Date: 2018-08-26
From: Old Orchard Shelter

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 23.2
Weather: clear sky

Looking back I didn't appreciate the rarity of Grayson Highlands enough. The miles of open land and interesting formations along with free range animals is unique along the trail. Now that I am back to the green tunnel today I appreciate that unique landscape more.This morning is a little warmer. I'm up a bit earlier but still take an hour to finish morning chores and head out after 7:30, saying goodbye to my weekender shelter-mates. It's a cool and cloudy morning, perfect for hiking. I pass through several National Forest wilderness areas today. There are very few hikers about. A couple miles into the hike I walk a short way down a road to use the porta-potty at one of the horse campgrounds in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. The Virginia Highlands Horse Trail runs for 50 or more miles through here and along with many other area horse trails attracts a lot of riders. I saw some yesterday when the AT crossed horse trails (horses are not allowed on the AT itself), including a couple riders dressed up like cowboys. In the campground are at least a dozen horse trailers with horses tied to hitching posts and owners scurrying to feed them and get ready for the day's ride.Later in the morning I pass Comer's Creek Falls, a pretty cascade over bedrock. I want to take a dip but there's no bathing pool, so I just splash on some water to cool down. I learn from a info board at a creek crossing later the difference between a freestone and limestone creek bed, the former being covered by movable river rocks and the latter basically just bedrock. The trail continues up and down over small mountains and ridges and past deserted gravel road crossings for many miles. The rhododendron are often quite dense. Around noon it starts to drizzle but the canopy mostly shields me as it slowly picks up. I cross a meadow and realize I am now too wet to bother throwing on my poncho so I hope for the best. The shower strengthens for a while but sure enough the sun comes out after 90 minutes and I start to dry out. After that the ridges have cool breezes but the valleys are very humid.I reach Partnership Shelter at 4. It's empty and I will be the only inhabitant tonight. It's near the Mount Rogers NRA Visitor Center, where my guide says you can get pizza delivered. I could alternatively get a ride into town, but the shelter is a comfortable well-built two story log cabin with a shower(!) so who needs town if I can have food delivered? Unfortunately the visitor center closes at 4 on Sunday and is absolutely deserted when I arrive there at 5 minutes after. And of course I have no cell reception. But Glory be! there is a free phone on an outside wall with numbers for local hiker services including Perfect Pizza. So I place an order for more than I can probably eat to satisfy the delivery minimum. There's an advantage to having other hikers to split the cost.I take a shower while waiting and even though it's cold it's one of the best showers I've ever had. Someone even left soap and shampoo. But for drying my little dish towel must suffice. Feeling amazingly refreshed I meet the delivery guy and find out after finishing a small pizza that, sure enough, I won't be finishing that calzone tonight too. I can't hang it with the bear bag, so my best option to keep it for breakfast is to leave it in the enclosed privy with it's heavy door to keep out any nocturnal prowlers. We'll see what happens.There's occasional road noise from route 16 but the crickets drown out much of it. I think I'll sleep well tonight. Tomorrow I will pass through Atkins and stay at the Appalachian Dreamer hostel on a working farm.