Days 29-32: Roan Mountain, TN to Damascus, VA

Trail Town, USA

I made it to Damascus! Yesterday I crossed the border from Tennessee to Virginia and now I’m taking my third zero of the trail here just across the border at mile 470. Damascus is a tiny little place-the trail runs right through the one street that essentially comprises the town. In May, Damascus hosts Trail Days, a huge festival where thousands of past and present thru-hikers convene, but now it’s a cute, sleepy little town. I hadn’t planned on zeroing here, but after pushing miles hard these past few days my body—especially my feet—was definitely ready for a rest. I rented a private room and so I’ve been enjoying the first personal space and privacy I’ve had since being on trail, spreading out my clothes and watching Parenthood and Queer Eye.

Acts of Kindness

Before I left for the trail, a common refrain that I heard was “if you want your faith in humanity restored, hike the Appalachian Trail.” Being out here has made me see the truth in that statement. I’ve talked about trail magic before, which is a perfect example—people spending their own money and dedicating their time to cook food for hikers. In particular, I’ve gotten to know Fresh Ground: since 2013 he’s been pretty famous on trail for his Leap Frog Cafe. He drives his van around to trailheads and road crossings cooking banana pancakes and grilled cheeses all along the trail—he goes all the way up to Maine! Yesterday, 5 miles into my 26.2-mile day into Damascus, he showed up to cook breakfast. I was the first hiker there, so we chatted just the two of us while he made me obscene amounts of food, and he told me that his calling was to feed hikers, and to make everyone feel loved. I’ll say, I definitely felt loved by him after eating 6 pancakes, a bowl of egg and potato skillet, an orange, a banana, and 2 cups of Gatorade, but I didn’t love myself as much during the next 20 miles feeling all that food sloshing around in my stomach.

That same day I met an older, local man who was out for a run through the beautiful pastures just past where I met Fresh Ground. He asked me my trail name and talked to me about where I was from, and he seemed so excited for me on my journey. As I was leaving, he wished me well on my hike and said that he would pray for me. Without getting too deep into faith on this blog, I’ll just say that I’m not a religious person, and certainly I’m not Christian, but I thought that what that man said was very touching: it was very meaningful to me that he wanted to support me in his way. And it was a moment where I saw a way of life that has not been common to me until this trail, since I’ve never spent time in conservative places until now. And being a part of new experiences is what this trail is all about.

Physical Challenge

There are 75 miles between Roan Mountain, where I posted my last update, and here in Damascus. I covered those miles in 3 days and 2 nights, broken up into days of 26.6 miles, 22.6 miles, and 26.2 miles each. This was easily the biggest mile stretch I’ve done so far. It was awesome getting to camp each day after hiking all day and feeling worn out in the best way possible, but it was also super tough: I got some gnarly blisters the first day, and I won’t lie and say the last 5 or so miles each day we’re anything but me wanting to be done. My mom asked me after the second day if this mileage was what I wanted to be doing. And the answer to that is definitely yes: the AT is all about challenge, and I’m realizing that can mean different things. Sometimes the challenge is dealing with cold or wet days, and sometimes it’s physical. This was an instance of me challenging myself physically to see if I could take the miles to the next level. And it felt amazing to say that I could do that!

When I got to Damascus, though, I was pretty done, so I rewarded myself with goldfish, yogurt pretzels, airheads, chocolate mints, and apple-cinnamon scones.

Signs of Spring

One of the amazing things about being on the trail every day for such an extended period of time is getting to gradually watch the seasons change. When I started in March, not only was it cold but most all of the trees were barren (except the rhododendron, I have no idea how they stay green all year round) and I saw virtually no wildlife. Over time I’ve started hearing more birds chirping and seen trees budding. Over the past few days, these beautiful little white followers have been popping up all over, making sections of trail look almost blanketed in snow from afar. I’ve also seen a few deer roaming around in the early mornings!

Up Next

I’m headed into the rain and to the Grayson Highlands. I’m crossing my fingers I see a pony!