Seven Days on the Appalachian Trail, Day 7: we arrive unscathed in Damascus!

[To see the original journal entries recorded during this leg of our adventure, click here! But this post has all the photos.]

Apparently, all I did on our last day of hiking was take photos of mushrooms. I certainly did not take photos of the hiking, and apparently neither did anyone else. Instead, we have photos of all the places we stopped and ate things.

A photo taken at sunrise from inside the shelter. The sleeping bags can be seen at the bottom. Backpacks hang from the ceiling, appearing as silhouettes against the sun that is peeking through tree trunks in the background. — Also, places where we slept. Sunrise from a wooden shelf in the Abingdon Gap Shelter. This is a shelter that wants to make sure you get on your way in a timely fashion.

A photo of the side of the shelter from a distance. Laura stands out front by the picnic table. Hobz can barely be seen in the shadows of the shelter, sitting on the platform. — Almost ready to hit the trail.
(Photo credit: Hobz)

We did do some hiking. It was very pleasant. Today’s elevation menu included 800 feet of up, then 2800 feet of down. Up is harder on my hummingbird heart (hard work, huffing and puffing, lots of sweating), down is harder on my knees (straight pain). I made a deal with my knees today that if they took me gently to the bottom, I’d give them the next week off.

[Alt text, left photo: Laura sits on a log in front of a sign marking the Tennessee/Virgina border and smiles at the camera. Top right photo: Dustin sits in a fold-out camp chair, body facing away from the camera but head turned to look toward the bottom of the frame. Bottom right photo: A stone dividing line runs across the trail next to the sign marking the Tennessee/Virginia border. Hobz stands at the right of the frame with one foot on either side of the rock border.]

At our regular seven miles in, we hit the Tennessee/Virginia state line. Seemed like a perfect spot for lunch, so Dustin and I ate in Virginia and Hobz ate in Tennessee. The conversation was lovely, but the food was getting a little old (literally, but mostly metaphysically.)

Laura and Dustin sitting next to the sign marking the Tennessee/Virginia border. Laura looks at the camera and Dustin is looking at the camera in his hands. — Helloooo from Tennessee! (Photo credit: Hobz)

A straight-on photo of the Tennessee/Virginia State Line sign, with Hobz standing on the left side of the frame, Laura in the middle on the other side of the sign, and Dustin on the far right. Everyone faces the camera and looks very happy. — The third state we’ve hiked on the AT in just one week!

We could hear the town of Damascus coming long before we could see it. We spent a bit of the afternoon daydreaming about what kind of delicious, hot meal we’d track down as a reward for our efforts. It kept my mind off my knees, though they were actually behaving quite well.

Selfie of Hobz standing in front of a tree bearing a rectangular white blaze, on the right of the frame. In the background, Laura and Dustin walk away from the camera across what appears to be someone's front lawn. — Hobz thought to take some photos as we came off the trail into town. Dustin and I just made a beeline for the car where we could take off our boots. (Photo credits: Hobz)

Hobz thought to take some photos as we came off the trail into town. Dustin and I just made a beeline for the car where we could take off our boots. (Photo credits: Hobz)

Selfie with Hobz on the left, Laura at center, and Dustin on the right. A white car can be seen in the background. Laura is holding both thumbs up, and everyone is smiling. — Victory party back at the car, which was exactly where we left it. (Why was that surprising?)

We rearranged our footwear and the contents of our car to make space for Hobz, then scooted across town to settle him at his hostel for the night.

A view from the ground looking straight up into the branches of a tree, where dozens of pairs of shoes are suspended. — There are shoe trees along the AT in Maine and Georgia that are full of victory shoes. This tree, 450+ miles from the southern terminus, is probably full of failure shoes? A weirdly huge number of them appear to be the Altras. Maybe people just discover 450 miles in that they hate Altra shoes…?

Next stop was the 7 Trails restaurant where we were promised tasty burgers and cold drinks, both of which were delivered with exceptional customer service. The fries were the highlight of my meal which, despite my certainty that I could eat a truck, I was unable to finish. I think hiker hunger needs more than a week to really set in.

Hobz and Laura sit on the far side of a diner table. Dustin sits on the near side. The table is covered with baskets of food and bottles of beer. Hobz's face is mostly obscured by a giant hamburger he's holding up. Laura is holding her hamburger but making a "Woo!" face. Dustin is smiling like a normal person.

“When I ask if you’d want to do this with us again,” I told Hobz, “what you should do is say, ‘of course I would! you guys are great hiking buddies!’, but then you should feel free to invent an excuse to be unable to meet us when it actually comes up next time. That way we can all stay friends.”

Hobz is such a good hiking buddy because he genuinely seems to find me funny.

“I was going to ask you that too,” he said, “but I thought it might be too soon. You’ll think this was more fun after you have a month to think about it.”

A small moment passed, and then he added, “but I would definitely hike with you again.”

Same, Hobz. Same. And I’ll do a better job packing next time.

DAY SEVEN STATS: