So….here I am in Damascus, VA getting ready to head back out on the Appalachian Trail (AT) tomorrow morning. I will pick up the trail at Grayson Highlands State Park, which is the location where I came off the trail in 2023 after having started my hike at Springer Mountain, GA (the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail) in March of that year.

For those who followed my blog on the first leg of my AT adventure you may recall how much I enjoyed the hiking experience but how much I came to dislike the “trail life” experience….which is what resulted in me coming off the trail in Damascus, a little over 500 miles into my journey in May 2023.

For reasons that I cannot fully explain, nor understand, I have decided to repack my hiking gear and get back out on the trail to give it another go. I have no specific destination in mind, nor any duration of time that I am committing to. I will be on the trail, heading north, for as long as the weather is decent and the experience is enjoyable and within my physical abilities. Could be a few days, a few weeks or perhaps longer….we will just have to see how this plays out.

The trip from New Hampshire to Damascus was a short, but fun-filled one. My wife, Diane, and I traveled to Wrightsville Beach, NC on Friday to spend the weekend with her sister (Jill) and our brother-in-law, (Tom). We had a great beach day on Saturday and later that afternoon/evening we celebrated Diane’s brother’s (Richard) birthday, along with his son Ryan. Diane, Jill and Richard so seldom get together at the same time that this really was an extra special occasion.

On Sunday morning, Tom took me to pick up my rental car and I began making the six hour drive from Wrightsville Beach to Damascus. Fortunately, I was able to stop at my brother David’s house in Lexington, NC where he and his wife, Julie, had prepared a great lunch. My other brother, Patrick, drove from his home town of Lenoir, NC to join us along with his daughter Monica, and her 8 month old daughter, Andie (whom I had never met). Even though we only had a short time to be together it was so much fun, as my brothers and I also do not have the chance to get together very often.

After departing David’s house around 4:00 pm I made the final drive to Damascus, arriving at the Dragonfly Inn https://www.dragonflyinns.com/about-us around 6:15 pm. This is the same bed & breakfast that I stayed at in 2023. If you are ever passing through Damascus, I highly recommend this B&B as the owners, Ralph & Patti Wilson, are very accommodating and friendly! I had to drop off my rental car in Abington this morning and Ralph was kind enough to meet me there and bring me back to Damascus. He also gave me a quick tour of the devastation that occurred here last September when Hurricane Helene hit western NC and southern VA.

I will spend the rest of today enjoying the small town of Damascus, preparing my food bag, charging my devices and reorganizing my backpack for the start of my journey tomorrow. I have a shuttle driver scheduled to pick me up at 9:00 tomorrow morning and he will drop me off at my trail head about 25 miles north of Damascus. Again, Ralph was instrumental in helping me locate a driver. My hiking plans tomorrow are modest as it will be 10:00 -10:30 am before I can get on trail, and I am sure it will take a few days to reacclimate to my 35 pound backpack and the terrain ahead.

Thanks for tagging along and we will see how far this adventure takes me!

Note: I had not planned to maintain a blog during this hike as I have no idea how short, or long it may be. However, enough friends and relatives, who were aware of my plans to return to the trail, urged me to do so. (And, my good friend Doug said he would not mow my yard next summer, while I am away, if I did not keep up the blog!) With the exception of this initial posting, I will not link my updates to Facebook as I don’t want to force feed entries to my FB friends who prefer not to receive updates. Readers will need to go to this site (nobo23.com) to check out the updates and anyone who wants to automatically receive an update can do so by clicking on the “Follow And The Journey Continues” blue icon box on this page.

Diane, Alan Jill & Tom

Jill, Richard & Diane

Richard & Ryan

Patrick, Alan, Andie, David

Ralph & Patti Wilson – The Dragonfly Inn

Downtown Damascus After Hurricane Helene (September 2024)

Fours Days Food Supply (I Hope!)