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Days 71-77: Four States and Seven Days Ago
1070.1 miles, 1,980,534 steps Tired of reading “Virginia” in the tags for these trail updates? Me too. Well, we’ve finally walked away from the Commonwealth and across the boundaries of three more states, no less! Where exactly “The South” ends is up to debate, but when you’ve spotted Amish buggies and crossed the Mason-Dixon Line,…
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Days 64-70: Oh, Shenandoah
972.6 miles, 1,804,360 steps The Shennys. Shenanigans National Park. The Sha-nay-nays. Whatever you want to call it, the second and final National Park is checked off. SNP contains 50% more of the trail’s length than GSMNP, the 101 miles afforded time to cook up plenty of those silly names. However, it is profoundly flatter and…
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Days 58-63: The Blues
834.7 miles, 1,599,992 steps This was a less eventful week, for sure. The typical Virginia hiking experience of “ridge-walking” continues to dominate, leaving me with less novel sights to report. But I don’t mean to be a downer, there’s still a fair amount of trail joy to share. My mood and mileage have been muted…
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Days 50-57: Familiar (Rock) Faces
731.7 miles, 1,432,756 steps … And we’re live after the break! Two weeks at Virginia Tech were much needed and well enjoyed. Highlights include concocting homemade cookie ice cream sandwiches, devouring pancakes for an entire week, catching up with friends over lunch, checking on the progress of my colleagues in the TREC Lab, and, of…
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Days 44-49: Hokie Homecoming
636.3 miles, 1,265,067 steps After a month and a half of sojourning through strange lands, the “country roads” finally took me home. If the AT is a river whose course guides me through unexplored frontiers, then Virginia Tech is an island that disturbs the current and harbors recognizable comforts. Emerging from the daily flow of…
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Days 37-43: The Mane Attraction
534.5 miles, 1,065,901 steps Hay there! Over the past few days, I’ve trotted through two of the most hyped-up locations on the AT. Host to the grandest hiker festival, Damascus is the quintessential trail town. To the north sprawls Grayson Highlands. The combination of rocky outcroppings, gorgeous overlooks, and unique wildlife grant this spot a…
