Date: 2019-03-19
From: Lost Mountain Shelter 

To: Old Orchard Shelter 
Miles today: 23.5

AT day 3123.5 miles to Old Orchard Shelter I left the Lost Mountain Shelter just after sunup   I was full of anticipation. The Grayson Highlands State Park with their herds of wild ponies was coming up along with Mt Rodgers, the highest peak in Virginia. My goal was to camp at the Old Orchid Shelter 23.5 miles away. I¢ve gotten spoiled with the easy terrain ever since I left Erwin.  Today the trail had a big surprise for me, as if saying, ¢This is the AT and the only easy day was yesterday¢. Today I hiked through some of the most spectacular scenery I¢ve had the pleasure to walk through. From dark forests with huge trees to grassy balds and the unique Grayson Highlands   But all this beautiful diversity didn¢t come easy. I¢m not complaining, I¢m just going to describe the difficulties I faced on the trail today. I had all sorts of obstacles thrown down on the footpath, all of them designed to slow you down and hurt you if you didn¢t tread cautiously. There were miles of large boulders to navigate going uphill and down.  The worst ones were going down where your momentum from each step down could throw you off balance. Add in ice patches from frozen streams, irregular shaped cobble size rocks that are just waiting to twist your ankles and more than normal roots and sticks. To keep a positive spin on today I would use some phrases that I made up for the AT. This to shall pass and will soon be a fond memory. This is just another step forward to Katahdin. Mt Rogers wasn¢t particularly impressive. I stopped at the Thomas Knob Shelter expecting to see wild ponies everywhere but I only got to filter water. I reached the 500 AT mile point in a nondescript section of trail.  I expected at least a signpost but apparently the AT frequently adjusts the trail to account for overly impacted sections so the 500 mile point could also change. I took a video of myself trying to sing the ¢I have walked 500 miles and I can walk 500 more¢ song. I¢m not sure that those are the correct words but they worked for me.All through the Grayson Highlands day hikers would tell me that I was going to see many ponies. The trail through the highlands is difficult with a backpack. The grassy hills areas with their muddy trails are broken up by climbs up rocky knolls consisting of huge boulders and granite slabs that demanded my upmost attention to keep my old body upright and intact. I hiked in this labyrinth for what seemed like hours without seeing one d--- pony. The AT veers left and another trail heads down to the parking lot. I decided that the day hikers weren¢t lying but they must have seen the ponies down the other trail. Disappointed I hiked out of the park toward the Old Orchard Shelter. I was very disappointed and felt cheated. I was hiking on an old forest road following the white blazes. Up ahead was a downed tree blocking the road. I was analyzing the situation to figure out the best way around the tree when I passed a trail junction that wasn¢t marked with double blazes. I went around the tree and hiked uphill a few minutes before that now familiar feeling of your on the wrong trail came back. I stopped and checked Guthook, sure enough I missed a turn. At least I only hiked several minutes the wrong way. Later I encountered some more day hikers. I complained about not seeing ponies and they assured me I¢d see some in a few miles. I¢ve heard that before I told them. They were fellow senior citizens so I believed them and got my hopes up. About an hour later I saw 5 ponies exactly where they said they¢d be. I had the Old Orchard Shelter all to myself. It¢s a small shelter but there is a large tent area and bear boxes to lock up your food. Tomorrow I head to the Partnership Shelter and hopefully pizza. Happy hiking, Silver Streak