Zeroing in Damascus – The Trek

It’s always a good day when it’s a city day! We made it to the one and only Damascus, VA! I was ready for a break and was excited to finally be in the city I had heard so much about. Damascus is not only the home of AT Trail Days, but it is also a city that Cody’s family visited during many family vacations. I had heard so much about these trips and the good memories I had of biking the Virginia Creeper Trail, that I was eager to visit Damascus myself.

Hiking in Damascus VA

This was the shortest approach so far. Of course, we hadn’t planned for the day to be so short, but the night before we kept finding reasons to walk «just a few more miles» until we finally set up camp at the spring, just 2 miles from town. My first task was to have breakfast at the Damascus Diner! Other hikers had raved about this restaurant. We had to try it. Let me say, I was not disappointed! We loaded up on all of our favorite breakfast foods until we almost exploded!

Exploring Trail Town, USA

Cody and I weren’t able to check into our Airbnb until 4:00, so we had the day to explore the city and hang out with friends. Just in time, a couple of friends showed up just as we finished breakfast. We all headed to the Damascus Outfitter. I was looking for a new pair of shoes. My Hoka Transport hiking boots were starting to wear out. But almost 500 miles isn’t that bad. Unfortunately, the store didn’t have them, so I settled for some inserts to extend their longevity and hope to find them in Marion. Cody also received some inserts for his Topo Teraventures. While we were at the clothing store, I decided to upgrade my raincoat as well and get a pair of camping shorts instead of the basic pants I was planning on sending home now that it was warmer.

Relax at the Trail Center

Someone suggested we visit the Damascus Trail Center, so we walked across the street to see what it was all about. The 3D model of the trails in the area allowed us to understand very well the detour we were going to take when we left Damascus. The lady working there described the closed section and showed us which trail we would be walking and even where it reconnected. About a half dozen friends ended up meeting at the trail center and hanging out in their living room. And they were nice enough to let us leave all of our backpacks in the back of one of their rooms while we ran errands around town.

Picking up our mail shipment

Cody and I stopped by the post office to pick up Turk’s resupply box. Mailings have worked very well for us. Cody has a spreadsheet of all the places we ship mailboxes. Sometimes it’s a post office, other times it’s a provider or a shelter (especially if the shelter is dog-friendly). The boxes have enough Turkenna dog food to carry to the next box and we also added some homemade dehydrated meals for ourselves. The dehydrated meals have been a hit! We didn’t try any before setting out, but our hard work and months of meal dehydrating definitely paid off. Not only is our restocking cost lower, but the meals we eat for dinner are tastier and healthier than Top Ramen or Knor’s sides. Turkenna also eats high-quality foods rich in calories and protein. A shout out to the Inukshuk brand for creating a nutrient-rich formula for high-performance dogs. Turk can eat the same amount of food as at home, but consumes almost twice as many calories.

Lunch and bad bagels

That afternoon, a group of us decided to go for a late lunch. We chose Wilson’s Cafe which worked out perfectly because not only did they have delicious food but they also had outdoor seating so Turkenna could come with us. Small decisions, like where to eat lunch, are dictated when walking a dog. Where she can’t go, neither can we. The option of outdoor seating is always a win! On our way back to the trail center after lunch, we stopped at Bad Bagels Pet Emporium. We grabbed some treats for Turk to enjoy on his day off.

Evening events

Tramilia Dinner

After checking into our Airbnb, we immediately started doing laundry and lining up to shower. We shared the house with 5 friends, so we had a lot of smelly clothes and people to clean! I suggested making a family dinner instead of going out to eat again. Eating a home-cooked meal is a luxury rarely allowed on the trails. Everyone contributed to buy food for the tacos. I love cooking and serving people. My heart was so happy to see our little trail family sitting around enjoying a home-cooked meal together. We finished the afternoon playing cards.

Our first day zero

The next morning was the start of our first official day zero on the trail. We weren’t going to walk even a kilometer. But we were going to bike 16 miles on the Virginia Creeper Trail from Abingdon to Damascus. Early that morning we walked by the bike rental shop. We had booked a shuttle service and rented two bikes for the day. On the way to the store, we stopped by the post office to return some winter clothing and a handful of items we decided we no longer needed. I think every hiker has the moment when they decide to mail back the items they no longer want to take. They gave us a hacky sack and a Luminaid folding flashlight.

The Virginia Creeper Trail

The shuttle took us to Abingdon, where we cycled to a cafe before heading up the trail. We drove along a beautiful greenway that crossed pastures and rivers. We stopped to admire the baby cows and the confluence of two rivers that meet under a huge trestle bridge. The weather could have been better too. The sun was shining and the breeze was blowing as we pedaled gently. We stopped at the Cottage Cafe for lunch. The Irish pub had fresh meat pies and cold beer. Just what we needed! The staff was amazing too!

Spine rock and swimming hole

That night we decided to explore a small swimming hole on the outskirts of town with our tram. Apollo, Night Crawler, Chill Out, and the Norris Trio got into Chill Out’s car and headed to the creek. Turkenna was bursting with energy after taking almost two days off. I sat on a large rock and watched as the other jumped into the cold mountain stream and Turk burned off all his pent-up energy. He picked up sticks from the stream, swam in the pool, ran along the banks, jumped over big rocks, and dug a big hole in the sand. He had a great time!

Just across the road from the swimming hole was the beginning of a short trail that led to a natural bridge carved into the mountain. Backbone Rock has a huge tunnel cut through the rock face, creating a bridge over the road.

Pizza and Cards

We decided on pizza for dinner, which we realized might have been a mistake. Because not only did we buy too much pizza, but we also had a lot of tacos left over from the night before. We did our best to eat all the food. The perfect day zero culminated with a game of cards at the table. If you’ve had the pleasure of teaching a new group of people about Mao’s Game, you know how entertaining the evening was for us!

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