Days 43 – 44
Trail Days – Damascus, VA
Miles Hiked: Too many that didn’t count
Miles on AT: 352.8
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Trail Days – an Appalachian Trail thru hiker tradition. We got a ride to Damascus late Friday morning and arrived in the early afternoon. Everything was in full swing; hikers were walking down the town streets, vendors were working their booths, and the band was playing their musical selection.
My goals for Trail Days included listening to some of the speakers, meeting some authors, and getting a new pack. I love my Osprey, but it’s a bit too heavy; I want something a little lighter.
Our first stop was a talk by a guy who completed a calendar year Triple Crown plus the Arizona Trail. We only caught the tail end of his talk, so we didn’t stay for long. Next was the library to talk to authors that have written about their hikes. Everyone had an interesting story, especially Sunny, who hiked the AT with his son when he was only 5 years old.
Outside at the merch booths, all of the popular vendors were there showing off their wares. There were raffles throughout the weekend. I ended up getting a Zpacks pack that I’m actually really liking so far.
After getting food and listening to music, we caught part of the Head Outside Awards where we saw Akuna and Camping with Cradle honored for their work in the outdoors. Before the sun went down, we took a long walk to Tent City to see what it was all about. It was such a long walk to get there from the merch booths! I was doing absolutely too many miles on my zero day.
Tent City looked packed and hectic, with the tents about 5 feet apart. We had to pay to enter, so we just stood outside and soaked in the scene before heading back to our room for the night.
The next day was the Hiker Parade. It absolutely dumped rain in the hours before, but once it was time for the parade, everything cleared up. But that’s not to say we stayed dry. The spectators lined the road, armed with water guns to make sure all the hikers got at least a little wet. AT classes spanning 40 years were represented in the parade. It was cool to see so many people come together to be excited about and celebrate the trail.
I wore my “I Love AT” T-shirt and marched down the road with the rest of the class of 2024. It was a blast.
With the Hiker Parade over, we headed back to Erwin. We’re not big partiers, so we weren’t too bummed about missing the all-night hiker rager. Overall, I loved Trail Days. I would have liked to catch a few more speakers, but I didn’t want to wake up early on my days off. If you’re an AT thru hiker, I would highly recommend going at least once.
And that’s days 43 & 44.
A version of this post originally appeared on TheTrek.co.