Breakaway to Grayson Highlands

After a decidedly exhausting election campaign season and subsequent result of that election, Blake and I needed a break from the real world. We escaped to the Grayson Highlands for a birthday weekend to relax and just be two people who agreed on something - the healing properties of lacing up hiking shoes and hitting a trail.

Ever since our Roan trip, I had longed to see sweeping vistas. While we do plan to attempt Roan again, we wanted someplace we hadn't been before. Grayson Highlands has been high on the list for a few years, so we decided to shoot on up for our combined birthday celebration (we are grossly only 6 days apart).

We stayed in a cabin about 20 minutes from Grayson Highlands State Park. It had stairs, so Lego was in heaven running up and down every chance she could. We woke up the first morning there and made a giant breakfast of sausage, eggs, and biscuits. After cleaning up, we made ourselves some PBJs and threw some snacks into the daypack. We arrived at the ranger station and paid a nominal fee to enter the park. Although we planned to hike out of the park, we didn't mind paying. From what we saw of it, this park is expertly maintained. And so gorgeous! We would have loved to explore it more, but we were there to see the views and the ponies.

The balds were dotted with these large rock outcrops

We parked along the road near the overnight backpacking lot. We followed the path to the first set of many gates they utilize to corral the ponies into their designated sections. As we walked, we passed the 500-mile marker for the AT. The sun was shining brightly, but the wind was steady with the reminder that winter was right around the bend. That didn't stop the citizenry from enjoying a lovely fall day outside. We saw many folks day hiking and backpacking. It did not take long to find the ponies either. They meander around, seemingly uninterested in the bipedals surrounding them. Lego was very unsure of these larger, slower doggos. She kept her distance and refrained from boofing them. But she always kept a side eye on them whenever we moved closer.

Our destination was Mt. Rogers, about a mile one-way off the AT. The trail was usually easy to follow, although sometimes we lost it in the rocky areas. We were not disappointed with the views. In almost every direction there were miles and miles of mountains with no large areas of development to be seen. We decided, however, that looking into the North Carolina direction was more beautiful than the Virginia direction. We could be biased, though.

The trail headed up to Mt. Rogers is a stark contrast to the AT

We passed a handful of amazing campsites along the way. Large flat areas great for spreading out and relaxing. There were quite a few campers up there already. Some were just setting up, while others seemed to have been there for awhile, their laundry hanging on lines suspended between the trees. Some of the sites even had amazing views of the valley and ranges beyond. We'll definitely go back to weekend camp up there.

We reached the Thomas Knob shelter in about 2 hours. There were a scattering of hikers hanging out around the picnic shelter chewing granola bars and chatting. Lego was most interested in the puppy they had accompanying them. They each allowed the welcome sniff but lost interest in each other quickly. Lego was tired, and the puppy had been having a snack itself, so after their intro, they both went their ways. We reached the spur trail to Mt. Rogers and entered the coolness of the forest. It was quite a change from the vastness of the trail we had walked. The air was close, and the sun filtered through the trees to cast shadows on the needle-laden trail. It was apparent that it was mid-afternoon now, we only had a few hours left until sunset.

We made it to the top of Mt. Rogers and found a spot on a rock away from the scout troop that had also stopped to have a snack. We ate our PBJs and jerky while Lego begged to go sniff all the people. While Mt. Rogers boasts itself as the highest peak in the east without a road leading to the summit (say that 5 times fast), there was not much more than the geodetic marker and the thick stand of fir trees. Don't get me wrong, it was beautiful. Dark, cool, mystical even. But after having walked across countless balds in the bright fall sun, it was not the climax of the hike we thought it would be. The sweat cooling off our bodies kept us from lingering too long on the summit.

Mom, there are people over there that I must sniff

On the way back we stopped at a trail junction that also serves as a viewpoint (from the top of a rock outcrop) and a campsite. From this point, we slowed our pace so I could take a few pictures of the landscape. We came across a small gathering of wild ponies munching in the grass just off the trail. Ignoring all urges to keep my distance, I slowly walked over to them and took a few shots. I can see the allure of petting them, they look so docile and almost family pet-like. But I resisted, and instead satisfied myself with just watching them peacefully mingle among the tall grass. Off in the bushes I did see two of them get into a small biting fight. I took that as my cue to leave and head back toward the trailhead.

I stopped along the rocky part of the trail to take a few pictures of the valley. We had Lego off leash in between us since she had nowhere else to go along the rocks. Blake kept hiking, but as I turned to get back on the trail I heard him holler, "Do you have Lego?" I looked ahead to see the doggo poised on the rocks looking back for me. My heart was so filled with love that she had waited for me. As I walked closer I furrowed my brow at her. Her leash had gotten stuck around a rock, and she couldn't move. That goober wasn't waiting to make sure I followed, she was waiting for someone to come release her. Turd.

Mom, halp! I are stuck!

Before we headed back into the state park, we stopped to take a family photo. We chose to have North Carolina behind us (because biased). I told Blake to take Lego out ahead of where I sat up the tripod. While framing the shot I grabbed a great one of our honor roll student rolling around in the pony poop. We used the best one for our Christmas card.

Apparently horse shit is a good thing to Lego

We were almost to the last gate when I heard loud footsteps and rustling brush behind us. I turned just in time to see a large pony barreling past us just off the trail. Lego freaked, and I'll admit I was a little startled as well. We continued on, but around a switchback came face to face with one of the largest ponies I had seen that day drinking water from a spring right in the middle of the dang trail. We tried to wait him out, but Lego was too nervous to stay still. We decided to take a wide swing down gradient of him. It was a mucky mess to cross, but he seemed to appreciate our passive detour.

We made it back to the truck just before sunset. It was considerably cooler now, and we were pretty tired from our (approximately) 8.5-mile hike. We headed back to the cabin to enjoy a nice birthday dinner of burgers and beer. It had been a great birthday celebration and nice soul-healing trip.

Lego was brave enough to climb up on the rocks at the trail junction. Then she saw more people she needed to sniff.

Doggo on the trail, just south of Thomas Knob shelter