Audrey Hales - American Camino Chapter 3

 In Chapter 3 Kip Redick mentions Trail Days, a hiking festival in Damascus Virginia. Damascus is a small town nestled in the valley of the Appalachian Mountains, a very quiet town except for the week of Trail Days. The Town experiences tens of thousands of hikers and onlookers, who participate in a variety of traditions including the hiker parade, water gun fight, a hikers talent show, and many vendors. As a part of the summer AT course, we got to attend the festival as a class and walk in the hikers parade. I can say from experience that it is an extremely fun event, and the hikers parade was definitely a highlight of the class. Kip then goes on to discuss the liminality in festivals, a theme that is recurring throughout the book. He then talks about the hostels along the AT, one in particular, Kincora Hostel. Bob Peoples is the man who has built and run Kincora for decades, and is a member of the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame. His life story is fascinating, and it is so wonderful to see the friendship between him and Kip. When talking to our class, Bob Peoples said “The world is full of good people, they just all live up in the mountains.” Another person, quoted in Kip’s book, said “Bob Peoples once slammed a revolving door” which is a very accurate statement. 


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