Miles: 470 | A frustrating morning of missed shuttles and waiting gives way to a slow, snowy hike back toward Damascus and a much-needed resupply. Exhausted and overstimulated by town options, I land back at the Broken Fiddle, where a mix of kindness, flexibility, and work-for-stay turns the day around. Between shared pizza, familiar faces, and a solid bunk earned the old-fashioned way, the day ends feeling unexpectedly steady and earned.
Woodchuck didn’t show up to pick me up at 8am and wasn’t answering his phone. The other shuttles in the area were more than I wanted to pay. I sat around the hostel waiting for him to call me back or show up. I ate some toast and eggs that some other hikers left behind. I blogged. I packed my bag over again. He finally answered his phone around 11 and said he must have double booked.
He had another shuttle that morning at 8am too that went an hour away. He told me to walk over and get cash on the way and he would drive me. I was a little bit annoyed but I wanted to get hiking so I could resupply on my way through town. I walked the half mile over to woodchucks. I left my pack at his hostel and he drove me with a borrowed slackpack back up to Low Gap.
I hiked slowly. I called La Sportiva about my newly ripped shoes to see if I couldn’t get a warranty replacement. They asked me to email them some photos and said, “Don’t worry we will get you new shoes.”
Satisfied, I walked on. I walked through light snow all morning eventually the sun came out and the snowy ground turned into damp soil.
I made it to the Tennessee / Virginia border and officially walked into Damascus. I went back to Woodchuck’s to pick up my pack. It was 4pm. I really wanted to head out of town this day and camp on the trail but I was exhausted and he terrain out of town did not look super easy. I went to Dollar General and got the rest of my resupply.
I went to The Place to check it out. It was a very old and moldy church building that was unheated. It was pretty warm out so the heat wasn’t a concern but I immediately started sneezing when I walked in. There were no mattresses on the bunks here, just platforms to put your sleeping pads on. For someone who wasn’t picky it was only $7 and could be a great deal but I didn’t really want to be there.
I went outside and repackaged my food on some picnic tables. A church member came over to make sure I wasn’t smoking as I sat next to a ‘No Smoking’ sign. I really wanted to just go back to the Broken Fiddle. Maybe I could tent for cheap. I conferred with Savage and Poe, who I ran into on the way into town to see what they were doing. Josh and Tang had also said they’d let me know where they were staying if I wanted. They never texted me back.
I went back to Broken Fiddle, thinking worst comes to worse I could just tent in their yard for cheap. On my way there I ran into Fixed Gear. An older male hiker from Puerto Rico. He said he was going over to Broken Fiddle to use their washer and dryer and cook some dinner. He offered to share his frozen pizza with me and I told him I’d grab ya a couple beers to share. I dropped off my pack at Broken Fiddle and left Fixed Gear to make his pizza.
On my way to the store to get beer I came across a rental house next to Crazy Larry’s Hostel where a bunch of hikers were in the back yard having a barbecue. Nomad waved me over. Helix, Josh, Tang, Chef, Sunshine (with the brown hair), Twinkle, Mark, Little Foot, and a few others were all gathered in the yard.
They had all rented the house together and got it down to like $10 per person and most people got a bed or a couch. Tang apologized for forgetting to text me back. Honestly, I was kind of glad he did. I didn’t want to share a 3 bedroom house with 15+ hikers. It sounded like an overwhelming disaster to me.
The barbecue seemed awesome and it was nice that they got the cost down but I couldn’t handle a social situation like that very well. I said my hellos and they told me to come back later if I wanted to eat some leftovers. I went on to the store to get beer.
When I got back to the Broken Fiddle one of the hostel workers was there. He had just put the sheets and towels from yesterday in the dryer. We offered to share our pizza and beer with him. He sat and ate with us and told us about his AT experience. We chatted about the trail for a while.
After we ate, he asked if we would be staying. Fixed Gear explained that he was staying at The Place and that he was just doing his laundry and leaving $5. I said I wasn’t sure but I couldn’t afford another night in a bunk as much as I wanted one. He asked if I knew how to make a bed. I said, “of course.” He said if I made the rest of the beds and threw all the sheets and towels that got used tonight in the wash in the morning that I could stay in a bunk for the same price as tenting. I took him up on the offer. Fixed Gear helped me make the beds and then we went over to the barbecue to help them finish their leftovers.
After socializing there for a bit we went back to Broken Fiddle. I needed to get some blogging done and Fixed Gear wanted to watch a movie. When we arrived we found Tangerine in the living room. She was watching Bring It On! and eating her dinner. We joined her. I got a few posts ready and made a plan for my next week. After the movie Tangerine and Fixed Gear pocked our another movie. I showered and went to my bunk.
Later, Savage and Poe arrived and tented outside with Spartacus. I went to bed early this night.
1. Work for stay
2. Free food
3. Good night sleep