Cinco de Mayo!

Although the calendar points to today as being a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride, I find myself more interested in celebrating a homecoming of sorts. For the first time since leaving Springer Mountain, I am in a familiar state camped nearby a familiar town. I have conquered Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, and now the many miles of Virginia stand before me with Damascus standing in wait for my arrival tomorrow.

Damascus is known as the "friendliest" town on the AT. For hikers that means plenty of accommodations, resources, and people to lend a helping hand. For me this mountain town is more. Damascus is the location of the most recent family reunion on my mom's side and the main activity was biking the Virginia Creeper Trail. While Trestle 7 was recently destroyed by a tornado, making that section of the trail impassable, the memory of the nearly pedal-less ride along the 34 miles of downhill grade still seems fresh. That reunion is also the occasion when Tera first met many of my extended family.

So I am returning to a familiar town found in a familiar state. Virginia is also where my grandparents have lived for years, and so I know it in a way that I haven't known the three states I have just ventured through. Virginia and Pennsylvania, where I grew up, are the two most anticipated states on my trip because of the history I have in both. Finally being in the first feels like an accomplishment, and knowing that it holds the most AT miles of any state, getting through it will be an accomplishment as well.

I will enjoy the Virginia miles while I can, as they offer a walk in what feels more like a backyard than a forest.