May 25 - Day 40: Marathon Day to Damascus

May 25, 2013

Day 40 – Iron Mountain Shelter to Damascus, VA

26.3 miles, 467.1 total miles

 

Today I started hiking around 7 a.m. because I wanted to try my first marathon-long hiking day.  As you can see, I succeeded – all 26.3 miles!

I had great weather and excellent terrain today.  It was mostly flat (meaning only a few ups and downs), and the final 10 miles were all downhill. 

When I got into town, I went to “The Place,” a hostel run by the local Methodist church.  The donation was only $10 per night, and it had a shower and bunks – but unfortunately, no mattresses.

I was about a week late for Trail Days in Damascus, a big three-day celebration of the Appalachian Trail.  You may have seen in the news that several people were injured (none seriously I heard) when a car plowed into the big Hiker Parade this year.

In Damascus, I finally caught up with Bill, Frodo, and Alana, who had all just resupplied and bought a bunch of veggies and such, so we pigged out on healthy food for a while.  We also just caught up and talked about people we had met, and stuff we had done.

Later, we went to Joe’s Tacos, and then the Blue Blaze café to play some pool.   All in all, it was a relaxing night, especially when compared to the rest of my day!