In June of 2025 five friends continued their trek on the Appalachian Trail. This time the group began fifty miles north of the town of Damascus, Virginia at Dickey Gap and walked southbound on the Appalachian Trail back to Damascus. The plan was to walk about 10 miles a day and camp around designated trail shelters mostly because they are near good water sources and in Virginia Bear Boxes are near these shelters which are highly recommended. What follows is a photo blog detailing the trek. It was a tough venture…
Our first night in town was spent at the River Trail Inn which is a new Air BnB type motel on the outskirts of Damascus. This motel was new and backs up to the Virginia Creeper Trail and a rushing river. The motel was new and equipped with a modern kitchen and bathroom. Very clean and nice. If you are heading to Damascus and need a place to stay we highly recommend the River Trail Inn!
We enjoyed three meals at the Damascus Diner in the center of town. The meals are hearty, plentiful and good! Our first night in town we had dinner here and met the Mayor of Damascus who was having supper with a friend. We enjoyed a casual conversation with them however unbeknownst to us they paid our dinner bill. Small Town America! If you are in Damascus and looking for a great place to eat head over to the Damascus Diner. You won’t be disappointed with the meal you will get there!
We hired a shuttle (which turned out to be two women in two separate vehicles) who for $120 gave us a ride into the hills 50 miles north of Damascus to a place called “Dickey Gap”.
The ride from Damascus to Dickey Gap was entertaining as the two shuttle drivers had a lot of stories to tell. As we were driven up the mountain road we were surprised to see the enormous amounts of damage from Hurricane Helene in 2024. Millions of beautiful trees were on the ground and the river alongside the highway had been ravaged by flood waters. Our shuttle driver explained that just after the storm she had to use a horse to go up into the mountains to rescue a woman she had taken up there just prior to the storm. The damage was extensive and in the following days we had to crawl over and under many large trees which had fallen across the trail.
Having hiked through Georgia, North Carolina, Tenessee and now Virginia we thought that Virginia would be similar to the other states. We were in for a surprise as Virginia offered some very difficult trails but plenty of open and rocky country. If you didn’t know it you would swear you were in Idaho or Colorado. It is a beautiful state!
Meals consisted of a protein bar with coffee or water in the morning. Lunch was a trail mix along with Beef Jerkey and plenty of water. Supper consisted of a dehydrated meal (Mountain House) which is re-hydrated with boiling water. Surprisingly this diet kept us energized and healthy throughout the trip. The pot on top of the burner in the above photo has made many a backpacking and kayaking trip and has turned out to be a very valued part of the trip equipment. I would recommend this pot to anyone looking for a cooking pot. A plastic bowl with lid fits inside of this pot and it makes a great system. When you are carrying your equipment on your back you look to cut weight anyway possible.
On day 2 the team entered the Grayson Highlands State Park. This is a beautiful and very large park. Horses, ponies and cows have been placed in the park to keep the plant growth in check. We encountered multiple animals throughout the park. They were not the friendliest of animals but they didn’t run either. We kept our distance because no one wanted to be bitten or kicked. We also had to watch where we stepped! As we hiked thru the park we encountered multiple gates that we closed behind us. (That’s the rule!)
Water is the most important concern on the trail. Fortunately water was plentiful on this trip. Most of the water is filtered prior to drinking or boiled prior to re-hydrating meals. Water coming out of the ground via a pipe is generally considered clean unless there is a dead bullfrog floating nearby…
With rain in the forecast the team decided to push thru and turn the 5 day trip into a 4 day trip which led to a 16 mile last day! The final night found the team staying at the Dancing Bear Inn in downtown Damascus. What a wonderful place that was to stay!
Of all the backpacking trips we have been on the team’s consensus was that this was the best one. It was arduous but beautiful. We are planning on returning to Damascus in the spring of 2026 to pack the south side of Damascus. Until then…Happy Trails!
Blackwater Images 