Damascus Virginia Bound.

Damascus Virginia, pop ~1000 persons.

So tomorrow afternoon I am loading the backpack into the truck and heading towards Damascus Virginia for a few days of hiking the Appalachian Trail.  Damascus VA is well known to the hikers of the Appalachian Trail as a very trail friendly town that welcomes the tired, dirty, smelly hikers into their beautiful small town and with a hearty hello to boot.  In fact, Damascus caters to the hiker!  There are several outfitters, hostels, places to resupply, and of course, high calorie, high carb food at the restaurants!

Damascus VA hosts Trail Days the weekend after Mothers Day every year and is a mecca of sorts for the hikers on the Appalachian Trail.  All along the trail, people get off the trail, find a ride into Damascus and celebrate with parades, music,food, and of course, BEER!  During Trail Days, gear vendors come into town plying their wares and repair any equipment that needs to be repaired for the trail weary travelers.  As said and done, this weekend brings over 10,000 hikers into town for the fun and festivities.  Although Trail Days is now a fading memory from the spring of this year, this is still a fun bohemian hiker town.  You will see late starting hikers coming infrom the south making their trek north seeking to take a day or two off the trail to rest, shower, and relax.  It is always a good time in Damascus.

So I will arrive tomorrow night, arrange a shuttle for Saturday to the trail head I chose, grab a bunk at the hostel for 20 bucks, grab a pasta dinner, beer and hit the rack early to catch my shuttle at  7 AM.  I will then hike the mountains back to Damascus over the next several days......hopefully it won't take me longer...haha.  Damascus is close to the Virginia/Tennessee border so I will be dropped off in Tennessee and hike the mountain ridges back to my car (Side note:  I decided to hike south back to Damascus instead of North at the last minute).The route I have selected travels approximately 40 miles of the Appalachian Trail and I am planning on being in the woods for no more than 3 days....well actually maybe 4 if I play around and actually take in the vistas!  The weather looks fairly good, highs in the low 80s and lows around 60.  Of course, late summer thunderstorms and rain are always possible. We shall see.

A-Frame style fair weather tarp pitch. Other pitches are great
for high winds, rain and snow.

Since this is an equipment shake down hike, I am taking the new backpack (still making adjustments to it), and the tarp.  Tarp camping is a new challenge for me and there is a definite skill to learning which type of pitch to use based on the weather conditions and terrain.  The advantage is, with the right material, it can bring your shelter weight down to less than one pound.  To see what kind of advantage this gives, consider the typical 2 man tent weighs,over 5 lbs, and the average light weight tent is 2.5 to 3 pounds.  So, the tarp is coming with me and I will be experimenting with the pitch. 

My pack weight for this hike with food and water should be around 26 lbs.  This weekend should be fun.

So, as the weather is decent and there has been plenty of rain lately, water should be plentiful in the streams and springs, and the local wildlife on the trail should be out including wild ponies. Yes I said wild ponies.  Yes, before you ask, photos will be posted at a later date. It is time to go and finish packing the food bag and get ready to head out tomorrow afternoon.  Remember, just hike your hike.

AT Hiker r is just enjoying the ride.....