26. Damascus

In the town of Damascus, Route 76 intersects with the Appalachian Trail in the center of town. Once a year, in May, an estimated 25,000 people attend Appalachian Trail Days in this small town with a regular population of just 650 people. Camping is encouraged in a designated tent city in a town park, hundreds of vendors sell crafts, food, and hiking gear, and a full schedule of music, including many local and regional performers, fills out the days and nights. A highlight of each weekend is the Hiker Parade through the downtown, with thousands walking and other cheering. Spraying hikers with water guns is encouraged. For about forty years, this festival has allowed Damascus to demonstrate its designation as “the friendliest town on the trail,” with the goal of welcoming new hikers and welcoming back hikers and community members who attend regularly. This episode uses the location of Damascus, in far southwestern Virginia, close to the border with North Carolina, to explore the parallel development and divergent paths of two major routes: Route 76 for cyclists and Appalachian Trail for hikers. This episode is connected to the city of Damascus, about four hundred seventy five miles from Yorktown, the starting point for the westbound route, and about seventy five miles from the Kentucky border, where eastbound riders enter Virginia.