An Ode to the Trail Town

Within the last 600 miles, I’ve passed through several different trail towns, and the experience in them has been unmatched. With towns tailored towards hikers and locals that understand the spirit of the trail, the towns have been the perfect haven for a hiker.

Hot Springs

Hot Springs was the first town that I physically walked through on the trail. I arrived in the town at noon and was able to use my afternoon to give back to the town through hurricane relief efforts. Getting to work with the volunteer efforts at the Hot Springs Resort Campground let me give back to the community that was hit hard by Hurricane Helene.

The hot springs diner was also a fantastic spot to get my fill on well-cooked food after coming off the trail. The dinner and breakfast were two of the best meals that I have eaten on the trail so far.

Irwin

Irwin, Tennessee, was home to Uncle Johnny’s hostel and was my second true town stop. The hostel was a perfect rest stop after a week of hard hiking. They also shuttled us into town for a fantastic small-town experience.

After a pretty standard resupply at a grocery store, I went out for dinner with some other hikers at a local restaurant. To my surprise, the town stop did not end there. Word got to us that a local bar had some awesome live music happening at it that night. When we arrived, we were so shocked to see the 9-year-old son of the bartender on stage playing and singing his heart out to classic grunge and rock bangers. During his 2-hour set, he performed way better than many other live musicians that I had seen, and he was a fanatic surprise to see and a real representation of the small-town culture.

Roan Mountain

Roan was a small mountain town that we had originally planned to skip. Planning my resupply around a 4-day carry that would get me past it. But as I was hiking into the highlands on my first day out of town, my group ran into a trail runner named Sarah. We chatted briefly about her previous thru-hike before she shouted out her Instagram handle and told us to message her any questions.

Well, we were walking into the exposed parts of the highlands with storms coming the next two days, so we messaged her and asked her for advice for managing the bad weather and exposed terrain. To our surprise, she invited us to her home for the forecasted worst night of rain. That day, she and her husband, Jonathan, picked us up (wet and cold) from the trailhead, took us to their house, and even bought us dinner. They were a fantastic surprise when we thought we would just be getting weather advice, but they were the perfect representation of the trail town culture.

Damascus

Damascus, home of trail days, is the trail town of all trail towns. When we arrived in Damascus, we were quickly well-fed at the Dairy King and well-housed at The Place Hostel. And when bad weather was set to roll in, we stuck around for a second zero day at the Broken Fiddle Hostel for a day filled with fun with other hikers and a great cookout. (I even learned that I’m pretty decent at darts.)

All of the trail towns that I have traveled through so far have been so welcoming and accepting of hikers. All of the people that I have met have been so kind and generous. The trail towns have constantly reminded me that it’s the people around the trail that really make it so special.

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