BACK on TRAIL, TRAIL DAYS, and DAYS 23 – 28

After a busy 2 weeks of fixing the van, celebrating my spouse’s graduation, and moving, we made our way across the country to Trail Days in Damascus, VA. The van made it in one piece! AT Trail Days is a big thru-hiker celebration, with gear vendors selling discounted goods (and giveaways), mini events, camping, and parties in the woods. Many hikers try to make it, making it a great place to catch up with old friends. Pearl, Heidi, and Gabby all made it there. We caught up with them, hung out in the van, and Rachel picked up a new Hyperlite pack. Rachel and I enjoyed the people-watching around the giant fire pit and drum circle and the mini rave in the woods.

Day 24 miles 471 – 480.5 (9.5)

With the van, logistically, it seemed easier to start back again in Damascus and stitch in miles 166-471, but we had to wait until Trail Days was over to park our van, so after the town wound down, we hit the trail by late morning. Heidi hitched back to where she left off, and Pearl hiked out with us. It was a moderate climb, and I was pleased my knee felt okay. The Saunder’s shelter was packed, with 50 or so hikers. There was a large group of what we learned were college students taking a class that includes hiking 70+ miles. The professor, Hippy Kippy, studied the parallels between long-distance hiking and traditional pilgrimages. So we listened to him lecture for a bit and talked with the students before calling it a night.

Day 25 Miles 480.5 – 495.2 (14.7)

The day started around 8:30 a.m. and continued to hear our professor friend tell stories. We descended 5 miles to Laurel Creek, where the Virginia Creeper Trail (an old railroad bed turned into a bike trail) departs from the Appalachian Trail. There we took a break to swim. In the afternoon, there was a long 2.7-mile climb that crested at Buzzard Rock, offering some beautiful views. We are in the thick of the bubble, and a group of 10 hikers hung out on the crest. After a short mile, there was trail magic at a parking lot from folks who hiked in ’23: hot dogs and soda. After the first dinner, Pearl, Rachel, and I hiked another 2.5 miles to a campsite near another road. A fellow who was supporting his girlfriend was making foraged mushroom stew in a pressure cooker for even more trail magic.

Day 26 Miles 495.2 – 504.6 (9.4)

The AT dips briefly into Grayson Highland State Park where wild ponies keep the vegetation lower and the views expansive. We enjoyed the ridge walk, seeing the ponies, and cows.

A tramily that we had been keeping up with decided to make it a short day and invited us to camp with them. Pearl, Rachel, and I were convinced and set up the tent early in the day.

In the evening, a thunderstorm came with heavy rains and large hail, so we waited out the storm in our tents.

Pearl took on the trail name Centipede.

Day 27 Miles 504.6 – 524.6 (20)

We talked about hiking 16 miles to make it to Marion in 2 days (What we had food for). 

Rachel’s ankles hurt and my knee hurt so it was a long day of hiking, in the middle of which, we get drenched by a storm. 

By the time we got to our initially planned campsite, Centipede appeared to have hiked on to where the Tramily we had been with talked about going, Trimpi shelter. We debated and finally elected to hike the extra miles to make it an easy day tomorrow. 

Also, we “forded” (it was really small compared to West Coast fords) below a waterfall, and saw many mushrooms. 

Day 28 Miles 524.6 – 534.6 (10)

Everything was muddy, but it was a relatively flat day. We hiked into Mount Rogers Recreational Area HQ where we waited for a shuttle into Marion. A previous hiker brought out pizza, drinks, and snacks as trail magic while we waited for the shuttle. We headed to Walmart to resupply, split a run down hotel with Pearl, went to wash clothes, ate dinner at a Mexican Restaurant, and lavished in town comforts.