Damascus to Atkins, VA

Woke up Thursday (5/10) morning in the tiny house early, but not in a rush to get up since I was taking my first zero day since Hot Springs! Sixlegs had brought me a care package of basically anything I needed to have a restful day and prepare for the upcoming miles. He brought lotions, soaps, shampoo, Epsom salt to soak my feet, even a hair brush although I told him I didn't need it! He had also brought brownies from my mom and my favorite chocolate covered peanut butter filled pretzels from Trader Joe's.

We strolled through Damascus over to Mojo's to eat breakfast and continued along the AT where it joins the Creeper Trail to the edge of town (0.8 miles) so I could call it a nero day rather than a zero day.

We visited the Outfitters in town to look for a few clothing replacements. It was getting too hot and I was going to send some of my warmer clothes home. Sixlegs brought me a green dress to hike in, since my hiking clothes were already too smelly and uncomfortable to continue hiking in. I also bought a can of permethrin to respray my clothes since it was getting warmer and ticks were more of a concern. We picked up ToCrows from a hotel room he rented with Last Spot in the town about 10 miles away and brought him to Damascus so he could get his chores done. When we dropped him back off in the afternoon we stopped at the Walmart and Dairy Queen and did my laundry in the nearby hotel since Damascus doesn't have many laundering options, which I thought was absurd.

While reorganizing and repacking I got a text from Speedy, he was in town and it was his birthday and asked if we wanted to meet for drinks. We hung out with him at Mojo's and talked about the trail and who we had been hiking with. We have a similar time goal to get to Maine so I'm guessing I'll see a lot of him up the trail.

The next morning (Friday, May 11th) we drove Sixlegs’ car to a parking lot 40 miles up the trail and got shuttled back to Damascus so he could hike the next two days with me. The trail out of Damascus starts out flat and follows the Creeper Trail, a graded bike trail that extends about 35 miles. But instead of continuing on the Creeper Trail the AT goes uphill and down for a few miles before rejoining the bike trail. We passed a lot of hikers heading out of Damascus.

It warmed up quickly - sometimes the trail would round a corner and there would be a pocket of nice cool air that felt very refreshing. But then it would go around the next turn and there would be a hot, humid blast of air..

About 14 miles in we were reconnected with the Creeper Trail near the river and we decided to stop for a break and soak our feet. I found that soaking my feet in cold water actually started making them ache more so I just stopped doing it.

As we got to Lost Mountain, about 16 miles in, it got cloudy and started thundering. We continued up the trail through some pastures as it started raining. At 4:30 we threw up the tent to get out of the rain. We snacked and rested for about 45 minutes until the rain passed and the sun came back out. The temperature had cooled momentarily but soon got hot again.

The trail took us through an open forest with a million tiny white flowers - very serene and then all of a sudden - car alarm. The trail can fool you into thinking you are in the middle of nowhere when all of a sudden you can hear a lawn mower or dog bark in the distance.

We stopped at Buzzard Rock which had wide open views and a rainbow. We pushed about a mile further to Whitetop Mountain and found a tenting spot. We met a previous thru hiker, Nomad, who had done the trail in 1998. He said he had actually done it twice but couldn't brag because his wife had done it three times and was a triple crowner.

We Got moving on Saturday (5/12) around 6:50AM - the first few miles were pretty easy downhill. About 2.5 miles in we stopped at a bench with a view to cook breakfast. It was windy enough that we actually had to sit behind the bench to cook and eat. The trail was open with a lot of rocks which made it slow.

Grayson Highlands and the surrounding area is known for wild ponies, which makes it a trail favorite and a very popular day hiking spot. We were hiking through on a nice sunny Saturday so there were dozens of other people around, many with kids and dogs, one even with a cat in a harness strapped to his chest. We saw our first ponies by Thomas Knob Shelter. As we approached we found several ponies, including a couple of babies, and several thru hikers. One pony licked all the salt off my arms and we finally had to keep hiking just to get them to leave us alone. We saw Translator and crew there, she was wrestling with a pony who had tried to walk off with her trekking pole.

We passed the 500 mile mark about 8 miles into the day, just before walking through Fatman Squeeze, a narrow passage through giant boulders. The day got hot and the rocks were rough on my feet so we took several breaks. At Wise Shelter we stopped for a snack break and three ponies walked over to hang out with us by the picnic table.

When we got back to Sixlegs’ car after 20.1 miles of hiking, we checked out some tent sites near the road. I had planned on continuing to Hurricane Mountain Shelter, 2.5 miles further, but I decided to be done for the day. Sixlegs started his long drive home around 5PM. Sad to see him go, but he'll be back again in 2 weeks!

I tented at a large campsite with Jonas (from Sandy, UT), Yooperman (from the upper peninsula of Michigan), and M&M (a couple from Australia). Everyone has been good about hanging their food bags - a bear stole a food bag from Thomas Knob Shelter the previous night, and the first campsite in the Smokies was closed after a bear slashed at Yooperman’s tent. It's patched but still very visible and a good reminder to hang your food bag!

I woke up Sunday (May 13th) hoping to get in my first 30 mile day. I woke up at 5:40AM and was on the trail by 6:15 - I didn't see any other hikers for a couple of hours. The cobwebs were bad that morning, I had to hold my trekking poles in front of me to keep them from hitting me in the face. The temperature was pleasant and I was shaded in the trees, they've finally started to fill in. By 10:15 I had hiked 10 miles and by 11:45 I had hiked 14.5 - I decided if I got to Partnership Shelter, 21.5 miles in, by 4 I would continue on and try for a new longest day.

I met a section hiker who had thru hiked last year who gave me some words of encouragement and said I looked very official (probably because of my new hiking dress) - I said ‘well this is my day job!’.

I got to Partnership Shelter at 3PM - it's a large 16 person shelter with a loft and a shower! I heard the water was freezing cold so even though I was hot and sweaty I decided I would rather get to the visitor center just up the trail for a cold drink. There was a sign in the shelter that said there was Mother's Day Trail Magic at a historic school house 10 miles up the trail from 11am-4pm. Knowing I couldn't hike 10 miles in an hour I hung out eating snacks and drinking Mt Dew at the Visitor center until about 4. The next 7 miles to Chatfield Shelter (AT mile 540.5) went by fast, I actually felt so good I considered continuing the 5 miles into Atkins but decided there would be no point. I had already hiked my longest day at 28.5 miles and ate dinner with Blue Jay, Box Tortoise, Buzzkill, and a southbound section hiker named Night Eyes. He talked about the trail ahead and the lack of water.

Knowing I had an easy 4.6 mile hike into Atkins, I let myself sleep in Monday morning until 6AM. It was a nice morning and the miles went by easily. I passed the Lindamod School House (where there was trail magic the day before) but it was only 7AM and I expected it to be locked. I later learned that the local church leaves it unlocked and had boxes of trail magic in it for hikers. Oh well, I was in Atkins at 9am and took a seat at the Barn Restaurant for breakfast across from Grim. A few hours later I was in the same seat eating lunch.