Miles: 483.6 | An early, peaceful morning in Damascus turns into one of my strongest hiking days yet. With a lighter pack and clear head, I cruise out of town, soak sore legs in a cold river, and settle into a quiet riverside camp. Ending the day warm, dry, and truly solo feels like a reset — the kind that reminds me why I’m out here in the first place.
The sun was beautifully shining outside. I put the sheets and towels in the washer. While I waited for them to wash I blogged. After I switched the laundry I packed up I charged my phone for a few last minutes and set out on the trail.
I woke up early: 5:30am. The birds were finally coming out and singing their spring songs early in the morning. I blogged for an hour and around 7am I took one last shower. The other hikers rolled in around 9am and we made breakfast.
The hostel owners left us 2 dozen farm fresh eggs and I scrambled them up in some of the hostel pans. There were two partial bags of bread in the hiker box we toasted up in a frying pan. We all got a box of cereal for ourselves at Dollar General the day before and Savage and Poe brought milk. Fixed Gear brought orange juice.
We had feast for breakfast and shared stories of our pretrail lives.
The trail ran right through the town of Damascus so I followed the road for a bit. Eventually I climbed out of town up some stairs and passed a few streams. I sat at the first stream and got some water. I soaked my snickers in the stream to solidify the melted candy bar.
In my first hour I did 4 miles. I was cruising. Even though it was hot, losing the weight in my pack helped me so much! I felt unstoppable. I passed a beautiful river and followed the Virginia Creeper Trail for a bit. The trail turned and climbed for a while up to a higher elevation shelter. I passed Grandma Shorty and Plod Along on the way up. Up and over the hill I kept walking.
Remember my Big Agnes sleeping pad that wasn’t keeping me warm? Well I had sent it back while I was at Boots Off for their warranty department to inspect it. They called me while I was hiking and, of course, when I finally saw that I had a voicemail I was out of service. I kept walking, excited about the voicemail and hoping I’d get service to call back. I checked a couple times on my way down the hill and I never got service.
I made it to where the Creeper Trail meets the AT again along the river. Through the bushes to the right of the trail, just underneath one of the Creeper trestles was the perfect campsite that I had planned to stay at. But there was someone there. I went down to where he was laying in his hammock and asked, “Do you mind if I join you?” He looked pretty set up. He said I could and I set up my tent nearby.
I put on my town dress and went down to the river. A large rock sat just outside of the current and created a nice cold pool. I dipped my toes in. It was chilly. I slowly crept into the pool and sat down with my dress bunched up around my stomach. The water was cold and goose bumps gathered on my arms. I sat there for a while, soaking my legs and feet. The cold water felt really good after the heat of the day and the pain that had been bothering me in my right leg. After I soaked I hung my dress and socks to dry and put on my camp clothes.
I went back over to my tent. It was still early, only 6pm. The other guy staying there, Fog Horn, and I exchanged trail names. We chatted for a bit until his friend Chippendale got there. We hung our bear lines and gathered around a campfire to make dinner. Around 9pm Fanny rolled in with Merril and Devin (who didn’t have trail names yet but would soon be called Captain Ahab and Tiger Lily respectively).
I went to bed early. The evening air was still warm and humid. In my tent I wrote in my journal and read for a while. It was a really good day. I was finally on my own.
It rained late at night for a bit but it cleared mostly by morning. I stayed dry and very warm in my tent on my new sleeping pad.
1. New Sleeping Pad
2. River
3. SUN