So, Jared sent me a voicemail threatening to withdraw his support from my AT hike and pursue the trip of another thru-hiker if I continued to fail to update my blog. I am terrified of this concept, so here goes nothing! A lot to update you all on...

Damascus Trail Days was as interesting and exciting as I expected! It was basically a 3 day long party of hikers, complete with tons of gear vendors setting up their wares, lots of speakers and events, and general wildness. As with any good hiking event, an unreasonable amount of free food was distributed and consumed. I also managed to get free equipment repairs from Leki and Katadyn (my trekking pole and water filter manufacturers, respectively) and a brand new tarp for my hammock from a neat little startup company called Warbonnet Outdoors.

After the fun and excitement of Trail Days, I headed off for another annual AT event... HARD-CORE. Hardcore is a yearly 48 hour blitz on trail maintenance put together by Bob Peoples, the owner of the famous and beautiful Kincora hiker hostel. Along with a bunch of other hikers (close to 100 at our peak) we dug out almost a mile of brand new, beautiful trail. Along with some hand blisters and a sore back, I gained a healthy appreciation for just how much work it requires to make the beautiful treadway we walk on every day.

After Hardcore, during which I was granted another two nights at Kincora (so far my favorite hostel on the trail, a lovely little cabin in the woods), I was shuttled back out to the Grayson Highlands where I left off on my hike northward. Along with Chef, Popeye, Lunar, Lightweight and Dingo, I started north!

We made a lot of big mile days, covering the 130+ miles between Grayson and Pearisburg, VA in just a week. Amidst our big days and beautiful hikes, we managed a break to celebrate Memorial Day. We grabbed a ton of food including hot dogs and chips at a store a half mile off the trail, and hiked a short distance into Dismal Creek Falls, a gorgeous swimming hole and campsite where we stayed up late (read: 10:00) chatting and eating around a campfire. All in all, it was a spectacular time.

Now here we are in lovely Pearisburg, Virginia! Mile marker 623, a scant 1500-something miles from our goal on Katahdin! I think I will take a nice relaxing day off here, hopefully long enough for my buddies in the Pain Train to catch up so we can be reunited at last. The only sad part of this all is that today was the last day of hiking for our dear buddy and companion Dingo, the Western Australian gentleman we've been hiking with for some time now. He is a truly incredible guy with an unbelievable wealth of world experience, and a great guy to hike with. He will be sorely missed, but is adventuring onward in life... his travels will take him to Washington, DC, New York City, London, and New Delhi all in the next few weeks!

Anyways, I hope to update with some more frequency, especially now that I have recovered my cell phone (which I brilliantly left charging at Kincora after Hardcore) and can provide my home base with more info.

Keep up the voicemails and messages... they are really great to get!
ALSO: My Virginian Amigos (this means you, D.C. residents and Dan and Rebecca!!) I am 160 miles into Virginia, near Blacksburg (the Virginia Tech campus) and will probably be in the state for another 3 weeks. Get yourselves out here and visit if you want! Drop me a voicemail and maybe we can work something out.

After VA, it's the half-way mark.....
But that IS another 350 miles from now!

All the best from the woods,
Rob