Date: 2017-04-18
From: Double Spring Gap Campsite

To: Damascus, Virginia
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: light rain

It rained overnight and it was still coming down when I heard Scotty, tenting next to me, stir - us old guys always up first. I organized all my gear huddled inside my tent and then quickly got my bear bag, dodging tents that had been set up after I was inside for the night last evening. Back inside to eat some breakfast that did not require my stove. Everything was packed so I threw my pack outside and collapsed the tent, packed it up wet and was ready to go. Then it stopped raining. Good practice. Half a mile ahead I stopped to filter water for the day at a spring that was described as weak and muddy in the guidebook. Today it was strong and clear. In my mind I arranged today's walk into three segments. First, hike ahead to Abingdon Gap Shelter - 3+ miles. Then hike to the Tennessee/Virginia border - around 6 1/2 miles. Finally, hike into Damascus Virginia - 3 1/2 miles. Today's actual total is 13.3 miles and that can be a full days hike but not today - Damascus is a place with a lure for hikers and I wanted to get there. The terrain was relatively easy the whole way. Quickly I came to Abingdon Gap Shelter stopping long enough to chat with hikers there - all of whom had moving on to Damascus on their mind. Next up the hike to the border. It was a pretty section again enhanced by the cloudy wet weather making colors vivid, plus at this elevation the trees are prominently getting buds. Spring leaves will soon be here in full force. Flowering trees are in bloom all around. Sooner than expected I was at the TN/VA border sign. This is almost an emotional location. Three states - GA - NC - TN - are now officially completed. Your trip mileage is soon to approach 500 miles. Damascus lies 3 1/2 miles ahead - known as Trail Town USA. It hosts the annual Trail Days celebration where hikers from this years class and from all years past come together for a big party and gear show - around mid-May. It has the aura of being a major mental and physical milestone. But if you really like to see me cross state borders you better give it up for Lent, because Virginia has 544 miles of trail. I'll more than double my current mileage before I cross a border again into West Virginia. There is no fanfare. You come around a small curve and a little downhill to see a simple sign marking the border - totally in the middle of nowhere. There is a line of rocks across the trail to the foot of the signpost. I got pictures and called Marlene. We started a tradition on our honeymoon almost 41 years ago that we kiss when we cross state lines. I sat on a rock with my back against the post and one foot in each state, and called to get my kiss. Two other hikers came by and we took pictures for each and then we were off to Damascus. Laurel Creek and Beaver Dam Creek come together in Damascus. As is typical the trail descends to that lower elevation as you approach town. Soon I began to see the outskirts - more remote homes on the edge in the valley below. Down, down, down and closer as the homes began to take on the shape of a town - streets laid out and the order of civilization. You come down off the mountain as the trail enters someone's back yard and then walk across their front yard to the street. The trail enters a long narrow park and follows it to cross bridges over the creeks and right down main street with white blazes and AT markings on the sidewalk. You are welcomed to Damascus kind of like someone special. Damascus is a pretty little mountain town. The creeks and bridges are beautiful. Very old homes with interesting architecture. So green and beautiful with the trees budding and blooming and the mountains rising all around. I got a place to stay, cleaned up and ate real food. I have some medical things to take care of regarding prescriptions so I may be here a couple of days. But I am so happy to be here and to have made it this far. I have great phone service and Marlene and I have talked a lot. I am resting and getting ready for the next section. But I am really enjoying being in the pretty little town of Damascus Virginia. Goodnight Sweetheart.