Trail Days Programs
Find information and inspiration from a packed schedule of more than 35 free Trail Days programs and presentations, trail tales, and discussions by trail personalities. Trail Days Programs are located at the Rock School Auditorium, Old Mill Conference Room, and Damascus Trail Center throughout the weekend. 2026 presenters include Warren Doyle, Heather “Anish” Anderson, historian Mills Kelly, Tara “Candy Mama” Dower, actress Anne Van Curen, Derick “Mr. Fabulous” Lugo, hostel owner Neville Harris, Shayla “Kiddo” Paradeis, ATC Artist-in-Residence Mallory Weston, and more!
The 2026 Trail Days schedule is here! Check out the programs and presentations below, and stay tuned for the full festival guide to be shared very soon:
Thursday, May 14
8-9:30pm at the Rock School Auditorium: My 58 y.o. Love Affair With the AT. Start your Trail Days by being regaled by Warren Doyle, member of the AT Hall of Fame and ALDHA Founder, and who has attended all the Trail Days. His lifelong passion for the AT is obvious. Be prepared to be entertained, amused, agitated, inspired and/or pushed out of your comfort zone (just like the AT does to the pilgrims who follow it). The question of “What motivates someone to walk the entire trail eighteen times?” might be answered by the end of this program.
Friday, May 15
10am at the Damascus Trail Center: Your Body is Linked Like a Chain. You are carrying about 30 lbs on your back. Where is your weak link? Each link – arches, knees, hips, spine, shoulders, neck, and more – has it’s own unique job, and if any one of them is neglected (or overworked), it impacts the whole system. Let me help you find your weak link. Dr. Tom Foltz of Trail Town Chiropractic in Damascus, 276-525-2380.
11am at the Damascus Trail Center: Meet the Author with Steven C. Wright, of The Weight I Carried: Hiking Through Grief and Healing on the Appalachian Trail.
11am-1pm at the Damascus Trail Center: Artisan Painting Class with Sketching Summits. Heidi Nisbett will provide a step-by-step lesson on how to sketch out the predetermined subject matter (an Appalachian Trail landscape) and paint it in with watercolor. Workshop fee includes take-home supplies – everything you need for the workshop and to continue your creative practice at home or on the trail! A portion of the $35 fee supports the Appalachian Trail Conservancy! 2-hour workshop; register at sketchingsummits.square.site.
2-3:30pm at the Rock School Auditorium: Hearing From the Hearts of Hostels. Come hear a panel interview of Neville Harris (Woods Hole), Bob Peoples (Kincora), and Poet & Hippie Chick (Shaws) moderated by Shayla ‘Kiddo’ Paradeis.
2pm at the Damascus Trail Center: Artist Talk with Laura Partain. Three photographers with three distinct styles and approaches sit down to share their experiences and unique ways of photographing the A.T., and why documenting the AT is important to its survival and protection.
3:30pm at the Damascus Trail Center: The Lost Appalachian Trail with Mills Kelly. When the A.T. first came to Southwest Virginia, it took an entirely different route from the one used today. The Iron Mountain Trail (part of the 2026 detour) was the original route of the A.T. between Damascus and the New River. Mills Kelly is the host of The Green Tunnel podcast and the author of A Hiker’s History of the Appalachian Trail and Virginia’s Lost Appalachian Trail.
4-5:30pm at the Rock School Auditorium: A Photographer’s Journey on the Appalachian Trail. A working photographer (Laura ‘Half Pint’ Partain) in search of deeper meaning takes a 7 month walk in the woods (2024) from Georgia to Maine seeing the thru-hike experience through the lens of her camera. This documentary is a companion piece to a fine art photo book she is making which also includes the stories behind the pictures.
4:30pm at the Damascus Trail Center: Bats with Holston Master Naturalists. Bats are Terrific! Join the Master Naturalists as we explore facts and fiction all about bats! We will have bat skeletons, DIY instructions to make a bat house, bat coloring pages, and possibly some bat treats (for people!).
7-7:50pm at the Rock School Auditorium: Beginners Contra Dance Lesson. Warren & Terry Doyle (AT thru-hikers) will offer patient, simple and fun instruction so you can strut your stuff tonight’s dance. Don’t worry, you don’t have to know your left foot from your right foot to contra dance.
8-11pm at the Rock School Auditorium: Annual Trail Days Contra Dance. Enjoy dancing to some mighty-fine live music along with patient, clear dance calling by Terry & Warren Doyle and it’s FREE! “Contra dancing is the most fun you can have standing up!” No partner or fancy duds needed. Please attend sober.
Saturday, May 16
8-9am at the Rock School Auditorium: Yoga for Hikers. Trail running not your thing? Then come join Christina Holt (AT21; Allegheny Trail, LT and CT) as she facilitates a yoga session for all bodies. You will build subtle heat and finish with restorative work. Bring your sleeping pad or yoga mat.
9:15-10:30am at the Rock School Auditorium: Tales of the Trail: ‘Six Pack Hikers’. Certainly one of the feel-good stories/vlogs of the AT Class of 2025, come listen to the Mertens family share short stories of inspiration and life lessons learned during their highly followed 2025 thru-hike. There will be an open Q&A, so bring your most curious questions!
10am-4pm at the Damascus Trail Center: ATC Artist in Residence Pop-Up Studio with Mallory Weston. Drop by the Trail Center garage to create a colorful, ultralight titanium spoon using the process of anodizing with artist Mallory Weston, ATC’s inaugural artist-in-residence. After watching the metal shift through a spectrum of colors, participants can engrave their trail name or a small drawing for a personalized trail utensil.
10am at the Damascus Trail Center: The Prophet of Happiness: Eiler Larsen’s AT 1930-1936 with Mills Kelly. Eiler Larsen successfully completed a hike from Maine to Georgia between 1930 and 1936. Along the way, he spread his philosophy of happiness to anyone who would listen. He loved hiking, but he loved nature and humanity more, and everywhere he went, his only goal was to spread happiness. It’s also fair to say he was the original hiker trash hiker.
10:30-11:45am at the Old Mill Conference Room: Zelzin: Footprints that Inspire. A short film and discussion about Rab Athlete Zelzin Aketzalli, who is the first Mexican woman to complete the Triple Crown. Raised in Mexico City, shaped by adversity, power and grit, a love for the land, and a dream few believed in. The film is the cosmic reminder that when you don’t see yourself reflected in the outdoors, sometimes you become the reflection. There will also be some discussion on doing the first thru-hike of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula.
10:45am-noon at the Rock School Auditorium: A Fabulous Thru-Hike. Derick Lugo, author of The Unlikely Thru-Hiker, shares a visual presentation of his new book: A Fabulous Thru-Hike. It is a funny, raw, and real look at 5 months living on the CDT. The story is complete with big climbs, bigger mishaps, and a cast of unforgettable trail characters.
11:30am at the Damascus Trail Center: Trail-Proven Tick Prevention: Preventing tick-borne illness on the A.T. Hear new findings on how long-distance hikers prevent tick-borne illness, along with a review of evidence-based strategies to reduce the risk of Lyme disease and other infections. Learn what hikers are already doing well, where the biggest gaps are, and which realistic prevention measures can make the biggest difference on the trail.
12-1pm at the Old Mill Conference Room. Storytime with Black Bear. Bring your children and listen to Emily Leonard as she reads from her children’s book about her AT adventure, with a Q&A afterwards.
12pm in front of the Damascus Library: Foraging for Edibles with Lee Borg. Join Master Naturalist Lee Borg on a foraging walk-and-talk. Learn how to spot edible plants on the trail and how to identify those to avoid.
12:15-1:30pm at the Rock School Auditorium: Te Araroa Trail. Come listen to Billy “Wahoo” Meredith as he presents a 45-minute film that provides an inside look at his 2025 FKT (self-supported) across New Zealand’s Te Araroa Trail. Billy is also a photographer and will have prints from his journey, as well as from his CYTC FKT (self-supported 2023), on display. There will be a Q&A and an Astral footwear giveaway.
3:15-4:30pm at the Old Mill Conference Room: Why does the trail go that way? The Fellowship (Tolbert family) is one of the largest families (nine) to ever do a thru-hike (2025). Their program will draw parallels between the trail and life. Their stories will illustrate the beautiful, challenging, and meaningful ways the AT represents journeying through life itself.
3:45-5:45pm at the Rock School Auditorium: Going Farther: Hiking the Calendar Year Triple Crown. In 2018, Heather ‘Anish’ Anderson became the first woman to complete the Triple Crown in one year. A multiple FKT record holder (both self-supported and unsupported), multiple thru-hiker and multi-author, Heather will tell stories about this CYTC trek which is the topic of her new book ‘Going Farther’.
4:15pm at the Damascus Trail Center: Your Body is Linked Like a Chain. You are carrying about 30 lbs on your back. Where is your weak link? Each link – arches, knees, hips, spine, shoulders, neck, and more – has it’s own unique job, and if any one of them is neglected (or overworked), it impacts the whole system. Let me help you find your weak link. Dr. Tom Foltz of Trail Town Chiropractic in Damascus, 276-525-2380.
4:45-5:45pm at the Old Mill Conference Room: Got pain? Techniques and tips to hike pain-free. Get trail-tested advice from Collin Chambers, who was a GSMNP ridgerunner for a few years and now operates the WildWood Walking Company and has a new book out called: The Mastery of Backpacking: Walking as a Path to Self-Empowerment.
6-7pm at the Old Mill Conference Room: Trail Ready: First Aid and Self Care for Long Distance Hikers. Join Crystal Crowder as she reviews first aid specific to hikers. She will discuss and demonstrate soft tissue techniques to keep out on the trail.
6:30-8pm at Rock School Auditorium: Footprint of a Heart: Musical Storytelling. Shayla ‘Kiddo’ Paradeis, Triple Crowner, author, and singer/songwriter, will sing folk songs from her album On the Ground and share songs and stories from her book describing her five thru-hikes (AT-2x; CDT; PCT; Te Araroa).
7:15-8:15pm at the Old Mill Conference Room: The Man Buried on the AT. Nick Grindstaff’s tombstone stands quietly alongside the AT about 25 miles south of Damascus on Iron Mountain. Author Chuck Walsh discusses The Isolate, his book based on the fascinating life of the man who has laid beneath this tombstone since 1923 and whose epitaph reads “Lived Alone; Suffered Alone; Died Alone”.
8:15-9:45pm at the Rock School Auditorium: Falling Heads over Heels for the AT. After a screening of a short video, “The Last Twelve Hours” by Emily Cameron, listen to Tara Dower (Candy Mama) and Megan Wilmarth (Rascal) speak about their AT love affairs over the years. Their team holds the overall endurance record for the AT, set in 2024 (40 days, 18 hours, 6 minutes), which is slightly under 54 miles per day average. Come hear their personal stories and how the love for this trail never ends.
8:15-9:30pm at the Old Mill Conference Room: A Trek Thru Depression. Trek along with Emily Leonard as she shares her struggles with post-trail depression and what she did to overcome it. This is an informal chat with time for group discussion.
Sunday, May 17
7:30-8:45am at the Rock School Auditorium: Increasing Your Success on Completing the AT. Time and trail-tested tips and advice to complete a thru- or section-hike by a wise old man who has traversed th entire AT 18 times (nine thru-hikes; nine section hikes). Includes a FREE one-page book.
9-10am at the Rock School Auditorium: How to Day Hike the Entire AT. Yes, it can be done. Find out how by someone who has day-hiked the entire AT several times.
10-11am at the Rock School Auditorium: Trail Epiphanies: We see only as much as we possess. Experiencing the gifts that the trail provides (IF you are aware of, and open to, receive them). There will be little to no mention of ounces/lbs., equipment, Far Out, or hostels/shuttles.
10:30am at the Damascus Trail Center: I Like Birds. Join Bob Riggs for a program geared toward kids; all ages welcome. Get an introduction to what a bird is and how to identify the many birds around us.
11am-12:30pm at the Rock School Auditorium: How has AT Thru/Section Hiking Changed Over the Last 50 Years. Talk and group discussion moderated by Warren Doyle.
12:30pm at the Damascus Trail Center: Meet and greet with Kiewit, the team rebuilding the Virginia Creeper Trail. Hear a brief project update, view images of progress to date, and celebrate the progress made. Light refreshments will be provided.
1-2pm at the Rock School Auditorium: Grandma Gatewood’s Walk. Actress Anne Van Curen transforms into Emma ‘Grandma’ Gatewood to describe what it was like to be the first woman to solo hike the AT in 1955, at the age of 67. Based on the book ‘Grandma Gatewood’s Walk’ by Ben Montgomery.
2-3pm at the Old Mill Conference Room: How Your Body is Linked Like a Chain. Local chiropractor, Tom Foltz, will explain how each body link – arches, ankles, knees, hips, spine, shoulders, neck. etc. – has its own unique job. If any one of these links is neglected (or overworked) it impacts the whole system.
You must be logged in to post a comment.