May 16, 2026
The big day of Trail Days is coming! Breakfast with one of my favorite trams. I immerse myself in the Trail Days atmosphere and become a regular at the Damascus Diner.
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tThe words “all you can eat” are declining from the public lexicon. Leave it to the magical city of Damascus to bring them back in the form of a pancake breakfast. They showed no fear of the army of hungry hikers filling the city. Incredibly, despite a constant line of breakfast attendees, they didn’t run out of pancakes even once. I did my best and consumed no less than 9 pancakes, all drenched in butter and syrup. Gotta hand it, they really know hikers well and know how to make us happy.
However, the food was only half the story of this breakfast. Surprisingly, at one of the tables was the formidable Papa Smurf! He told me the story of his meeting at Trail Days with Smurfette. It wasn’t long before it became a Spence Field shelter meeting. Soundboard, Hobbit, Tippy and Boomer were next to arrive. I couldn’t have asked for a better Trail Days meeting. We all ate plates of pancakes and of course exchanged updates about the infamous «eccentric hiker.»
After breakfast it was time to continue my battle to catch up on blog posts and reviews. The Damascus library had proven to be a quiet and comfortable place to work. I spent the rest of the morning there doing just that.
The parade of hikers
The hiker parade promised to be one of the highlights of Trail Days. Hikers line up according to their hiking year and walk through the center to the city park. Many engage in all-out water gun warfare against parade watchers. Young children are especially keen to wet hikers and come fully prepared with water buckets ready to refill. After the parade, the municipal park is in its maximum splendor. At the end of the parade, hikers were surprised with a speech from Odie. Odie is known for creating the Hiker Yearbook, a photo documentary of hikers. He stressed that hikers are all part of one family, along with trail maintainers and trail cities.
A friendly water gun fight breaks out during the Trail Days hiker parade.
The hiker class of 2026 gets soaked in rugrats.
Odie addresses the hikers in the city park.
An afternoon in the park
Among the many hikers gathered in the park I was lucky enough to run into Sketch and Crow. They, too, had headed up the trail to join in the Trail Days festivities. They were both having a great time and were friendly and cheerful as always!
I couldn’t miss the epic raffle of over 30 items that took place at The Trek booth. Sassafras and DoubleDip organized a great giveaway, making several dozen hikers very happy in the process. Unfortunately, I was not among them. But we Trek bloggers received a bandana and sticker as a consolation prize.
Shortly after the draw, the talent show took place in the main pavilion of the city park. Acts included Trombonious Monk, who performed “What a Wonderful Trail” to the tune of Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World. There were many strong musical performances throughout the event, but a Kung fu display performed by 3 hikers took home first prize.
Crow, Sketch, and See You Tomorrow enjoy the afternoon’s festivities in the city park.
The crowd grows and The Trek booth anticipates the next raffle.
A musician sings about his encounter with a bear on the road.
A salesman at the pizzeria took a break to rock out on stage.
Trombonious Monk plays “What a Wonderful Trail.”
A Kung fu demonstration captivates the audience and the judges.
Become a regular at Damascus Restaurant
As much as I enjoyed the pancake breakfast, my hiker hunger had returned and all I could think about was the burger I had eaten at Damascus Diner the night before. They seemed to be the best value in town and I love walking along East Laurel Avenue. With a belly full of dinner, I took a casual walk through the city park. I finally reached the library at the end of town and sat on a bench to think about what to do next. That’s when Hobbit, Tippy, Soundboard, and Boomer passed by the library on their way to the restaurant for dinner. I love chatting with all of them, so I jumped up and caught up with them.
Having experienced the restaurant twice, I felt qualified to give you my opinion on the menu. I had already eaten my fill, but I couldn’t resist the strawberry shortcake. It was even served hot with two scoops of vanilla ice cream. This place catches me. After loading up on more sugar, the mid-afternoon tiredness hit me again. I think the 119 miles of hiking over the 5 days prior to Trail Days might be a factor. I wished the group well and headed back to the van to relax and enjoy the joy of a full stomach.
The Strawberry Cobbler at Damascus Diner.
-See you tomorrow
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