Virginia

The AT goes through the town of Damascus, Virginia.  By Waldo Jaquith from Charlottesville, VA, United States [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Trail Miles: 545 (about 1/4 of the total length of the AT)
Highest Point: Mount Rogers, 5,729 feet

Reaching Virginia is a milestone for thru-hikers.  It means that they have survived the gruesome Southern Mountain stretch of the trail.  Once the trail crosses Virginia, the elevations begin to level off, and the trail does become a little easier.  Of course, easier is a relative term.  The trail still has a lot of ups and downs, but by and large they are shorter climbs and descents than to the south.  What Virginia lacks in difficulty compared to other areas, it makes up for in quantity.  About a quarter of the entire Appalachian Trail lies in Virginia.

Another big reason hikers look forward to Virginia is the town of Damascus, the quintessential trail town.  The AT literally passes right through the middle of town, and the town loves the hiking community.  They love it so much that every spring they host Trail Days, a week-long gathering of hikers and trail enthusiasts.  There are picnics, parades, parties, cookouts, concerts, and an all-around good time is had by all.  Many hardcore hikers plan their entire hiking calendar around Trail Days.

Farther up into Virginia, the trail crosses the James River near the town of Snowden.  Just last year a brand new footbridge devoted to hikers was built across the river.   

As the trail continues north, it enters the Shenandoah National Park.  Here it follows a path not far from the Skyline Drive, a scenic road that travels through the park.  Skyline Drive has an interesting place in AT history.  In the 1930s, when the road was proposed, there was a great deal of opposition to building it, and controversy surrounded it.  Trail pioneers Benton MacKaye and Myron Avery found themselves on opposite sides of the dispute.  They reportedly had a falling out over it (and other disagreements) which led to them not speaking to each other for a number of years.

One interesting piece of history along the trail in Virginia can be found near Roanoke.  Audie Murphy holds the distinction as the most decorated American soldier during World War II.  After the war, he wrote a memoir titled To Hell and Back about his war experiences.  Murphy would later star in a movie based on the book, and he became a very popular actor appearing in many Westerns in the 50s and 60s.  In 1971, a plane carrying Murphy crashed on Brush Mountain, killing Murphy and all aboard.  Murphy was buried in Arlington Cemetery, where his grave is reportedly the second most visited behind only President Kennedy's.  A granite marker was placed at the crash site as a monument to Murphy in 1974. In the early 1990s, the AT section near the site was rerouted to pass near the monument.  

By Jwalden (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

 

While Virginia is not the toughest section of trail, it is still very difficult in many places.  Hikers who convince themselves that hiking through the state is easy will be in for a rude awakening.  Even if the entire stretch was flat, it would still be difficult.  Any walk of 545 miles is going to be hard in even the best of circumstances.  All things considered, though, it is a spectacular place to be when spring is in full bloom and about to give way to summer.