Ponies in the Snow

Saturday, we took Amaroq and Harper up to Virginia to see some snow at Grayson Highlands State Park.  Parking at Massie Gap, it was really cold when we arrived.  Harper and Sandy stayed warm in the car, while Amaroq and I went for a short hike on Horse Trail East.

I think this was Amaroq's first time in the snow and he seemed to really enjoy himself.  After an hour or so, it had warmed up a little and we all went for a hike up Rhododendron Trail.

Following Horse Trail North, we hiked as far as the park boundary.

There were a lot of wild ponies here.

This was our first time seeing them in the snow.

It looks like the park had dropped off a couple big piles of hay for food, hence the large crowd.

It was pretty cold for Harper, so we didn't hike any higher up.  Near Massie Gap, we took Cabin Creek Trail to Lower Cabin Creek Falls.

There were some massive icicles along the trail and a couple parts of the trail were a little sketchy.

The lower falls has two sections, but it was hard to go out for much of a view.

Continuing on the loop, we stopped briefly to see Upper Cabin Creek Falls, but even in winter, the view of this one is poor.

Then we finished up the loop and headed back to Massie Gap.

From here, we started making our way home and made a quick stop in Independence at Peach Bottom Falls.

Also known as Powerhouse Falls, the ruins of an old powerhouse were right next to the falls.

It was a short walk down to the base of the partly frozen falls.

A couple short paths led up to views of the upper sections.

The uppermost section had some cool icicles near the top.

We got some pictures and then started making our way home.  We stopped near Pilot Mountain for pizza at Rigatonis on the way.

Ponies & Waterfalls

Sunday, we woke up early and broke camp and then headed up to Massie Gap for a hike before leaving Grayson Highlands State Park.  Right at the trailhead, beautiful flame azalea were blooming fiery orange flowers.

Hiking the Rhododendron Trail, we started heading up, passing more beautiful azaleas and wildflowers, including ragwort.

The mountain laurel were starting to bloom here and we had a nice view of Twin Pinnacles in the distance.

The mountain laurel were not quite at peak, but the pink buds were very colorful.

A little further there was some flame azaleas with really deep orange flowers.

In a short ways, where the Rhododendron Trail and North Horse Trail met up, we saw our first wild ponies of the day - two adults and a little boy.

The mother pony used a trail sign as a scratching post and the little boy came over to emulate his mother.

Continuing on the trail we came to a larger group of ponies grazing just before the trail leaves the park.

There were several adults and three little babies, alternating between nursing and grazing for food.

We spent some time here getting pictures as the babies were really cute.

One was taking a little nap without a care in the world.

Sandy and I alternated between holding Alex and viewing the ponies.  He was very excited about the ponies, but not sure what he'd do with them, so we kept him a safe distance a way.  Continuing on, we entered Mount Rogers National Recreation Area and took the Rhododendron Gap Trail towards its namesake.  Another smaller herd of ponies were right along the trail and it was tricky maneuvering Alex around them as he really wanted to play.

There were some babies here too.

We definitely picked a good time to visit and see the baby ponies.

Continuing on, the trail crosses the AT and then finally intersects with the Crest Trail near Rhododendron Gap. We went right on Crest Trail for a quarter-mile to Rhododendron Gap.  Unfortunately, the rhododendron were all past peak - recent storms had knocked off any remaining flowers, though I did find one flower.

We climbed up the rock outcrop here for a snack and to enjoy the views of Mount Rogers and the surrounding mountains.

Even without the rhododendron flowers, it's still a beautiful spot.

After our break, we took the AT back Grayson Highlands.  Back in the park, we stopped again at the larger herd of ponies.  One of the babies came up and starting rubbing himself on my pants.

I try not to get too close or approach the ponies, but this one approached me and I didn't want to make any sudden movements.  I scratched his itchy spot until he seemed satisfied and then continued on.  At the intersection, we went right on Rhododendron Trail to head back towards Massie Gap.

Getting close to the cars, we weren't quite ready to leave, so we hiked the Cabin Creek Trail, going left at the split to hike the loop in the clockwise direction.  The trail descends steeply along a tributary to Cabin Creek and then follows the creek upstream.  We stopped at Lower Waterfall on Cabin Creek for a couple of pictures.

It was kind of warm so I took off my boots and waded in the shallow pool with Alex.  Above enjoying the main drop, I rock-hopped to the small island for a view of the upper drop of the waterfall.

Continuing on, where the trail cuts back to the right to finish up the loop, we continued upstream to the Upper Waterfall on Cabin Creek.  It's a long series of steep cascades but there's no good viewing spot.

I bushwhacked up a ways and then made a difficult climb down to see the upper most drops, but there was a lot of downfall so hard to get a decent picture.  Then we finished up the loop back at Massie Gap.

On the way home, we stopped at Foothills Brewpub in Winston-Salem for dinner and drinks before finishing the drive home.

Wilson Creek Hike

With the sweltering heat in Raleigh, we decided to head north for the weekend and try to stay cool in the highlands of Virginia.  We left Friday after work and headed to Grayson Highlands State Park.  It rained a bit on the way up, but was dry by the time we arrived.  After setting up our tent, we took Alex for a hike while we waited for Justine and Kristen to show up.  We started hiking down Seed Orchard Road along a wide old road.  In under a mile, we went right at a fork to get on Wilson Creek Trail and head down to the creek.  Where the trail met up with the creek, we continued upstream a short ways to a small waterfall.

The water level was too high to get across, but I think there would be a better view from the other side.  Then we got back on the main trail and followed the creek downstream.  In a short ways, we came to the main Waterfall on Wilson Creek.

There are several nice drops along the creek, but the state park mentions a 25-foot waterfall on the creek and I'm pretty sure that this is the one they're referring to.  In high water, it was really impressive.  A little further down was a nice cascading section.

And a little past that was another scenic drop.

 I think all of these would have looked better from the other side, but it was getting late and crossing would have been tough in the high water.  We finished up the loop with a steep climb back up to the road and headed back to camp.  There were some flame azaleas blooming around the campground.

When we got back to our campsite, no one else had yet arrived.

Justine and Kristen ended up getting stuck in traffic and didn't arrive until well after dark.  We were all really tired by this point and went to bed early.

Grayson Highlands - Pinnacles & Cabin Creek

Due to some very loud snoring, I didn't sleep to well Saturday night and woke up at about 530 on Sunday morning. But I didn't want to let an early morning go to waste, so I grabbed my camera and drove to the Sugarlands Overlook towards the entrance of the park.

The sun was just starting to peek over the mountains to the east and provided some gorgeous early morning views.

As it rose over the mountains and broke through the clouds, the sky was alight was beautiful purple, orange, and pink, and the dim light illuminated the misty valleys nestled between the mountains in the distance.

So while I wasn't too thrilled about getting woken up so early, I was a bit appreciative of being given the opportunity to witness such a beautiful sunrise. I headed back to camp and most other people were starting to wake up. After we had breakfast and broke camp, we headed back to Massie Gap for one last hike in Grayson Highlands State Park. From Massie Gap, we hiked up the short, but steep Big Pinnacle Trail to its namesake peak for beautiful views of the surrounding mountains.

The weather this weekend had been absolutely perfect - mild temperatures with highs in the mid 70s and mostly sunny skies. So the views were incredible.

From here, we hiked along the Twin Pinnacles Trail towards Little Pinnacle. Along the way was a patch of beautiful flame azaleas in bloom.

We really lucked out with the blooms - the rhododendron and flame azaleas were peaking, though it was still a little early for the mountain laurel. We stopped again at Little Pinnacle to enjoy the view and then continued on the trail.

Just past Little Pinnacle is a really neat tree whose roots are growing over a rock, several feet above the ground.

The visitor center is right past here and then the trail loops back around back towards Big Pinnacle, and then back down to Massie Gap. But we weren't quite ready to leave just yet - one more hike to go. We hiked down the Cabin Creek Trail to its namesake creek and followed the creek upsteam. There are several pretty little cascades and waterfalls along the creek.

We stopped and had lunch at the Lower Waterfall on Cabin Creek, a nice 25-foot triple waterfall and then made our way back up, finishing the loop.

It was about 130 when we got back to our cars and started making the drive home. Being relatively close, we actually made it home at around dinner time.