Mile 1709 - Beartree Gap To Mile 1721 - Damascus Damascus is the epitome of a trail town. The AT runs right down Main Street and several other popular trails also intersect here. It is also the location of the huge Trail Days festival each spring, drawing thousands of hikers to town. We had a … Continue reading Day 131. Damascus, VA

Mile 1689 - Massey Gap To Mile 1709 - Beartree Gap We were expecting a cold and snowy hike today and that's exactly what we got. Whitecap lived up to its name with six to twelve inches of snow on the ground and more falling rapidly as we walked. We all agreed afterward, though, that … Continue reading Day 130. Whitecap Mountain

Mile 1671 - Stealth To Mile 1689 - Massey Gap Rocket and I were just finishing up our packing in the morning at our campsite when Torch and Ox walked by on the trail. They stopped yesterday at an earlier shelter while Rocket and I walked a little farther in order to have a more … Continue reading Day 129. Grayson Highlands State Park

Mile 1650 - Chatfield Shelter To Mile 1671 - Stealth We know another burst of cold is coming, but for today we can just enjoy the beautiful weather. We have two days to get to Grayson Highlands State Park so today we are going about halfway and then planning to get off the trail tomorrow … Continue reading Day 128. Good While it Lasts

Mile 1631 - Knot Maul Branch Shelter To Mile 1650 - Chatfield ShelterThere was a brief break from the early winter weather we've been experiencing and we really enjoyed the warm sunshine. The trail took us past a restaurant where we stopped in for lunch and a truck stop where we resupplied for the next … Continue reading Day 127. A Brief Warmup

Mile 1611 - Jenkins Shelter To Mile 1631 - Knot Maul Branch ShelterWe are still a couple of days away from the highlands, but we are already getting a glimpse of what we can expect. Our long ridge walks are becoming more open and grassy, with amazing views of the surrounding mountains. Rocket mentioned today … Continue reading Day 126. Preview of the Highlands

Mile 1593 - Stealth To Mile 1611 - Jenkins Shelter The trail passed a few miles from the small town of Bland today. We didn't go all the way to town, but we did stop in to a little store/restraunt near the trail around lunchtime. It was perfect timing as the light rain from the … Continue reading Day 125. Bland, VA

Mile 1573 - Wapiti Shelter To Mile 1593 - StealthJust like the last few days, today was filled with long walks along relatively narrow ridges. With all of the leaves off the trees now we are able to see the surrounding valleys almost constantly. In the summer theses trails would just be green tunnels.The down … Continue reading Day 124. Breezy Ridges

Mile 1554 - VA Route 100 To Mile 1573 - Wapiti ShelterOur shuttle driver had us back on the trail bright and early this morning. It was still cold, but we knew it would begin warming up later in the afternoon.Looking back toward town on a cold, foggy morningIt turned out to be a really … Continue reading Day 123. Getting Used to the Cold

Mile 1539 - Stealth To Mile 1554 - VA Route 100Cold temperatures are forecast for tonight and we needed to go into Pearisburg to resupply so we decided to stay at Angel's Rest Hostel. It has been a great place to warm up and we were able to walk to a grocery store and restraunt … Continue reading Day 122. Pearisburg