Dear Herm’s Hikers,

The euphoria of Trail Days has somewhat diminished, but one thing about the AT, there is always a new adventure around the next corner or town. What can you do for an encore after Trail Days? Why you go to the Highlands and then Pearisburg! I can hear Frank Sinatra singing now “I love Pearisburg in the springtime. I love Pearisburg in the fall.” Okay, enough of Old Blue Eyes nostalgia. But before we reach Pearisburg, let’s cover some more trail.

From Damascus it was north to the Grayson Highlands, the land of the wild ponies. What a scenic part of the trail! It reminded me of the the mountains in the west. Hiked for miles above the treeline over, under and around the rocks. Between the peaks, there were a number of mountain meadows covered in a thick carpet of lush green grass with rock outcroppings and a few stands of pine trees. It wouldn’t be too hard to mistake the Grayson Highland for the highlands of Ireland. That’s how green and damp it was. In the meadows, I could hear ponies whinny, but didn’t see any until I reached the Thomas Knob Shelter. Gathered around the shelter were 16 wild ponies Read more »

Dear Herm’s Hikers,

Kudos to the town of Damascus! What a great time at Trail Days! Enough cannot be said for the town and its people. For the uninitiated, Trail Days is a combination of Mardi Gras, Woodstock 1969, and the Cannes Film Festival. From Thursday to Sunday, there was live music on almost every corner, free food (just follow the swarm of hikers), and free movies (about the outdoors, of course) at the various churches and schools. The quiet town of approximately 1,000 was busting at the seams with thousands of hikers, vendos, and visitors. The grand event was the hiker parade where the hiker’s gathered at one end of the town and run the gauntlet to the other end (about a half a mile) through a barrage of water balloons, water guns and cannons, and hoses. Thank goodness, it was a hot day! It felt good to be pelted by water balloons. All in good fun! It was a blast! Read more »

Hi Everyone! This is Cathy…Paul’s wife…and I just got back from spending the weekend with Paul at Trail Days in Damascus, VA. What a wonderful time…imagine the whole town, small as it was, coming out and spending the weekend celebrating the hikers on the AT. From the meals at the local Baptist Church to the Parade where both townies and hikers are hurling water baloons or using their very powerful squirt guns against each other! A good time was held by all! We set up a booth in the town park using our banner (courtesy of the art department at Hereford High School in Parkton, MD…thanks guys!) and a flag courtesy of our friend Jedidiah (also great thanks!) we looked pretty professional and had many people stop by and ask us questions. We got a total donations of $240 there and would like to thank the following people (hopefully we got your names right)
Flying Scottsman, Jedi, Terry, Antrak, Floater, Oden, Traci, Diane, Laura, Bobby John, Judy, Sharon, Caniac Dad, and Doc Holiday! We really appreciate your help here and I’ll be sending the money in to the Alzheimer’s Association today. I also want to thank the people at the Mountain Laurel Inn for providing a wonderful place for us to stay… I could have stayed in tent city but Read more »

Dear Herm’s Hikers,

Paul on the road to Damascus! It sounds biblical, and, believe me, it truly is. The AT is not only a physical and emotional journey, but a spiritual journeyl as well. For a week or two, my alternate trail name was “The Apostle.”
Since my last entry, the AT has taken from Hot Springs, NC, thourgh Erwin, Tn, to Damascus, VA. Really glad to be in Virginia. It’s mentally uplifting to enter another state and to know that with each step I’m getting closer to Maryland. The last two weeks has been mentally tough. It seems that NC/TN just went on forever. Every mile started to look the same. Through the woods, down the gap and up the next mountain. And the weather has not been kind. This could be one of wettest year’s on the trail. Just my luck! It’s has rained for the past 2 weeks. As a result, I and all of my gear smells like Read more »

Dear Herm’s Hikers,

Due to technical difficulties out of my control, this is my first chance to post a blog. Believe me, I may be out of sight, but Herm’s Hikers are never out of mind. Okay, there’s a lot of trail news to catch up on, so let’s go.
Out of Fontana, we had two day of good weather (partly sunny and cool) until the rain and cold hit as we climbed Clingman’s Dome, the highest point on the AT. Read more »