Second in the Back in the Backpack series was the now annual hike in the Mount Rogers Recreation Area. This one happened last June and this time part of the hike did take us to the Highest Peak in Virginia, Mount Rogers.
When Will sent out his email he warned us of Bear issues in the area, so I had to get out the Bear Barrel. Unlike in the past when we hiked out of Grayson Highlands State Park, we were starting out from Elk Garden, a place I hiked out of in the previous year. When we arrived at Elk Garden there were some Forest Service Volunteers were there informing people of more Bear trouble. We were told that a woman got between her dog and a Bear which caused Grayson Highlands State Park to be closed (go thing we weren't hiking out of there).
We were told if we were using the Thomas Knob Shelter that there was a Bear Food Fence, but we were staying at Brier Ridge. I had done this hike on the Appalachian Trail (AT) before, but not with a heavy backpack, so it was harder than I remember. However, our campsite on Brier Ridge was just a beautiful spot.
Anyway, once we set up camp we first hiked to the summit of Mount Rogers and then to Thomas Knob Shelter to see the Bear Food Fence. Oh, and we got to see a number of the famous Mount Rogers Ponies. Earlier we had seen one in Brier Ridge a pregnant mare that some bonehead was buzzing with a drone. Here there was a bunch more and we thought we left them behind "but they followed us home."
Not really, I think they came to be with the pregnant matriarch, while cute we were to find out that Bears wouldn't be our problem but Ponies! While I had one outside my tent and they chewed on the handles of my trekking poles. That was nothing as one of the people on the hike, Chuck, had far more problems. I don't know what it was, but the Ponies just loved him. I mean the messed with his tent and chewed on all his stuff, including his trekking poles which the gnawed on from top to bottom.
Even though the Ponies were a pain we had a good dinner, met a thru-hiker who started in May (she was getting on it) and the sunset was fantastic. Then we enjoyed a fire our neighbors had built, a couple who had just gotten engaged. Overall, it was a good evening.
In the morning our pals the ponies were still getting into trouble. The hike out was straight down on the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail, it cut half-mile off the hike back.
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