#69 A.T. Section Hike Five Hot Springs NC to Damascus VA ATMM 274.9 to ATMM 470.4 5-26-2020 to 6-9-2020 Intro:
A symbiotic relationship exists between small trail towns and long-distance hikers
Long distance hiking in 2020 is a little more difficult than in other years. 2020 hikers are faced with trail towns that may be unable to provide support. Due to the threat of COVID-19 many towns have been ordered to shut down “nonessential” businesses and services. Long distant hikers rely on many businesses and services found in these towns to continue their hike. A hiker can generally carry enough food for a week or so but beyond that the weight of the backpack becomes ridiculously heavy. Frequent resupply stops are a must.
A symbiotic relationship exists between small trail towns and long-distance hikers. Hikers provide much needed revenue for small trail town economies and the small towns provides opportunities for hikers to resupply on trail food, get showers, fuel up in restaurants, spend a night or two in a hostel or hotel, do laundry, shuttle from town to town or to trailheads.
Not to mention the relationship between hiker and gear outfitters. Long distant hikers must replace worn out gear due to blown out boots or shoes, broken hiking poles or headlamps, a bad rip in a backpack or tent, busted water filter or water bottle, ineffective water filter or stove, or replace heavy items with lighter versions—and many other possible scenarios that require a visit to a gear outfitter.
Towns also give hikers a chance to rest before going back out on the trail for another fifty or hundred miles. During this time of rest we will most likely order a large breakfast in one of the locally owned restaurant then walk across the street to order a large lunch from another. We might sit in a small movie theater to avoid the mid-day heat of summer. We may send or receive a package through the mail. We may visit a local brewery or winery then order a pizza from a local pizzeria. There are many pleasures and necessities we can treat ourselves to that aren’t found on the trail, restaurant food being the main attraction.
By dropping into trail towns, we boost their economies and further their chance of survival while they boost our morale and the chance of our success in our hiking ambitions. See? Symbiotic relationship.
In 2020, beyond state governments closing their states to varying degrees, hikers are face with being shamed and flamed on social media for being on the trail. Many hikers went into stealth mode; deciding to not post photos or progress reports on social media, moving under the radar. While on the trail I learn that at least one state had authorities waiting at trail heads and road crossings forcing hikers off the trail, giving them a ride to the closest town where they can rent a car or hop a train or airplane.
Many states are in various phases of reopening as we enter the trail. Though there are still social distance requirements and random restrictions, we are never forced to leave establishments. Quite the contrary, you’ll find throughout this story that we are warmly welcomed and receive friendly greetings at hostels and from townspeople. They are happy to have our business, and we are happy to have their support. Symbiotic relationship.
Let’s begin our story:
Travel and Staging
Uncle Lody picks Medicine Man, Princess, and me up at Princess’s house in Evansville Indiana. We drive to Damascus VA where we park Lody’s truck at a designated hiker parking area near the library. Mosey arrives shortly afterward. We load our gear into her SUV, eat at one of the few restaurants that isn’t closed due to COVID, then drive to Mountain Harbor Hostel in Roan Mountain, TN where we camp for the night.
Hanging around the hostel we meet a couple of colorful and highly intoxicated characters. They are friendly and harmless and provide much humor. We dub them the Greeting Committee because they seem less like hikers who actually hike and more like a couple of guys who spend their days hanging around old hostels drinking and greeting other hikers.
Some of us leave boxes with resupply items in them, such as food, toilet paper, and fuel in the area where they keep the drop boxes. After our shuttle to Hot Springs NC, the trail will lead us through here in about 10 days. This hostel is approximately one hundred twenty miles into our two-hundred-mile hike, we’ll grab our stuff and hike on several more days.
Join me next week when we will begin our 2020 Section Hike!