Date: 2016-05-27
From: Thomas Knob Shelter

To: Stealth Campsite by Virginia 16
Miles today: 21.3
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up this morning to someone's alarm going off on their watch. I decided to get up and watch the sunrise and to summit Mt. Rogers. The sunrise was spectacular and to get to the summit the trail was a blue blaze and it was only 1/2 mile. Unfortunately the summit had no view and it was covered in spruce trees. I got back to the shelter and filtered water, took my bear bag down and ate breakfast. At this point it was close to 7:45 so I climbed into the loft and quietly packed up my stuff. The crew that was at the shelter were the other half of the group that Avalon, David and Gretel were hiking with. They were polar bear, trinity and daddy long legs. I stayed with their other group Avalon and company at the Saunders Shelter the night before. The odd thing was all three of them said they were going to Thomas Knob Shelter and either left before me or passed me. I didn't see any of them at the shelter last night and didn't pass them during the day from what I noticed. Really odd. I got on trail at 8am and instantly the trail changed into a rocky outcrops and small bushes. It was really magnificent views 360. This must be the preclude to the Greyson Highlands which were coming up. I descended a rock outcrop and at the bottom there were about 30 wild ponies just grazing along the trail and in the trail. One of the ponies ran up to me assuming I had a snack for it. When I didn't the pony proceeded to lick me apparently getting the salt from my body. I moved on after taking some pictures and making sure the licker wasn't following me. I arrived at the official gate to Greyson Highlands and took some more pictures. Ponies were everywhere mostly in the distance from me. I continued along the trail and most of the ponies started walking north on the AT just in front of me. They all herded together and started going north. I laughed and said talk about a pack of thru hikers. I quickly learned why they were doing this and 1/2 mile up the trail there was a stand of balsams and spruce on the right that they could get under to get out of the sun. It was a very warm morning and by 10am it was almost hot. They were so neat to watch. I continued on leaving the Greyson Highlands and stopped at the next shelter to have a snack. Clouds had formed and it started to sprinkle. I put on my rain cover and continued on. The trail ascended to (Rock top) mountain which was almost like a bald but with more bushes and a few small trees. You could see dark clouds off to the north. I descended and walked past a horse ranch. There were a group of people and about as many horses. I presumed they were going riding. The trail went south of their location and into a grassy parking area. I plopped down taking a break. A forest service employee who was with the people with the horses was leaving but looped around when he saw me and asked if I was alright. I said yes and we chatted for a bit. He was really nice and was letting me know of what was coming north and some nice camp spots. He drove off and I continued north. There was another climb and this one was not to bad. Once to the top it skirted a fence and then descended back down. Now it dawned on me it was the beginning of a holiday weekend as there was a steady stream of day hikers and weekend hikers coming up the hill. I would say I passed 35 people on the descent and I arrived at Old Orchard Shelter where I ate lunch. The sky still looked ominous. The next shelter Hurricane Mountain Shelter was only 4.2 miles and that was where I planned on stopping for the day. I descended for another mile and crossed a dirt road. The trail then ascended again after a stream crossing. This is where after 500 miles of walking I had my first fall. The stream had a wood bridge to cross it and had 4 steps going down to the bridge. I put my foot on the first step and it flew out from under me. I flew through the air landing on my back/pack sliding down all 4 stairs and nearly landing in the creek. Smitty helped to break my fall and I thought it was going to snap in half. Luckily it was fine and I was fine no injury. I continued on and the trail rise steeply up iron mountain. I was about 1/2 mile in when the skies opened up and it poured. It continued to rain up and over the climb all the way to about 5 minutes of arriving at Hurricane Mt Shelter. When I arrived to the shelter it was full of weekend hikers. Sat under cover and tried to dry off, sign the log book and read it. I actually had cell service here and sent out a few texts. The last two days has been really bad with service and trying to post blog updates. I decided to push on to let things dry out again and to find a campsite. Well 5 miles later and several more rain showers I came to Virginia route 16. I was beat and was determined to find a campsite. After walking north on the AT finally a nice campsite appeared and I set up shop. I almost just laid down on the ground and went to sleep but thought what if it rains. Luckily this campsite was north of the rain so it was dry. I made dinner and was fishing around the food bag when I came across 3 nips that Chris Lovell had sent me in the package in Hampton TN. Baileys salted caramel, yes please. Boy was it nice to have a night cap for my aching bones. Jeff my husband is driving down tomorrow to see me. I'm so excited. This is the longest we have ever been apart since meeting one another almost 20 years ago. He is leaving from New York in the am and it's about a 10 hour drive. I walked 21.3 miles today and feel pretty darn good still.