Date: 2016-03-28
From: Lost Mountain Shelter

To: Old Orchard Shelter
Miles today: 24.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night's rain ended just in time for hiking to begin as soon as there was a little light. I needed to hike then because I wanted to reach a shelter that was 24 miles away. After hiking for one hour I couldn't tell if the morning would be a good one or a bad one. The view to the East looked promising, but the look to the west showed some troubling clouds. An unidentified Trail Angel left a cooler filled with sodas and treats. I drank a Grape Sunkist soda before starting to climb Whitetop Mountain, a 1900 foot climb over almost 4 miles that was nicely graded, but left you wondering if the climb would ever end. Sun was sporadic during the climb and gave hope for the day, but there was nothing but clouds and gusty winds at the summit. I was blown sideways off the trail a few times and the gusts really made for a cold start to this morning.But then the sun came out on the way to the Mt Rogers summit. Medic, the 20-year old who I met as Morgan on our first day heading towards Springer Mountain, was the first to pass me and then Rambo, another young strong hiker that was at last night's shelter passed me too. I took advantage of the open summit area to make a quick call to Beth and tried to send yesterday's journal entry to Anne to post. These journal entries are often posted by my daughter Anne and I greatly appreciate her posting them for me the next day after I don't have Internet access wherever I slept the night before. I was so cold at this point that I had to hike to avoid having my fingertips and legs stop squawking at me. I passed River, a nice lady I had briefly met at Woodchuck Hostel who was now in her second day of hiking the AT. She needed to dry out her gear because her tent had a leak in last night's downpour.Going Postal and Rambo stopped to take a meal break near the Mt Rogers summit. The wind was still an issue - and it continued to be a force all day - but now the sunshine was beaming and it was hard to believe the turnaround from the Whitetop Mountain clouds.Lacking Internet access tonight, pictures taken yesterday and today will be delayed. If you are enjoying the pictures so far then make sure you check today's pictures out because I think the landscapes shown are unlike those of the past. Mt. Rogers transitioned into Grayson Highlands State Park seamlessly. The landscape reminded me of western television shows watched many years ago. The memories of Gunsmoke, The Virginian, and The Rifleman were probably fueled by my awareness that Grayson Highlands provides a one-of-a-kind treat in the form of wild ponies roaming the land. As Going Postal and I scanned the landscape, we were rewarded with our first sighting of 3 ponies down in the valley far below us. Then as we walked a few more steps I noticed 2 ponies grazing less than 20 yards from us. These ponies, and others seen throughout the day, weren't troubled to have us passing by them. They just kept grazing as I looked for angles to take pictures. The rocky terrain, combined with the continuing wind and gusts, made for some slow and somewhat difficult hiking regardless of whether hiking up or down. I began to realize that today's hike would take many more hours than I had estimated. I can usually hike a bit faster than 2 miles per hour going downhill, but not in a path like this. Had I not been so fixated to get to Old Orchard Shelter tonight to set up my next day's hike, then I would've stopped and stayed at Wise Shelter. That is my recommendation for those hiking this route in the future. As the afternoon became late, I thought ponies and a glimpse of the Wild West were behind me but minutes after leaving Wise Shelter I was treated to 7 grazing ponies maybe 40 yards away. And then 3 miles later, the Scales livestock corral first came into view and then became the AT path I was hiking.Beautiful scenery for most of the day. Fond memories of watching westerns with my Dad were unexpected pleasures. It took slightly more than 11 hours of hiking today and I am pretty tired but today's hike was really special.