Appalachian Trail (day 22) - Vandeventer Shelter to Backbone Rock Trail / mile 466

"This guy's trail name is "Truffle Pig", he dug out a cat hole to relive himself and found someone else's business inside" Burger Man

Another gloomy morning. It was raining really hard over night and I was happy that I stayed in the shelter. A nearby tree must have fallen at night as there was a loud crashing noise for about 10 seconds then it got quiet again.

I made a move as quickly as there was enough light to pack everything up, the plan was to get as close to Damascus as possible, get to town early the following morning and have (almost) day off, or what hikers like to call a "nero" ("zero" as per "zero miles" is an actual day off).
It finally stopped raining at midday, the fog slowly lifted and the sun made an appearance. To make things even better there was a trail magic at one of the parking lots.Three people from New York led by "Lunch" who thru hiked AT in 2014, were serving grilled sausages and pork cutlets. There were crisps and muffins and soft drinks, an absolute delight. About six other hikers were chilling nearby and enjoying the feast. Unfortunately I didn't know any of them, but I recognized people they were talking about. It's what happens when you are travelling at your own pace and not staying in any particular "bubble", faces change quite often.
I left the magic after 20 minutes and carried on walking for another 10 miles until I've reached the campsite. The one I was going for was already taken but I found a little hidden camp spot on a crossroads with another trail. No one else was here tonight, so I could have some privacy and snore as loud as I want, I used this opportunity to call T-Mobile and recharge my account until the end of my stay in US.

I only had under 5 miles left to hike tomorrow. It was also last night in Tennessee as the trail was crossing the border to Virginia very shortly, it would be fourth state I've visited so far.

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