Today was a milestone of a day that began with shivering. We were both slow to get up due to the cold, but today we were scheduled to cross the 500 mile point on our journey, so the trail beckoned.
Knit cap and long underwear donned, I set off at 8:30am toward my first break at a shelter 6.6 miles away. This first stretch was cloudy and cold, and by the time I made it I was starving for lunch. I chatted with a couple of weekenders as they munched on potato chips, regaling them with stories of trail life. Mr. Fantastic caught up just as I was finishing my lunch, and after a moment to let my food digest, I continued on.
It drizzled for a few minutes before the sun finally came out, and it was perfect timing. This second stretch took me over Mt. Rogers and through the Grayson Highlands, the most spectacular bit of hiking to date.
The terrain was absolutely stunning to behold, trekking through groves of flowering trees, squeezing between rocks in shallow caves, and coming out on a bald that wouldn't quit. It was the wild ponies that kept the trees from growing by grazing all along the mountaintop. I had read that they were around in Virginia, but didn't realize how impossible they are to miss.
Climbing up out of the trees and clouds to a sunny sprawling mountaintop covered with flowers and ponies is a pretty crazy experience. I found myself laughing hysterically from time to time just from the sheer beauty of the place.
After descending away from all that joy, I crossed the 500 mile point (no marker or fanfare) and found my way to the next shelter for another break. This time I just took a power nap, and kept pushing on.
My last section of trail for the day was beautiful as well, but couldn't quite match the grandeur of the Grayson Highlands. The last couple of miles truly beat on my feet and I was very happy to hobble down to the final shelter for the day.
It was a staggeringly beautiful day, quite literally as it's hard to watch your feet and the views. That also made it a very slow paced, difficult, and painful day. Regardless of all the challenge this has been my favorite hike of the trip to date. But honestly, how do you beat wild ponies on a mountaintop? If you said with a baseball bat, your head goes to the same twisted places as mine.
