This year, Farm To Feet was proud to be an official sponsor of the 2015 Trail Days in Damascus, VA. On the first day, the Farm To Feet team traveled to Damascus to enjoy the festivities and greet the thousands of thru hikers and festival attendees with free socks.
Damascus is one of the popular thru hiker stopping points along Appalachian Trail and with Trail Days located a few hundred yards away, many hikers take time out of their journey to to celebrate with the community.
Throughout the day, the Farm To Feet team ventured around the festival – greeting thru hikers with a friendly smile and a greatly appreciated offer of “Free Socks.” There was a catch however, we asked the recipients to model the socks for us so we could take their picture – we had many people gladly accept our offer. Below are some of the people we met.
Happy Mountaineers!
Near the start of the day, we met a couple of guys walking towards Trail Days from Tent City. The two guys attend Appalachian State University in Boone, NC and decided to pack up and hike the AT to Damascus, Virginia for the celebration. Both were were very excited to model their new Ballston Spa socks and were looking forward to using them on their next hiking trip.
Socks – Just In Time
This couple of thru hikers had been hiking the AT for months, and had their dog with them since day one. They stopped in Damascus just for Trail Days when they said they were down to their last few pairs of socks, so they were excited to receive a new pair from us. They were taking a much needed rest so they decided to sit down while they modeled their new Greensboro 3/4 crew socks (available in Men’s & Women’s).
New Life-Long Friends
These guys all met on the trail a couple days prior to Trail Days and quickly become life-long friends. They were laughing and telling stories during our time with them. One had his camera and wanted group shots taken to keep the memories for later. All were excited for clean socks with one asking for the women’s Conovers because that style was more fitting to his personality. The others were more comfortable with the Madison and Rock Springs styles that we gave them.
Hanging Out
The team met a guy who was very accustomed to the trails, spending every summer hiking in and around his hometown of Bristol. On this day, he and his friends decided not to hike the AT, but rather lounge by the River in an Eagles Nest Outfitters Hammock. He said he comes to Trail Days every year with friends just to see what’s going on. This year he is hanging out with his new pair of Rock Springs.
Namaste
The Farm to Feet team spent part of the afternoon walking on the AT and met a thru hiker on the trail who went by the trail name Mantis. While stopping to talk, Mantis said he had covered 28 miles that day. He was happy to be getting closer to Damascus, as he had been hiking for so long, but even happier for new pair of Rock Springs socks.
New Connections
Meeting on the trail seems to be a popular connection among couples at Trail Days. Once hitting the trails alone, hikers often meet friends to hike with for the rest of the trip. This couple met on the trails a few weeks back and have been hiking 
together since, with the dog of course. We gave them brand new socks and the girl was excited when she saw her real name on the package– something she hadn’t been called in a while, since they go by their trail names. Her name was Carolyn, like Carolyn Weddle from Nester Hosiery who is featured on the packaging for the pair of socks that we gave her.
Overall, we had a great time at Trail Days & look forward to being a sponsor and attending next year.
Learn more about the socks discussed in this post by clicking on the following links:
