Trailside Tales

The fun started an hour and a half away from the festival. We were cruising down a Virginia Interstate when I took notice of the passengers in the car next to us eyeing the RV—and Justin and me. A moment later they revealed a sign through the window: “Damascus, Trail Days.”

We were hammering down I-81 at a steady 70 mph and these guys were hitching a ride. Were they nuts? We’d soon find out.

Turns out David, a Scotsman, and Ryan, a Californian, were two thru-hikers who’d met on the AT and decided to hike together for a bit. Currently in Erwin, TN, they needed a ride south to this crazy festival they’d heard about. Well, what do you know? We were on our way to the same place. I asked how they knew, to which Ryan responded, “You had the look.” (I should note that picking up hitchhikers is completely out of the ordinary for me, but I wasn’t about to blow my chance at becoming a trail angel!)

As always, Trails Days proved to be all we hoped for and more. Happy hikers, beat-up bicycles and a mother load of moonshine made for a memorable weekend.



We even snuck in time to ride! Saturday morning’s spin brought us through a natural bridge and past a one-time bike shop.


At one point, Justin Lichter, also known as Trauma, was kind enough to go over Justin’s Great Divide maps—pointing out possible water sources, cheap hotels and restaurants along his race route. Tips such as, “It can’t rain forever!” and “It’s only a month long!” will stick with Justin as he pedals his way to Mexico, I’m sure.