Erwin, TN to Damascus,VA

This 5 day stretch was great!  I have now ran into about 8 other thru-hikers along with some great long section hikers and have enjoyed the company of others along the trail.  One worth noting is a 20 year old kid from New Jersey attempting to complete the trail in 100 days.  This has resulted in him putting in some long days!  His trail name is Glacier and it has been really fun running into him from Hot Springs to Damascus, but I have a feeling he is going to leave me in the dust as I take a zero here and he moves on.  There are quite a few others that I have been able to camp with as well, which made a couple of nights on the last stretch really enjoyable.

My favorite part of the trail on this last stretch was by far the Roan Highlands!  This was an amazing bald that lasted miles and was so beautiful.  It didn't hurt that I had great weather while I was walking across it, made for a wonderful hike!  During this stretch I left the border and moved into just Tennessee, and near the end crossed over into Virginia, so I am now in state number 4!  There were some great lunch time views along this stretch as well!  As far as miles go, I was able to do 4 twenty-six mile days in a row then an 18 into Damascus, so I am really getting into shape.  However, I felt pretty well starved on the trail even though I had eaten what I considered 6 days worth of food in 4 and a half days.  The hiker hunger has begun!