Day 1: Damascus to Campsite 476.9 Northbound on the Appalachian Trail

Friday, February 14, 2025

 Last Wednesday, we were all filled with nervous anticipation as we waited for that early Friday morning departure for our next Appalachian Trail adventure.  And then, someone suggested we leave Thursday instead.  Why not?  We were packed and ready and could leave in the afternoon, so we changed our plans.  

Amy drove down from the Great White North, we left from my home and picked up Kara as we headed south, and then Chelsea and Misty a little further south.  The Beast, as we lovingly named my gigantic van, was overflowing with gear and road snacks and last-minute additions to our packs.  We decided we'd travel until I was tired and then get a hotel before finishing the trip in the morning. Along the way, we added a few new stickers to The Beast.

We made it all the way to Charleston, WV and then Kara found us a nice hotel suite that would hold all five of us.  It was a short night of sleep, and we were up early to make it to our 10am pick up in Bland, VA.

As soon as we pulled into our little parking area where I'd be leaving The Beast for the week, a maroon truck covered in stickers pulled in.  This must be Bunny.

Bunny was a little livewire, and I think she was as excited to be shuttling us as we were to have her as our driver!  We quickly threw our massive packs into the bed of her truck and piled inside-one in the front, four in the back.  It was a tight squeeze!

As Bunny pulled forward out of the lot, she hit a caution/parking sign. She paused only briefly before continuing over the sign and said, “Well, I’m taking that down," and "We’ve got better things to do,” and “This isn’t the first time."  This made me a little nervous to be sitting four people across in the backseat of her truck with no seatbelts. What were we in for on this ride? 

It turns out that Bunny is a really awesome human and she is also the caretaker at the Merry Inn Hostel, which is where we planned to stay on Wednesday night. She told us stories of her three consecutive thru hikes in 2000, 2001, and 2002, as well as throwing in some tips for our own hike.

Once in Damascus, she took us to the Damascus Trail Center and told us if we needed anything between now and Wednesday to give her a call and she could meet us at any trailhead.  It seemed we'd have someone looking out for us while we were out there, which was comforting to say the least.  After some parting pictures, she left us there.

We made our way inside the center and were greeted by Drew.  Drew was another amazing human. She was so full of information and took all the time that was needed to give us info about the trail and trail conditions, and the fact that we would not have cell service most likely until we got to Marion on Wednesday.  We took a moment to notify our families back home that basically "no news is good news" and we'd contact them when were able.  Luckily, the 2025 AT hang tags had become available just that day, and we were given the first five tags for hikers heading out of Damascus-pretty cool!

Drew showed us the trail ahead on a topographical map, where she pointed out shelters, alternate routes, Mount Rogers, Fatman Squeeze, and other highlights we'd encounter over the next few days.  One last photo and we'd be ready!

Finally, it was time to go.  The center was actually ON the AT, so all we had to do was cross the street and take the sidewalk out of town.  Drew had given us a recommendation for Wilson’s Cafe for lunch. We decided to make our way there, taking in the sights of downtown Damascus as we walked.

Wilson’s was pretty much the last stop as we were heading out of Damascus, and we decided to have one last hot meal. It was a good one. Our waitress was awesome, the food was delicious, and we left full and happy and ready for the trail ahead.

The Appalachian Trail shares the Virginia Creeper Trail as it heads north out of Damascus. We were told the VCT had substantial damage from hurricane Helene, and it was recommended that we take the AT even though it was a steeper hike up and out of the city. Everywhere we looked we could see remnants of the damage that Helene had left in her wake. Bridges were out, houses were flooded, debris was everywhere. It was very clear that the towns affected by this hurricane will take years and years to recover fully from the damage.

After crossing the main road, the AT heads up into the mountains via a staircase. This was it!  Our adventure was fully underway!

 It was so good to be hiking among the Rhododendron again. That green tunnel gets me every time!

With the steep uphill climb, we warmed up very quickly and soon stopped to shed layers. The sun was shining, and the sky was blue, and it was perfect weather for a first day on trail. I also noticed rather quickly that all of the water sources that had dried up or had just been a trickle in the fall were now heavily flowing. As we climbed, we hopped over the occasional little stream.  We continued climbing, and as we got deeper into the forest, there were many more blow downs from Helene. We spent a lot of time rerouting around gigantic trees that had uprooted and destroyed the trail. There had been so much trail maintenance over the last few months and overall, we couldn’t have been happier with the condition of the trail under the circumstances. 

We decided to hike past where we had originally planned to camp for the night, having left Damascus earlier than planned. 

We were thinking of making it to the first shelter northbound (NOBO), but soon realized that the amount of time it was taking to get around all of the trail damage was going to make that not possible. We chose a campsite about two miles further than what we had originally planned for the day and headed for that. 

What we didn’t know was that just up ahead, we would come to a much deeper and wider-than-anticipated stream.  After taking some time to search for a better way to cross than where the trail took us, or possibly some large rocks or a log we could use, we realized that the only way across the stream was through the stream.  I really had no desire to walk across an icy cold stream on Day One of this hike, but I guess we were going to go for it.  So, we rolled up our pants to above our knees and took off our shoes and socks. One at a time, we walked across through the icy water.  First went Kara, then Misty, then Chelsea.  Amy and I were very hesitant., but took off our shoes and socks, and got ready to cross.  Amy went ahead of me, proceeding very slowly through the rushing water.  About halfway across, I saw her start to waver.  She lost her footing, tipped to the side and fell completely down into the water backwards, drenching herself from waist to toe, as well as dunking the bottom half of her pack.  As I was gasping in horror and before I could even react, she somehow managed to get herself back to standing with her pack on and trekking poles in her hands. File that one under adrenaline-fueled feats of strength!  She quickly made it to the other side, and then it was my turn. The water was icy, and I was concentrating on getting across as quickly as possible. The rocks on the bottom of the stream were slippery and uneven, and some moved when you stepped on them. I definitely did not want to get wet. Thankfully, I made it across without incident and then it was time to get Amy out of her wet clothes and into dry clothes.  Except her only other dry clothes were her sleep clothes, if they somehow had managed to stay dry after being submerged in the river.  Thankfully, Misty had an extra pair of pants, and Amy's shoes and socks did not get wet during the fall.

 After gathering ourselves and getting Amy's wet clothes hung off the back of her pack, with little hope of them actually drying, we headed back down the trail and went in search of where we'd camp for the night.  The trail was so pretty in this area, and we all felt like we were hiking through Narnia.

 The Appalachian Trail runs on the west side of Laurel Creek and the Virginia Creeper Trail runs on the east side. Sadly, huge sections of the VCT were completely washed away-just gone.  There were remnants of bridges here and there, and in other places, there was just nothing but the raging river.  I have several friends who have run the Yeti 100 Mile race on the VCT, and I know it hold fond memories for so many people.  It hurt my heart to see it destroyed.

There were lighter moments, though, like when Kara re-enacted a scene from Dirty Dancing.

And who could forget seeing the infamous Penis Tree?  (I totally just made that up as I was hiking.)

When we got to our campsite area, we chose our tent spots away from a few trees that looked questionable to camp under. Soon, we had five green tents set up along the edge of the raging Laurel Creek.  It was nice to get to camp a little bit early on the first day to have time to get set up and not have to rush around.  I chuckled a little to see Kara's feet sticking out of her tent like a scene from The Wizard of Oz!

 The next order of business was fire. We all gathered twigs and sticks and larger pieces of wood, and after what seemed like forever, the fire actually started to burn. We took turns feeding the fire as we cooked our dinner on our camp stoves. I also opted to bring teabags and honey for an evening treat, and it was quite nice to have a warm drink while my food cooked. After dinner, we talked briefly about our plan for the next couple of days and really hoped the rain that was predicted would stay to a minimum.

 We stayed by the fire until after dark but then got a little chilly and decided to head to our tents and the warmth of our sleeping bags, which is where I am writing this post. Tonight, we will fall asleep to the sound of the rushing river in the distance.

Miles hiked: 8.46

Elevation gain: 1,654 feet