Mount Rogers Loop Hike

Saturday, I took Amaroq to the Virginia mountains for the long weekend. Our first destination was the Mount Rogers Trailhead along VA-603 in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. We set out in a light rain, following the Mount Rogers Trail into the Lewis Fork Wilderness. The route was steadily uphill, but the grade was gradual and never particularly steep.

After about two miles, we passed the Lewis Fork Spur Trail, and roughly two miles later reached the junction with the Appalachian Trail.

We followed the AT for another two miles before turning onto the Mount Rogers Spur Trail for the final climb to the summit.

The hike through the enchanted forest was especially beautiful in the fog and drizzle. Fraser fir saplings were sprouting from decaying logs across the forest floor, creating scenes that reminded me of the Olympic Peninsula.

Reaching the summit was somewhat anticlimactic, as Mount Rogers is completely forested and offers no views from the top.

Even if there had been overlooks, the rain and low clouds would have obscured them. We stopped for a short lunch break before beginning our descent. On the way down, we turned onto the Appalachian Trail and followed it to Rhododendron Gap.

The rhododendrons were just beginning to bloom, although the fog prevented any distant views.

From there, we took the Pine Mountain Trail for about a mile before connecting with the Lewis Fork Trail. Most of the normally scenic vistas along this section were hidden behind the clouds. Near the trail junction, we came across a group of wild ponies grazing in the meadow, which immediately caught Amaroq's attention.

We then turned onto the Lewis Fork Trail and continued our descent.

The downhill grade was gentle, and the trail was lined with an abundance of wildflowers.

In places, the vegetation had grown thick enough to encroach on the trail, and we ended up getting wetter from brushing against the foliage than from the rain itself. About halfway down, we took the spur trail back to the Mount Rogers Trail and returned to the trailhead. 

From there, we drove into Marion for dinner and a couple of beers at 36 Fifty Brewing. Amaroq was a hit at the brewery, making friends with both the people and the other dogs. He received plenty of treats and even more attention. Afterward, we headed to Wytheville and checked in for the evening.

AT Hike through Mount Rogers

Saturday morning, we woke up early, had breakfast, and got ready for a long hike. We started by leaving two cars at the Massie Gap parking area in Grayson Highlands, then drove to our starting point on Beech Mountain Road (SR-601), about 14 miles from the park in Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. Once we were all ready, we started hiking up the Appalachian Trail. And up and up. The first couple of miles of this hike were quite steep as we hiked up towards Whitetop Mountain, gaining about 1500 feet in elevation in less than 3 miles. The forest was thick during most of this climb, until we reached a clearing near Buzzard Rock.

The exposed hilltop and rock outcroppings provided fantastic views of the mountains in all directions and we stopped at Buzzard Rock to have a snack and enjoy the views.

There were several flame azaleas in full bloom adding a beautiful orange color to the otherwise green landscape.

But we still had quite a bit of ground to cover, so we couldn't stay too long. We continued on the trail around Whitetop mountain, the second highest point in Virginia. We didn't climb to the top, but followed the AT around the southern end of Whitetop and eventually down towards Elk Garden. Along the trail here, we saw some interesting mushrooms that were growing on a dead log and actually pushing the moss off as they grew.

There were quite of few of these mushrooms along this stretch of trail. After a little bit longer, we came down a ways and came out on Whitetop Road (SR-600) at Elk Gardens. There is a parking area here with a restroom, and so made a good spot to stop for lunch. Although the area is very open, a large tree provided some shade to escape the sun for our lunch.

After lunch, we continued on through Elk Gardens. From the parking area, the trail headed up through an open area for a short ways. Here we saw our first wild pony, who was strangely alone.

Usually, the ponies graze in herds, but this guy was alone. We got some pictures, although the pony was a little aggressive and was trying to eat the cameras. So we continued on through Elk Gardens and heading into Lewis Fork Wilderness past Deep Gap and towards Mount Rogers.

We took a brief rest stop at a spot where a spur trail leads to an open area along the Virginia Horse Trail and then continued to the Mount Rogers Spur Trail. A few in the group made the trip up to the summit of Mount Rogers, but the rest of us took a break at the Thomas Knob shelter.

More great panoramic views from behind the shelter and some Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies were eating nectar from the many wild blackberries growing in the area.

Strangely, we had yet to see blooming rhododendron. But that was change soon. Once everyone regrouped at the shelter, we continued on to Rhododendron Gap.

Although it was later than usual, on account of the mild spring, the rhododendrons were peaking this weekend and were absolutely beautiful.

Approaching the gap, the rhododendron flowers were getting thicker and thicker, until we reached the outcrop and it was pink flowers as far as the eye could see.

We climbed up onto the rocks and enjoyed the wonderful views for a bit, then started making our way back to Grayson Highlands. Unfortunately, it was getting late and we didn't have quite enough time to stay here.

Traveling over Wilburn Ridge, many more rhododendron were blooming. And when we crossed into Grayson Highlands State Park, we immediately saw a herd of ponies, including my favorite, Fabio.

Of course we had to stop and greet the ponies and get some pictures, and then made our way down to Massie Gap to our waiting cars. We shuttled to get all the cars back and took a very enjoyable shower before eating dinner and heading to bed. Grayson Highlands is really luxury camping. The handicapped shower has a detachable massaging shower head with a seat, so I could massage my sore feet in the shower, forgetting for a moment that we were camping. This weekend had the super moon, the closest a full moon comes to earth. After my shower, I took the camera down to the open field in the campground and got some pictures of the moon. But soon after the sun went down completely, I was ready to pass out after a very long day.

Mount Rogers Hike

After breakfast, we got ready for our hike to Mount Rogers. We carpooled from the campsite to Massie Gap and started hiking just after 9. We followed the Rhododendron Trail up from Massie Gap to meet up with the AT and followed this trail southbound to the border of the state park. At the gate, we saw the only wild ponies of the trip - a small herd of about six.

Of course, we had to stop and greet the ponies and get some pictures, then continued on into Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.

We continued along the AT across Wilburn Ridge stopping at a few rocky areas to climb up and enjoy the wonderful views of the surrounding mountain landscape.

Perhaps my favorite thing about the Grayson Highlands area (well, except for the ponies of course) is the exceptional views over the meadows to the surrounding forested mountains. The grazing ponies and unique geology of the area help keep the vegetation limited to grasses and smaller bushes. Throughout the area, fields upon fields of wild blackberries were growing, but unfortunately, had not produced berries yet.

We continued on to Rhododendron Gap and continued along the AT into Lewis Fork Wilderness. Shortly after passing Thomas Knob Shelter, a spur trail leads up to the summit of Mount Rogers. About half way up the trail, we crossed the "inverse treeline", where the open meadows changes to a wonderful "enchanted forest" of red spruce and frasier fir.

At the summit of Mount Rogers, we stopped for lunch, then headed back down the mountain. We stopped again back at Rhododendron Gap and climbed up the rocks here for more fantastic views.

The rhododendron were clearly past peak bloom, but many were still flowering. Also, in certain places the petals had dropped along the trail giving the appearance of a pink carpet along the trail. Absolutely beautiful!

From here, we took the Pine Mountain Trail through more rhododendron forest, a few open areas, and then into a transitional mixed hardwood-evergreen forest to Scales. And from here, we followed the Scales horse trail back to the campground. A total distance of more then twelve miles. We shuttled drivers back to their vehicles at Massie Gap then had dinner at camp, and a few of the most hardcore hikers, myself included, left for an evening hike along the Twin Pinnacle Trail. We parked at the visitor center and hiked the trail first to Little Pinnacle and then Big Pinnacle where we stopped to watch the sunset over the mountains. It was a bit cloudy, but we still managed to get some great views of the sun setting.

We finished up the loop and then back to camp just before it really got dark. I took perhaps the most refreshing shower of my life before heading to bed. I was quite surprised by the quality of the showers at the campsite here - private showers with warm water and even massage shower heads. After getting back to camp, I fell asleep almost instantly about getting in the tent.

Grayson Highlands Hike

We went to Grayson Higlands in Virginia to scout for rhododendron and hike. We parked at Massey's Gap and hiked up to the Appalachian Trail. There were many wild ponies along the trail, including several babies and a pregnant female.

We hiked the AT into Mount Rogers National Recreation Area up to Wilburn Ridge along to Rhododendron Gap. The rhododendron were blooming and the trails were beautiful.

Then we hiked up to Mount Rogers in Lewis Fork Wilderness, the highest point in Virginia, then followed the trail back.