With my recent visit to Mount Rogers, it brought back memories of my Sierra Club Backpack with the Harvey Broome Group (HBG) on the Virginia Highlands. While not that far back in the day ( last July) I remember I had only done a Day Blog on this hike. Also with a backpack with the HBG soon I can't think of a better time for a more in-depth look back. Besides my first time on the Virginia Highlands, it was also my first backpack with the HBG.
I met up with the group at the Grayson Highlands State Park near the Visitor Center and when then parked near the Group Camp Area and our Hike Leader Will Skelton led us up the Wilson Trail. For those who don't know, Will is a retired lawyer for Knoxville and has been active in the Sierra Club for years. He even has a Greenway named in his honor in Knoxville. You have also seen him mentioned in this blog as he edited a very useful book on the trails of the Cherokee National Forest.
The main feature of the Wilson Trail is it is also a horse path, so we passed some people on them. It wasn't long before we reached the Appalachian Trail (AT) where we eventually left the state park and entered the Little Wilson Creek Wilderness. This was a wooded section of the AT that is just over a mile (1.3 to be exact) passing two junctions, Scales, and Bearpen Trails.
Then we exited the wilderness area and entered the open expanse of Stone Mountain. I will say the mile plus hike across here was spectacular, but eventually, the trail descends into the area known as the Scales.
This gap got its name because ranchers would weigh their cattle here instead of when they brought them off the mountain. Speaking of cattle one cool thing was we got to see some of the Longhorns that graze here in the summer and help "mow" the balds.
After an extended break we left the AT behind at the Scales and proceeded up the Crest Trail. It is here I must say that signed a nondisclosure agreement and can't reveal the location of our campsite. Here is what I can say that it wasn't too hard of a hike and we didn't have to go through too many rhododendrons.
The other thing I can add is it was a beautiful camp spot with a nice sunset and then in the morning we had a visit from the famous Mount Rogers High Country Wild Ponies. I encountered some on the drive up, but this was a much better encounter.
On the way out we would also have an even better look at two ponies. Speaking of the hike out we used the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail for most of the hike back to the Wilson Trail. There were some nice views and before long we were back at the cars.
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| Photo by Will Skelton |
We finished the day at La Cucina Italian Kitchen near Mountain City (I reviewed it here) which was a great way to end a fabulous backpack in a beautiful area.
