Mt. Rogers, VA

Elevation: 5,729 ft.

Summit Attained: Approximately 5 p.m., 06/17/08

After being turned away by a winter storm en route from Black Mountain, Kentucky in February 2007, I returned alone to the Grayson Highlands area in June of 2008.  I was on my way to rendezvous with my family in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and was worried that I'd be short on daylight.  Fortunately, the days were long, and a 3 P.M. start turned out to allow plenty of time for the 8.6-mile roundtrip hike. 

I parked my car at the Massie Gap parking area, and then followed a path down the steps and across a grassy picnic area, to a gate.  An information board stood to my right, and just beyond the fence stood a sign that warned hikers not to, among other things, "molest the ponies."  Once through the gate, I followed the Rhododendron Trail up and over a moderate rise, and then across a very large meadow.

As I crossed the meadow, I noticed wild ponies with the longest manes I had ever seen, running around and grazing next to the trail.  They went about their activities without giving any pause to the hikers who approached as close as two or three feet to marvel and take pictures.  I had to laugh, as the manes on several of these animals reminded me of a troll doll's crazy hair.

Near the back of the meadow, a cutoff led to the left, up a short hill toward a fence at the meadow's edge.  I followed the trail up to the fence, and then through a rather ingenious gate, shaped like an zig-zag, which I assumed was there to keep the ponies out of the area beyond. 

A short way beyond the fence, the unmistakable white blazes on the trees told me that I had merged onto the Appalachian Trail.  A lot of people really like this section of the A.T., and let me echo that sentiment.  The next few miles were awesome!  The trail led up through steadily sparser vegetation, and then out onto a gentle ridge that offered stunning vistas of the surrounding hills and mountains.  Soon thereafter, the trail grew rocky, and then began to ascend a series of switchbacks, winding its way up and around large boulders as it steadily gained elevation. 

Rounding a bend, with the vegetation growing thicker, I came to Fat Man's Squeeze, a narrow section of the A.T. that passes between two tall rocks.  The rocks sit close together, so as to form a sort of cave, with strips of narrow sky just visible overhead. 

Beyond Fat Man's Squeeze, the Rhododendron plants started to show up all around me.  Then, unexpectedly, I turned a corner and came to a tunnel formed entirely of Rhododendron plants!  It was a passage almost as long as a football field, where I walked upright through a petal-lined hallway, with red and pink flowers and sun filtering in over my head (look at the photos). 

The trail led onwards, through patches of forest and across beautiful little clearings.  Several times, I turned a corner and came upon more grazing wild ponies and their frolicking youngsters (I'm not making this up - this hike was ridiculous).  Eventually, the trail came to a crossroads with several other trails.  The junction was located in a clearing, framed between a number of large boulders.  Of course, each rock was surrounded by Rhododendron plants. 

Then the trail passed up and over several of the rocks, and back out into the wide open, winding down through a series of meadows.  During this section, the trail offered more expansive views in several directions.  At some point, there was another nifty gate, and then an A.T. hut called the Thomas Knob Shelter. 

Not too far past the shelter, in the middle of a field of slightly taller vegetation, I came to the cutoff for the Mt. Rogers Spur Trail.  Here, I turned and followed the Spur Trail the rest of the way through the field, and up into the trees.  One minute I was strolling through a sunny field, and the next I was in a very thick, dark forest.  Here and there, a few beams of sun filtered down through the treetops, creating a pretty neat visual display at one point, but it was a very different atmosphere. 

Feeling a bit nervous, I hiked what turned out to be a short distance through the forest before reaching a small clearing.  In the middle of the clearing was an old tree stump, and off to the left was a small boulder with some sort of benchmark affixed to its top.  Surprised, I realized that I was on the summit of Mt. Rogers.  It is interesting, and almost fitting, that the highest point in a beautiful, mountainous state like Virginia is nestled out of sight in the trees.  Nearby was another marker, and I'm assuming that there is a third somewhere nearby (sort some of triangular survey).

No longer worried about the daylight running out, I took a few photos, and then sat down on the rock to enjoy the peaceful setting.  After a short time, however, a couple strolled up to the summit, and I decided to get going with the return hike and let them enjoy the place.  I moved pretty fast on the way back, and was at the Thomas Knob Shelter in about ten minutes.  I was starting to get blisters on my heels, and there were hikers hanging out inside the hut, so I took a few minutes to chat with them while I applied moleskin to my heels.  The one guy was training for Aconcagua by hiking half of the A.T., and there were several others who were just out enjoying the trail for a few days.