.

We smell bad and don't shower very often.

We will gladly eat a stranger's leftovers from a restaurant.

We walk around town in our underwear because we are washing the rest of our clothes.