A few more miles...
Last week I had the opportunity to hike another 115 miles of the AT near Damascus, VA, through the Appalachian Mountain Club. After more than a month off the trail it felt like I had never left. That's because it rained like hell the first day. (Ah, the memories.) Fortunately, it only rained one more time over the entire week and that was while I was slackpacking* to a hostel in Roan Mountain, TN. So instead of camping in the rain, I had a warm, dry bed waiting for me. The trail though northern Tennessee and southern Virginia is beautiful but much of it is a long green tunnel with limited vistas. Hump Mountain and Little Hump are notable exceptions with a huge, open view from the nearly 6,000 foot bald ridge that rivals Franconia Ridge in New Hampshire. Several miles of the trail around Watauga Lake were closed because of aggressive bear activity but AT through -hikers are exempted from the ordinance. I suspect it's because the officials figure AT through-hikers smell too b