Hello friends!
This post is coming to you from Damascus, VA. I’ve spent the last two days here at the annual Trail Days festival. It’s a huge celebration of former thru-hikers, aspiring thru-hikers, and all sorts of other A.T. enthusiasts. There’s been music, entertainment, a vendor village, free food, and even a thru-hiker parade through town. Good times for all!!
I crossed the Tennessee/Virginia state line on Friday, which makes it three states under my belt thus far. Virginia is by far the longest state on the trail, so I won’t be seeing another state line for at least a month. It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve had a chance to post anything, so I’ll do my best to share the most memorable moments.
CARLOS EL BADIDO
Officer: (holding Carlos at gunpoint) “God damnit Carlos, we been friends for too long, don’t make me do this!”
Carlos: “Well shoot me then damnit!”
Uncle Johnny: (hostel owner, walking up the front steps) “Entertainment is free here at Uncle Johnny’s!”
Four other police cars arrived shortly after, and detained both Carlos and the shit-faced hiker. It was at this time we learned that Carlos was being arrested for grand theft auto; it turns out that they had stolen the PT Cruiser that they had been whipping around town in for the past 3 days. It all made for a very exciting evening…
MURPHY THE A.T. PUP
GOOD FOOD AND GREAT COMPANY
My wonderful parents came up one Sunday evening to treat us to a night off the trail in a cabin near Roan Mountain, Tennessee. They rented an awesome little house on a river right near the trail, and brought up tons of beer, food, and games to play. They picked up a few friends and I from the trail around 2 PM and shuttled us down to the cabin. We feasted on pasta and homemade meatballs with sauce, chips and guacamole, lemon pound cake, and many a Fat Tires. We watched a couple of movies and played some Catch Phrase before enjoying a warm bed for the night. We had a big breakfast in the morning and got back on the trail around 10:00 AM. It was awesome to see my parents, and a treat to have a hearty meal and a bed for the night.
The stretch of trail through the Roan Highlands was some of my favorite hiking on the trail so far. It crossed several wide open balds and offered dramatic views. We took our time crossing the balds, and stopped a few times to shoot the shit and enjoy a beer. The weather was great, and it made for one of my favorite days on trail thus far.
LOUNGING AT OVERMOUNAIN
TRAIL DAYS!
Trail Days has been a really good time. Some of the highlights for me were strolling the vendor village and picking up a couple of new pieces of gear, walking in the parade, and being invited for cheeseburgers and moonshine in the backyard of some Damascus residents. That white lightning is the real deal! We also met triple crowner Chimp and his wife Tipsy at a pub yesterday. They bought us beers and hung out to talk trails for a while. Awesome folks.
Cheers,
McLovin