Took
our time getting everything packed up. The sky was still overcast, but
it was clear the sun would be shining soon. Saw a herd of deer in the
distance, towards the Mt. Rogers summit. We started walking, and it
turned into a beautiful day.
The Grayson Highlands look sort of like a bald, but with lots of rocks and evergreen trees scattered here and there – all that, coupled with a bright blue sky and puffy white clouds made the scenery quite magnificent. After coming down a rocky slope, we finally got to see the famous feral ponies we’d heard so much about.
Only one was wandering close to the trail. He licked my hand (salty with sweat), but wouldn’t let me pat him. I guess Breaking Wind got bitten by one of them. Took our time walking and took a lot of breaks.
Low mileage. Finally made it to the Old Orchard Shelter around 3:30 (a whopping 11 miles). Everyone else was pushing on, so we decided to, too.
Our plan was to go up and over Iron Mountain and then camp at one of the many flat spots shown on the topo map. Well, one thing I (we) didn’t realize about the topo map is a straight line doesn’t necessarily mean flat ground. This straight line was on the side of the mountain. No level tent sites anywhere. So we kept walking, though it was getting late.
Were a bit worried about Hummingbird, who hikes slower than we do, so we kept leaving notes telling her what our plan was. Saw a grouse (ruffled? Kind of looked like a chicken). It was 7:40, and we finally made it to a sign for the public campground half a mile away.
We’d heard it was closed, but how can you lock the woods? So we gave it a shot. The campground was really nice, and the only other campers were a school group next to us.
Since there was a problem with the well, the cost to stay was zero! Hummingbird showed up just before dark, and was really thankful for our notes. We ate dinner and hit the hay. Fell asleep surprisingly easily – my feet were so happy to be able to wiggle. Didn’t get up til 7:30 – in no rush after our late night.
The Grayson Highlands look sort of like a bald, but with lots of rocks and evergreen trees scattered here and there – all that, coupled with a bright blue sky and puffy white clouds made the scenery quite magnificent. After coming down a rocky slope, we finally got to see the famous feral ponies we’d heard so much about.
Only one was wandering close to the trail. He licked my hand (salty with sweat), but wouldn’t let me pat him. I guess Breaking Wind got bitten by one of them. Took our time walking and took a lot of breaks.
Low mileage. Finally made it to the Old Orchard Shelter around 3:30 (a whopping 11 miles). Everyone else was pushing on, so we decided to, too.
Our plan was to go up and over Iron Mountain and then camp at one of the many flat spots shown on the topo map. Well, one thing I (we) didn’t realize about the topo map is a straight line doesn’t necessarily mean flat ground. This straight line was on the side of the mountain. No level tent sites anywhere. So we kept walking, though it was getting late.
Were a bit worried about Hummingbird, who hikes slower than we do, so we kept leaving notes telling her what our plan was. Saw a grouse (ruffled? Kind of looked like a chicken). It was 7:40, and we finally made it to a sign for the public campground half a mile away.
We’d heard it was closed, but how can you lock the woods? So we gave it a shot. The campground was really nice, and the only other campers were a school group next to us.
Since there was a problem with the well, the cost to stay was zero! Hummingbird showed up just before dark, and was really thankful for our notes. We ate dinner and hit the hay. Fell asleep surprisingly easily – my feet were so happy to be able to wiggle. Didn’t get up til 7:30 – in no rush after our late night.
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