AT Mile 470 – Hardcore Damascus

On Thursday we arrived in Damascus, VA, for Trail Days. Hiking in felt like a strange pilgrimage to Mecca. Section hikers flock to get a few days of hiking in before or after the festival, and thru-hikers far and wide plan to either hike in on time or travel from other areas on trail. Hiking enthusiasts come from all over the country, and previous thru-hikers have alumni reunions. It’s the biggest party for hiker trash that’s ever been thrown.

In addition, my friends and I signed up for Hardcore Damascus, a two-day trail work volunteer program with Konnarock Trail Crew and the ATC. It was an incredibly rewarding and humbling experience. I’m thrilled we volunteered our time. I’ll never look at a clean section of trail or a set of rock steps the same.

Tent City

The most remarkable part of Trail Days, aside from the dirty hikers, is Tent City. The woods behind the ball fields quickly begin to look like scenes from old episodes of Survivor. There are strange and slightly dangerous competitions, hundreds of oddly dressed and dirty people wandering about, huge bonfires, and tons of food, drink, and questionable substances consumed. Drum circles begin at sundown each night and seem to go on infinitely. Listening to the dull, thudding heartbeat of drunk people banging on industrial plastic drums, I can’t help but marvel at the community the Appalachian Trail has created.

Tent City before—Eeyore and Yoshi when we arrived on Thursday afternoon.

Tent City after—Saturday afternoon

Trail Days was super fun. We walked in a parade, hung out with our friends, and partied a little. Isaac attempted Trekking Pole Javelin in Tent City, which was hilarious. Our friend Yuengling dominated—evidently he did javelin in high school.

Yoshi throwing with beautiful form.

Trail Legs

I suppose at this point we’ve become accustomed to hiking. I’m also at a point when I’m never not hungry. I’m either ravenous or “Yeah, I could definitely eat.” I can’t quite put down an entire large pizza, so I guess I’m not at hiker hunger level yet. But my metabolism is certainly impressive.

I am finally at a place where hiking is just, ya know, hiking. It’s not exhausting anymore. In fact, it feels good most of the time. 

Hardcore

During Trail Days Isaac convinced me and the guys we’ve been hiking with to sign up for Hardcore trail maintenance. Hardcore is a couple of work days with Konnarock Trail Crew that is held every year after Trail Days.

This year we worked in the Grayson Highlands, an incredibly gorgeous stretch of trail in Southern Virginia. True to Grayson Highlands tradition, we were harassed by ponies on our lunch break.

They came for our snacks with an adorable vengeance.

Turtle was NOT amused.

Most of the work was moving big rocks and creating a few stone steps. It’s incredible how much work that takes. I am so glad we took the time to volunteer, because it honestly makes me appreciate the trail so much more. Countless hours have been spent making this trail beautiful, and it’s great that we get to enjoy it.

I painted my first white blaze!

Konnarock works year-round to keep a huge section of the trail in working order, and during the summer they have multiple weeks of volunteer work that you can sign up for. I cannot recommend volunteering with them enough. Just be prepared for tough work.

In Other News

We did some other cool stuff this week, too.

We officially left Tennessee! The next few months will be the longest time I’ve ever spent out of my home state.

The mountain laurel and rhododendrons are in bloom, and it’s awesome.

We went through some incredible country on the TN/VA border this week. This barn is an AT icon, and for good reason.

This is the view from the trail by that barn. This farmer has it made!

Oh, and we saw our first bear yesterday! It was hanging out by the water source near Saunders Shelter right outside of Damascus.

We also made the discovery that Katahdin should be open by next week, so the time has come. This Saturday our friend is picking us up and we’re headed to DC to catch a train to Maine. It’s flip-flop time!

Affiliate Disclosure

This website contains affiliate links, which means The Trek may receive a percentage of any product or service you purchase using the links in the articles or advertisements. The buyer pays the same price as they would otherwise, and your purchase helps to support The Trek's ongoing goal to serve you quality backpacking advice and information. Thanks for your support!

To learn more, please visit the About This Site page.

Comments 3

  • Storyteller : May 24th

    Awesome update. So glad to hear that you and NaB are still pushing north and having fun.

    Reply
    • Phoebe "Unicorn" Anderson : May 27th

      Thanks Storyteller!! Appreciate you rooting for us 🙂

      Reply
  • Pete : Jul 21st

    Great pix! Hope you’re enjoying the White Mountains.

    Reply

What Do You Think?