Greyson Highlands to Damascus

Some friends and I are hiking Greyson Highlands to Damascus in late March- has there been any recent bear sightings on this section of the trail?

There are bears along the trail from springer to Maine. Take your hike, ignore the thought of bears. Use proper bear etiquette.

If you're looking for bears, you won't find one. When you're not looking, that's when you unexpectedly run into them. Haha.
Seriously tho if you're looking for them, you might see a few so keep your camera handy and like Gambit said use proper bear etiquette. Hang your food, clean up your mess at the kitchen table, make noise to let them know you're in the area, etc... On my thru, I ran across ~10 bears and all seemed to be more interested in scavenging for food than worrying about me (even the one that walked out of the thick laurel about 25 feet in front of me! (he continued down the trail and didn't even look back at me, not a care in the world)).

There was long-running bear activity around Thomas Knob Shelter last year. Bear boxes were brought in, as I recall. Be aware and hang your food properly.

I think OP's question does warrant extra caution, because like Uncle Joe said above, there were some serious bear issues in the Highlands last year. Talking almost daily people were having their food stolen, one lady with a loose dog had an encounter with a bear...and to my knowledge, the same bears are still there.

Be extra cautious of your food through there. Utilize the bear boxes if they are still available and/or bring a bear canister. There is very little good wood in that area for a suitable hang. It's all pines or this rotted white wood. I searched for a long time and found the best limb I could (but nowhere near my usual standards), and that same night my campmate who happened to be thru hiking the AT had his Ursack stolen. This was right around when the bear activity began and it just got worse from there.

Don't let it deter you from your hike at all. But certainly be extra cautious with your food.

Left out of Grayson Highlands last year right after Trail Days for a couple days. Went North instead instead of heading to Whitetop. Was suggested to me by several rangers to skip Thomas Knob shelter, stop before or after. The bear there (don't know if he has been "removed") could get to hangs and had busted into the box. I'd go to Wise or stop at the park instead.