Miles: 12.2 Steps: 34,416 Elevation Gain: 1,475 feet Faith in Humanity: What a hiker friendly town Damascus is! Thanks for everything! Ahh, going into town. Sometimes it seems like there are so many towns along the Appalachian Trail! But it’s exciting every time. The lack of sinks and grocery stores builds and they’re so nice to see when you get out of the woods. Something like that. Pretty mellow rolling terrain and then: boom, town! I was hiking really fast without even noticing. First stop in town? Subway! Cheap and tasty, just what I wanted. Next I made my way to The Place, a donation based hostel run by a local church. I had arranged to help out a bit by trimming some bushes but upon arrival was told I couldn’t do any work since it was Sunday... oh well. I found a bunk, took a shower, walked a mile to the larger grocery store, bought way too much food (as usual), ended up getting a stove since mine was completely broken, ate a huge cheap pizza, socialized with hikers, and generally enjoyed the luxurious spoils of town. I also got a lead on one of my hiking buddies from my 2007 Appalachian Trail thru hike: Roy! Roy was a great guy and I hadn’t talked to him in the 10-11 years since we hiked together. I hung out with some hikers (Declass, Crash, Ion, Cotton, and more) at a different hostel before going to bed. Going to take a day off from hiking tomorrow, I think?