Three States Down

On the 17th I did a short day out of Erwin doing 4.7 miles to Curley Maple Gap shelter. On the 18th I did 21.9 miles and stayed at Clyde Smith shelter. On the 19th I did 15 miles and stayed at Overmountain Shelter. On the 20th 8.7 miles and camped in the town of Roan Mtn. On the 21st I did 18.9 miles and stayed at Moreland Gap shelter. On the 22nd I did 6.3 miles and stayed at Kincora Hiking Hostel at Dennis Cove Rd. On the 23rd I did 21.3 miles and camped at a spring a few miles after Vandeventer shelter. On the 24th I did 27 miles and camped at a spring a few miles before Damascus. On the 25th I did 2.3 miles and stayed at The Place (a hostel on Damascus).

So it's been a while since my last update. Most evenings that I am actually on the trail I can't get myself to write for various reasons. Usually it just slips my mind and the next day I regret not doing it. Since Damascus is such a milestone I need to write one though. Because it has been so many days and miles since my last one, I find it difficult to truly recount things so I will just try and touch on things that I got good, or at least okay, photos of. I think they are in chronological order but the gaps between these event vary greatly. 

Not a lot to say about this one. This is a beautiful spruce forest on top of a mountain outside Erwin that struck me last time as a great spot. This time around it reinforced that feeling. Serene and peaceful is about all that can be said about places like these. You can either relate to a similar experience of your own or not. If not, get in the woods it is fantastic.

This is a shot that I took from laying in bed. This is at Overmountain shelter while Big Spoon and Toast played bango and fiddle once again. It is quite rare that I see a double rainbow, especially with one as remarkably clear as the one on the left. Great night, a weekend hiker had extra marshmallows and shared them around the fire. Hard to beat it.

The following two photos are my attempt to portray the uniqueness that is the North Carolina balds. These are interesting mountains that are basically higher elevation then any mountains in Maine but have enormous grassy peaks. These are really one of the unique areas of the trail that many people remember fondly, unless the weather is bad and then the memories are far less fond. 

So the following photo shows a large failure but the photo after it is the slight redemption of this particular excursion. My plan was to plan my mileage to be in a town Sunday night and go in early to get discount Easter candy on Monday. To make this work I did a short 8 mile day into Roan Mtn and stealth camped in the weeds next to the Dollar General on "main street." On Sunday afternoon I ate the burger below in addition to the 32oz milkshake next to it. The menu said, "We bet you can't eat the whole thing." Awfully silly thing to say next to the AT. It did make me sit outside and digest for a while but the consumption of said food was not a large problem. That was the success, the failure was on Monday we learned that the Dollar General sold out of Easter candy in March. Such poor inventory management is a bit annoying.

Just a neat tree with a cool view. It is a photo that shows a decent example of what the trail looks like.

I was hoping to hit some trail magic next to this lake but alas, none to be had. Nice spot nonetheless though. I tried not to hold the lack of free good against the lake itself.

Well three states down. Last time getting to Virginia felt amazing. It have me a sense of awe that I had done roughly 1/4th of the trail and been okay. It provided the reassurance that I can do the next 3/4's. This time it felt odd knowing that the section I have done this year is longer then the total miles I have not hiked on the trail. The enjoyment I get from the trail reaffirmes my decision to start in Georgia but it is a very different feeling thinking about the trail from this perspective.

Lastly, Damascus is a great town. One of the best trail towns on the trail and a huge milestone. There are also milkshakes, which makes it even better. Hopefully I will post another update sooner then this one. In the next couple days I will be going through magical pony land. Let's see if I can make another friend!