After leaving the Black Mountain eyesore, the scenic VA-KY border was a welcome sight. Very steep and windy road down from the pass, but great views and fall foliage. I passed through Damascus, site of an annual "Trail Days" festival, honoring the Appalachian Trail and its hikers. Damascus looked like a really nice town, nestled in the hills with lots of bed & breakfasts, many bike paths and shuttle services.

On top of Mount Rogers.

Shortly after Damascus I came to my first crossing of the AT, little sign by the road simply declared "Appalachian Trail". I parked nearby, and got my first chance to set foot on the 2000+ mile footpath that runs from Maine to Georgia. I enjoyed the sensation of standing on an 18 inch worn path in the dirt, knowing I could only see a few feet forward or back, but knowing that this ribbon ran for hundreds of miles north and south. I've since set foot on or hiked miles of the AT, but never quite had the same feelings as the first time I walked the trail.

Arrived at Grayson Highlands State Park around 3pm, in plenty of time to beat the Friday evening campground rush. Setup my tent, and hiked down to a nearby stream on the Wilson Creek Trail. The campground did fill up as the evening wore on, and I retired early to hike up Mount Rogers in the morning.

The ponies were out in force in the early morning.

A strong wind shaking my sagging vestibule woke me up around 4am. Crawled out of the tent to adjust guy lines and stakes, not a pleasant experience given the dry-concrete-like tent spots here. Went back to sleep for an hour and cooked breakfast by the first light. Drove up to the Massie Gap parking lot and headed through a gated fence.

I shortly had my first run in with the Grayson Highland ponies. They were all over this section of trail. Mostly they ignored me, or gave me a brief glance and figured I wasn't going to feed them. Where the trail meets up with the Appalachian Trail, an ambulance was parked. The EMTs told me there were a 21-year-old woman and boy missing since yesterday who had set off with "inadequate" clothing. I never heard anything more about the missing hikers, and the ambulance was gone when I came back by.

The AT across Massie Gap and to the Mount Rogers trail is much more interesting and scenic than Mount Rogers itself. The bald gap had great views of the neighboring hills and some rock hopping. The trail was free of other hikers this early in the morning, but I could see a few tents pitched behind rocks or off in the woods along the trail. I believe I was the first to reach the summit on this morning, but it wasn't immediately apparent that I was "there". The trail suddenly fades out in a small clearing, and the trees are thick enough that you don't quickly notice being at the highest point. I found one of the USGS markers right away, and when I was joined by a group of students from Virginia Tech we found one other marker. Reportedly, there's a 3rd marker, but I couldn't locate it.

Mount Rogers is the peak on the right.

Mount Rogers grew more crowded as another group of students appeared doing some actual work. I decided it was time to head back. The day had started out cold and windy, and I had watched clouds flow by seeming so close overhead. Now the day was warming up and more and more hikers were hiking up to Mount Rogers. The Massie Gap lot was full this when I got back and someone quickly took my space as I pulled out.

I ended up running into another Hoosier I knew from trail maintenance back in the Grayson Highlands State Park. We only recognized each other because I'd been wearing my "Hoosier Hikers Council" shirt.

I'm getting up early again tomorrow and swinging by Clingmans Dome on the way home.

Scenery on the the Wilson Ridge.