Completing Tennessee and Trail Days Eve

Thursday May 14, 2026

It’s an all-out battle for parking as soon as the lots open for Trail Days in Damascus. I achieved multiple milestones during my last day of hiking before Trail Days.

Arriving in Damascus

Yo Arrived in Damascus shortly after 8:30 a.m. I finally joined a line of cars waiting for the parking lot to open at the tent city. The line didn’t really move until 9:15. We all had to cross Shady Avenue, which was packed with cars coming from Damascus. Those cars had the right path to the Tent City parking lot. When I finally got to the front of the line, I was one of the last cars in the morning race. All spaces within the tent city had been occupied and I was ordered to park along the road. The place was not level but I thought it was the only option.

While I was waiting to pay for my horrible parking spot, I saw an adjacent building where there was more parking available. I drove my car to their parking lot and found a quiet, flat spot behind the building. I’m sure I could have gotten into town at 9:45am and gotten that exact spot without having to wait. As it happened, it was definitely the right decision to pack up and put in extra miles earlier in the week so I wouldn’t be under pressure while trying to find a parking spot.

Heavy traffic is not only in the city

When I packed my hiking gear and walked to the trail, it was 10:20 a.m. There would be plenty of time to finish my hike and head back into town for dinner. It was going to be a little difficult to get out of Damascus, but once I finish this section, I will have covered every mile from Springer Mountain to the Mt Rogers Recreation Area Visitor Center…twice! Frankly, it will be a relief to follow the trail north without having to jump. It will surely make the blog much easier to follow.

Along the way, I immediately and steadily encountered familiar faces. But there were also new faces galore. A hiker came down the trail carrying a normal-sized pickaxe. The name of her trail is Little Iron, and for a brief moment I thought she really hiked with that beak. He clarified that he had found it on the road, but that he found it quite useful for digging cat burrows.

I arrived in good time at the Abingdon Gap shelter, where I ran into a handful of friendly hikers. I was drawn like a magnet to an adorable chihuahua taking a break at the table. His name is WALL-E and he hired two Sherpas (Wiki and Reston) to guide him on his hike. It is the definition of an ultralight trail dog, with a base weight of approximately 3 pounds. WALL-E invited me to sit next to him on the bench and quickly jumped onto my lap. It was cold on the way and I appreciated my warm lap for a few minutes.

One of the WALL-E Sherpas took a photo of us at the Abingdon Gap shelter.

The last section

It was windy in the city. While walks through the forest relieved the wind, the temperature dropped. It was supposedly close to 50, but it felt much more like 40. I couldn’t feel my hands and my nose was constantly running. All he could do was continue to match the good conditions with a fast pace. I was imagining the hot meal promised by one of the organizations in town. Just like the Georgia-North Carolina border, I managed to miss the Tennessee-Virginia border marker during my first pass. Luckily, I caught it on the way back. Passing this sign means I am officially moving on from the North Carolina/Tennessee section of the trail. 3 states completed, 11 to go! Next up was about 550 miles total in Virginia.

I’m also dangerously close to the 1/4 milestone. In about 30 more miles I’ll be there mathematically. I think that’s close enough to group the milestone with my Trail Days intermission.

Goodbye Tennessee, hello (again) Virginia!

Moving towards the weekend

The hikers came to town from the trail. The vendor area was already filling up. A schoolboy caught my eye while I was doing a b-line for dinner. I had to ask the group about their history. The owner of the bus is Flo, and she was dating Hippea, who had written the Trail Name Tales book. I thought, «I have a story about the name of a trail!» and they asked me to record a video of my story.

I stopped in my truck to change into “city clothes” and headed to a nearby church for dinner. They gave me a full meal that included lemonade and dessert. The hospitality shown to the hikers is fantastic and the real event hasn’t started yet!

My next stop was Tent City to see the sea of ​​tents. It was quite a spectacle; colorful tents that extend into the forest. I thought the solar-lit hallways were a smart touch. Of course, I was glad to have my truck and comfortable bed parked nearby to use for the weekend. That’s where I went to sleep after a few hours of tweaking my blog.

Flo’s schoolboy, notice the clever addition of AT lights in the mirrors.

Fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, and pasta salad made for a hearty dinner.

Tent City springs up every Trail Days.

Too many tents to fit in one image!

-See you tomorrow

Total: 19.4 miles, 41,034 steps

• Hike type: Day hike
• Camp: Minivan, Damascus, VA

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