Mile 724.0 Daleville, VA

Fri 5/16 - Mon 5/19

Trail Days, Damascus 

For several days each year in May, thousands of hikers make there way back to Damascus for the festival. Trail Days is the largest gathering of long distance hikers in the world. My friend Ryan, a 2013 thru hiker, picked me up from Laurel Creek on his way down from Connecticut on Thursday.

Ryan and I worked together in 2010 at Baxter State Park, the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. Several of us from that summer have thru hiked the trail. Here, I am with Neal and Ryan. Neal is hiking this year. 

I set up my tent in a big field. This is tent city.

Venders have booths set up all over town. There was a ton of gear giveaways. Here, Backpacker Magazine is raffling off what seemed like an endless supply of backpacks filled with awesome gear. Unfortunately, my name was not called. 

However, I did score a free hat from OR and Darn Tough socks and a t-shirt from Vasque. Black Diamond wasn't selling gear but I got a new headlamp from for $10 on Sunday as they were packing up. Free gear repair was offered. I left my trekking poles with LEKI and they replaced everything except the handles. There was a shower truck set up and laundry services were provided. I got a free haircut. There were plenty of things for hikers to do this weekend. There was a hiker parade an Saturday. People got dressed up and there were water guns and a piñata filled with chicken nuggets and Honeybuns.

There was an opportunity to sign up to do trail work. It's called Hardcore. If you want to work Hatdcore, you need to sign up Saturday morning at 9 am. They only take 100 people and the slots fill up fast. This is an opportunity to work with Bob Peoples. Hikers get shuttled to the worksite on Sunday, work for a couple days, and get shuttled back to the trail. There were talks throughout the weekend. Gene Espy, the second thru hiker talked about his 1951 thru hike. Warren Doyle gave a talk about his 16 thru hikes of the AT. There was a talent show- singing, dancing, comedy. There was contra dancing Saturday night and free concerts. I missed out many of these festivities. One can't do everything. It was a lot to do and I needed a break. There were drum circles around the fire going on all night. 

I needed Monday just to recover. The weekend was fun but exhausting. Blu and Daytripper felt the same way.

After taking five zero days, I got a shuttle back to the trail from Miss Janet with 16 of us crammed into her van.

Tues 5/20

I hiked about 20 miles and camped with others just beyond the 600 mile mark.

Wed 5/21

I hiked 14 miles to Wapiti Shelter. I had wanted to go farther but took a side trail to Dismal Falls and spent several hours  enjoying the falls. 

Thurs 5/22

I woke up early and hiked seven miles to Wood's Hole Hostel. Here is a hostel on an organic farm that offers communal meals including fresh salad picked daily from their gardens, free yoga, freshly roasted coffee, and massage therapy. 

The hostel is run by Neville and her husband, Michael. 

Neville's grandparents used to own the property and Neville and Mike have been running it for the past five years. When I arrived in the morning, a yoga session was in progress. The dog was doing it too! Downward facing dog.

There are animals on the farm as well. 

Right after this photo was taken, the chicken on the right crossed the road (and none of us know why). For dinner, we had Mexican fiesta. I found El Borrego hanging out at the hostel. I had hiked with Borrego some through the Smokies and hung out with him in Hot Springs. Borrego has to leave the trail, temporally, to recover from a burn caused by spilling an alcohol stove on himself.

There are many hazards on the Appalachian Trail that a thru hiker must try and avoid. I've mentioned a couple already. Here is another: murder. At the Wapiti shelter, where I slept last night, two people were murdered. In 1981, a man by the name of Randall Lee Smith shot and stabbed two hikers to death during the night. Smith was convicted of second degree murder and served 15 years in prison. Smith was released on probation in 2006 only to attempt another double murder within two miles of the same shelter.

Fri 5/23

I woke up for breakfast in the morning. They had farm fresh eggs and homemade bread. The Piñata Party crew showed up in the afternoon. Beth came up to spend the weekend. We had a nice curry and rice dinner followed by some singing songs around the campfire after dark. Beth now has a trail name, Not Yet. Southbound asked Beth if she had a trail name and she replied, "Not yet."

Sat 5/24

After breakfast, Beth and I got a ride to Pearisburg for a 10 mile slackpack back to the hostel. We had a great hike with some nice views. The Piñata Party passed us going north. Beth and I made it back just in time for dinner. 

Sun 5/25

Beth led a morning yoga session. In the afternoon, everyone staying at the hostel went to a big Memorial Day picnic in town. It was a beautiful day and the group just hung out and ate food. It was pretty much what I imagined a southern Memorial Day picnic to be like. This was a church event with a large tent with tables and chairs, band playing on a trailer hitched to a dump truck, and a ton of food. We ate a lot of food.

Then we went back to the hostel and ate more food. Guthook, who was staying at the hostel this weekend shared his experience with food during his 2007 thru hike. You gorge yourself with food to the point where if you take one more bite, you'll throw up, and then two days later, you recall the experience and regret not finishing that sandwich. Guthook is the creator of the interactive trail guide app for the iPhone.

Mon 5/26

Neville gave me a ride to Pearisburg where I resupplied at the grocery store and got back on the trail. I walked through the historic Pearisburg cemetery which includes the grave of Captian George Pearis, for whom the town is named, as well as a dozen other civil war veterans. I found another trail cat. This one ran right up to me and followed me for a while. 

Here is another beautiful view from the trail. This factory produces cigarette filters.

I ended up hiking seven miles to Rice Field Shelter and shared the shelter with Shroomer who is working on finishing his triple crown. Shroomer is from Martinez, California. Martinez is known for three things:

1. Invention of the martini. 

2. Birthplace of Joe DiMaggio

3. Home of John Muir

Shroomer, comparing the AT with the other two trails, says that he likes the AT just as much. The AT is more difficult but the other trails require more planning and are more dangerous.

Tues 5/27

I hiked 16 miles to Bailey Gap Shelter. The 12 miles in the morning were slow. I thought it was me it wasn't. The trail was rocky and not well maintained through this section. There were comments is the shelter log such as:

"12 miles in 7 hrs, a personal worst."

"This trail needs Bob Peoples [the infamous trail maintainer] and Bob Peoples needs this trail." 

In the afternoon, I passed the Captain's house. The Captain invites hikers to camp on his property and has a zip line set up so we can cross over onto his property.

Wed 5/28

In the morning, I passed Mountain Lake, the location for the filming of Dirty Dancing. I took a nap at War Spur Shelter and ate lunch. I enjoyed view on Kelly Knob. I night hiked through some pastures making 17 miles and camped with Jukebox and Litttefoot who have recently been doing longer mile days. Jukebox met a girl at Trail Days and has been is pink blazing ever since. The AT has white blazes marking the trail but there are some other terms to familiarize yourself with:

Blue blazing- taking a side trail to bypass a section of trail.

Yellow blazing- hitching a ride or taking a road, bypassing a section of trail by following the yellow lines.

Pink blazing- slowing down or speeding up for the purpose of meeting up with a female hiker.

Aqua blazing- bypassing a section of trail via a waterway.

Thurs 5/29

I hiked 10 miles to Niday Shelter. I took lots of breaks and hiked a little bit with Glorious Laughter and Studmuffin. It rained in the evening and I didn't feel like hiking any farther today. 

Fri 5/30

I hiked today with Hot Pop. We came across the Audie Murphy Monument on the top of Brush Mountain. Audie Murphy was the most decorated American soldier of World War II and died in a plane crash near this site. At the bottom of the mountain we crossed a stream that had a chair. When you see a chair in the middle of the woods, you have to sit in it. There were a couple benches on the top of the last mountain as well. They were only about a 100 yards apart but I sat in both of them. I hiked up to Dragons Tooth on Cove Mountain. This is a stone monolith overlooking the town below. 

The descent from here was the most technical I've experienced so far on the AT.

I got down to the road just in time for a ride to the Homeplace Restaurant. 

This place served up family style all you can eat country meals. Everyone there was dressed up and then here we come, the dirty and smelly hikers. I stayed the night at 4 Pines Hostel where I met up once again with the Piñata Party. This hostel is run by Joe, a railroad worker and old alpaca farmer. He has a 3 bay garage with cots and a shower and takes donations.

Sat 5/31

The Piñata party was getting shuttled to Daleville and they took my pack with them in the morning so I could slackpack the 26 miles and meet up with them in Daleville. I passed the 700 mile mark and hiked to McAfee Knob. 

McAfee Knob is the most photographed point on the AT. I saw more day hikers here than anywhere else on the trail. Tinkers Cliffs, which I hiked across a few miles later, is a half mile of cliff walking. I shared a room at the Howard Johnson with Big Sexy, Southbound, and Smoky.

Sun 6/1

Just hung out in town all day. Dinner at the Mexican restaurant across the street. We stayed a second night at the hotel.

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.