Grayson Highlands and Mt. Rogers
I took a trip with my hiking group to the Grayson Highlands area in Virginia. I’d actually been there twice before — the first time with the hiking group two years ago, and last year with Adam (here’s his trip report and photos from that). On Friday, I met up with the other backpackers at REI for carpooling. We drove up to Grayson Highlands and met up at the group campsite with the car-campers.
On Saturday, we left from the backpackers parking lot.
We hiked 12 miles over the course of the day, and got caught in rain twice. The first time was at the Thomas Knob Shelter while we were taking a break.
Five of us made a mad dash up Mt. Rogers because thunder was rolling in and we wanted to finish it in time. That was my third time bagging that high point. After hanging at the shelter for a while, we decided to put on our rain gear and head out. But once we got all geared up, then it stopped raining.
Semi-wild ponies roam Grayson Highlands. Supposedly, there are at least two different breeds, which are separated by fences. But a ranger told us that the ponies are mixed every few years to prevent too much inbreeding, and sometimes they’re sold off by the forest service if their population increases too much. People aren’t supposed to pet them or give them food, but many do anyway. Subsequently, the ponies come right up to people and nudge them or go through backpacks looking for food if they’re not careful. Kind of like big dogs.
We hiked to the Old Orchard Shelter where we planned to stay that night. Torrential downpours started on the way there. We got to the shelter, but there were already seven guys lined up in their sleeping bags inside. They had dragged in a full-sized Coleman stove, regular big kitchen pots and pans, and multiple bow saws (for cutting kindling). Which is really heavy, considering the nearest trailhead is about 4 miles away. They also were not so big on Leave No Trace ethics: they threw cans and food wrappers in the fire, some of which got blown out and landed on the ground nearby, and left cigarette butts on the ground.
So we set up tents (in the rain) in the field near the shelter. I had my GoLite tarp and it worked very well.
I am also proud to say that I conducted my very best bear-bag hanging yet.
The next day, we got up and hiked out, about 7 or 8 miles. We hiked past Scales (a big field where there used to be livestock scales), and then split into groups before meeting up at the end and driving back to Durham.
More pictures here.
