We carpooled from Johnson City to the brand new Appalachian Trail Conservancy's Visitor Center in Damascus where we met our hike leaders, Gerald and Ann. It was a late morning start after the trip to Damascus and the carpool to the trailhead. The hike is about 4 miles of AT arriving southbound into Damascus.
After the group photo shoot on the bridge over Straight Branch, we head up the stone steps on the AT,
We spend a good amount of time ascending on the trail. The area has been considered for wilderness status but has not yet met all the criteria. We did see some large trees and there are some spots off trail with old growth forest. We hiked past many Rattlesnake Plantain plants as well as many mushrooms.
At a water break, Gerald air drops the group shot to everyone but me. I'm the only one without an Apple phone. I quietly gave him my business card and asked if he could e-mail me, the old fashioned way. He did do that later.
Not much in the way of views on this section. Here is a partial view we caught a glimpse of. Lunch as at a large campsite with enough nice places to sit. This was by far the hottest hike I had at the conference and I was glad to walk down the steps leading to the road into Damascus.
If you have bicycled the Virginia Creeper Trail, you may have noticed these steps as you make the final roadside ride into town. We walked about a mile into town on the Creeper Trail. It was a busy Saturday on the bike trail so we kept a constant vigil out for bikes coming from behind.
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