Date: 2016-04-19
From: Off Whitetop Mountain

To: Wise Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: overcast clouds

After breakfast, Learning Curve and I headed out from our campus on the side of Whitetop Mountain. When we made it up to the top, there were a handful of other hikers around soaking up the views. A little ways down from the summit was a spring with a flow that pumped like a draining fire hydrant. I took the opportunity to wash up with some soap and let the icy mountain spring water run over my hair. As we continued walking, I noticed an abundance of ramps coming up on the mountain side. After convincing Learning Curve that he wouldn't instantly die from eating them, we put a handful in our lunch. Tuna, tortilla and wild ramp made for a nice combination. Fresh greens are hard to come by, and it doesn't get much fresher than picked 5 minutes beforehand. We eventually climbed our way up Mount Rogers. The AT doesn't run over the summit, so we declined to take the side trail that lead to it. Eventually, we came to the entrance of the Grayson Highlands, notorious for the wild ponies that roam the land. The ponies were put in place to control vegetation on the balds so that the Grayson Highlands would remain in tact and not become over grown.Before we ran into any ponies though, we did meet up with an older German woman in her eighties. She had through hiked in 1992 and completed a triple crown not long after. In addition to those achievements, she had hiked all over the Alps and Nepal. She imparted on us some words of wisdom, predominantly the advantages of carrying a map with you. She gave us some homemade cookies and we were on our way.We stopped at a large rock outcrop to rest our feet. I've picked up a case of athlete's feet and it's been a struggle to put up the big miles. After my week off, I'm working to get my mojo back. They say only a few days off can throw off your hike. Taking a week off wasn't the smartest decision, but the adventure was well worth it. So now I suffer the consequences and have my mind wanting the big miles, but my body not responding. Each day out here gets easier though, and I expect to be back to normal within the week. We made it to the edge of the Grayson Highlands Park without seeing any ponies at all. And then, right at the 500 mile mark, there they were. A herd of about 10 wild ponies stood grazing in a field near a rock outcrop. It was like they were there to congratulate us. I couldn't resist the cliche moment to listen to "Wild Horses" by The Rolling Stones. I walked through the ponies, petting one that came up to me. As I did I sang the chorus to the song substituting "wild ponies" for "wild horses."We retired to the Wise Shelter at the end of the day. Learning Curve had explained to me that he did a series of practice hikes through the Grayson Highlands before he came out to start his thru hike. The Wise Shelter was the first shelter he had stayed in on the AT so it held some serious significance to him. But this time, he had walked 500 miles to be there. We set up our gear and had dinner with a few of our new friends. Eventually, Baby Chicken and OD showed up and set up camp across the shelter from us. That night, I went to bed watching the moon circle over my head. When I woke up at 4am, it had already completely gone across the sky. That was my entertainment for the evening. I have to say, waking up to the full moon is far better than waking up to infomercials running on your tv on an endless repeat at 4am...