Approximately how long to hike from Springer Mtn to Damascus, VA?

[Kayak]

I would like to attend the Trail Days event in Damascus, but I am beginning my hike the first part of March and I may be past Damascus before May 13 to 15th. Any feedback is appreciated!

[Lone Wolf]

35 days.......

[Kayak]

Thanks for the quick response!

[Slo-go'en]

People who leave the first week of April generally get to Damascus just in time for Trial Days. Of course, not knowing your level of fitness or experience when you leave Springer, it's hard to guess. 66 year old's aren't usually noted for dong big miles and an early March start usually slows one down due to weather, so it's possible you'll get there just in time.

[map man]

Here is the "typical" progress of a completing NOBO thru-hiker -- around 40 days to get to Damascus. Of course that "average" covers a pretty broad range so you may vary significantly from this:

DAYS ~~~ TOTAL DAYS ~~ SECTION
8.0 days..........(8.0)............Springer to Georgia Border
7.9 days.........(15.9)...........Georgia Border to Fontana
24.4 days.......(40.3)...........Fontana to Damascus
28.7 days.......(69.0)...........Damascus to Waynesboro
11.2 days.......(80.2)...........Waynesboro to Harpers Ferry
19.2 days.......(99.3)...........Harpers Ferry to DWG
12.6 days......(111.9)...........DWG to Kent
23.5 days......(135.4)...........Kent to Glencliff
9.7 days........(145.1)..........Glencliff to Gorham
9.9 days........(155.0)..........Gorham to Stratton
13.7 days...... (168.8)..........Stratton to Katahdin

[MuddyWaters]

People who leave the first week of April generally get to Damascus just in time for Trial Days.

Not exactly coincidence either....

[rafe]

Folks who complain about "organized trail magic" should consider that Trail Days is the grand daddy of all the big AT events. So much so that many thru hikes are timed and organized around it. And it's been that way for at least a quarter century now.

About five weeks for most folks. Which works out to.... umm, wow, 35 days.

[Cuacoatchoo]

I've heard really great/amazing things about Trail Days in Damascas.

I'm not sure It'd be worth it to me though to be stuck in the cattle herd that leaves early April. The shelters in the smokies get really over crowded when the april 1st departures hit the smokies, and the ridge runners are forced to be complete (bad word) in order to push the masses thru the gates.

If you leave a couple weeks later, you miss trail days but the crowding gets exponentially better each week.

[BobTheBuilder]

Took me about four years to make it, but I took a lot of zeros.

[QiWiz]

35 days.......

I was gonna say 5 weeks. LW knows what he is talking about.

[Jack Tarlin]

Depends on weather and how much time off you take, but 35-40 days should do it.

[Lauriep]

Calculations I've done in the past led me to conclude that most thru-hikers take between 5 and 6 weeks to reach Damascus from Springer, and between 5 and 6 weeks to reach Harpers Ferry from Damascus. The first leg is 469 miles and the second leg is 554, but the second leg is easier, hikers are more fit, packs and bodies are lighter, efficiencies have been gained, blisters are fewer, and days are longer. The average time for northbounders photographed at Harpers Ferry to get here from Springer is 2 months and 3 weeks.

That's right in the same ballpark with MapMan and LW.

Laurie P.

[mattjv89]

Even if you pass Damascus you can easily get a ride back to Trail Days so timing isn't much of a concern. If anything I would rather be at least 50 miles out of either side of Damascus for Trail Days to avoid walking in with the mob that's been piling up for weeks waiting for it, or getting caught on the way out. I headed back South from the road outside Partnership Shelter (60ish miles) and never seemed to get caught by the big group after I got back on trail.

[dreamweaver21]

Adding it up, 27 days for me (2 sections). I am not really a seasoned hiker but i am mid 30s and fit so I hit the trail with what I consider a reasonable pack weight (mid to upper 20 pounds) and my favorite time to walk is in the late afternoons so I pretty easily make 20+ miles a day in good weather.

[LindaJesse]

Great post...

[takethisbread]

4 or 5 days


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[Lazy squirrel]

Here is the "typical" progress of a completing NOBO thru-hiker -- around 40 days to get to Damascus. Of course that "average" covers a pretty broad range so you may vary significantly from this:

DAYS ~~~ TOTAL DAYS ~~ SECTION
8.0 days..........(8.0)............Springer to Georgia Border
7.9 days.........(15.9)...........Georgia Border to Fontana
24.4 days.......(40.3)...........Fontana to Damascus
28.7 days.......(69.0)...........Damascus to Waynesboro
11.2 days.......(80.2)...........Waynesboro to Harpers Ferry
19.2 days.......(99.3)...........Harpers Ferry to DWG
12.6 days......(111.9)...........DWG to Kent
23.5 days......(135.4)...........Kent to Glencliff
9.7 days........(145.1)..........Glencliff to Gorham
9.9 days........(155.0)..........Gorham to Stratton
13.7 days...... (168.8)..........Stratton to Katahdin

Thank You, This is exactly what i was looking for

[RangerZ]

People who leave the first week of April generally get to Damascus just in time for Trial Days. Of course, not knowing your level of fitness or experience when you leave Springer, it's hard to guess. 66 year old's aren't usually noted for dong big miles and an early March start usually slows one down due to weather, so it's possible you'll get there just in time.

This old guy started 9 April and made it to Trail Days this year. I wasn’t planning on going but my boot upper started separating from the sole, so I went to Trail Days solely to get new boots. (It was fun though.)

[QiWiz]

35 days.......

Agree - I would give myself 5 weeks for this section. If the average mileage for that time frame seems too high or too low to you, fine tune the plan.

[Gambit McCrae]

It took me 41 days as a section hiker to reach Damascus. This obviously included a lot of half days on Sundays in order to get back home at a normal time. I would say that 35 days for a thru is very reasonable.