Erwin, TN to Damascus, VA

The start of this stretch was pretty easy, except that it decided to rain, a lot, and it got cold. By cold, I mean snow. I woke up at the Clyde Smith shelter ready to tackle roan mountain, and when I woke up there was snow on the ground. As I started to gain more elevation there was more and more snow. At the top of roan mountain there is a shelter, dubbed the highest shelter on the AT, so I had to stop. At this point my feet were soaked, cold, and about to fall off. I changed my socks, had a quick lunch and then Signpost (a hiker from Boston) and I literally ran off the mountain.

We hiked 7 more miles to Overmountain shelter. Overmountain has some Civil War history to it, so I wanted to stay there, plus the shelter itself is an old tobacco barn. The views here were not to shabby. The next morning we hiked over numerous balds that had more great views, my battery died on my phone so sorry no pictures. We hiked down to the Town of Roan Mountain, got a burger and a milkshake, did a quick 3 day resupply and left town. That day we hiked about 18 miles and also got to meet back up again with Purple Heart.

There are good days and bad days, not unlike the “real world”. You can’t let the bad days get you too low, and the good days get you too high.

Each day is a new journey on the trail, a new destination. Each day you are traveling to a new location, so not every day is the same, even though it may seem the same (today I get up and hike, just like I did yesterday). The destination differs, you see new people, you hear new stories, and you never know what the day will bring. I think that’s what I like most about the trail so far, the unexpected, the actual journey.

So right now I’m in Damascus, right in time for Trail Days. Ive already met some really inspiring people and hope to meet some tomorrow. I know some authors will be in town, that I really want to talk to.

Pro Tip:

Eat your heavy food first.

Also, pictures can be found on the Instagram at AlanJGoodwin.

Also, next blog I have something cool planned, so stay tuned.

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Comments 1

  • TBR : May 13th

    “Eat your heavy food first” — that made me laugh. True and good advice.

    Reply

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