My hiking partners and I had some rules during the thru-hike. We would walk 0.2 or 0.3 if we needed water or a shelter, but I tried to keep extra miles at a minimum. If there was a cold six pack of beer or a hamburger and fries at the other end of the 0.66, there would be no question. But the blue blaze trail leads only to a gravel overnight parking lot.
With the Brew Hut and Nissan truck, I am no longer constrained by those rules. I parked in the ugly little gravel overnight parking lot and started hiking up the mountain where it joins the Appalachian Trail. Within a quarter of a mile, I saw something that I never saw on my thru-hike: one of the the famous Grayson Highlands wild ponies right on the trail walking towards us.
For once, Callie was quiet and still. Eventually, the pony got too close (they bite and kick), so we wandered to the left. It wandered to the right.
Soon, we climbed to the intersection of the spur trail and the A.T. Just like on Roan Mountain, the ridges are grass and shrubs. The views are stunning.
Callie and I continued southbound into the Mount Rodgers Wilderness. We peaked out at around 5200′ in elevation. The climb was in direct sun and without wind; Callie was hot. I shared some of my water bottle with her, but it was time to head back. A breeze picked up for the mostly downhill hike. We met some other hikers who were southbound and stopped to chat with one guy who wanted a photo of Callie for his daughter.
On the way down the spur trail, there were more ponies.
Hickory Ridge Campground
The campsites at Hickory Ridge are wooded. I haven’t seen any hickory nuts, but the leaves are falling, and so are the acorns. When one hits the top of the Scamp, it is startling. Something that sounded like a larger hickory nut falling several hundred yards just hit the roof, but I couldn’t find the evidence.
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