Today can be summed up in one word: Rocks. Everyone always tells you about how beautiful the Grayson Highlands are (and they are stunning) but nobody tells you about the rocks. Miles and miles of rocks to climb, clamber, and trip over.
We started the day getting close to but not summiting the top of Mt. Rogers, Virginia's highest peak. We were told early on that the side trail to the summit has no views so we did not go up it. In between coming down from Mt Rogers and entering the Grayson Highlands I took a nasty fall where I narrowly avoided face planting onto a rock, instead my face and forehead hit the dirt and my knee took most of the impact. Knees are incredibly important out here and often are the most injured body part. So for the rest of the day I nursed a bad knee. I took ibuprofen, put on a knee brace, and put my head down and finished the miles. It wasn't easy. My knee hurt quite badly. But I could tell it was just really sore from the fall and not seriously injured. I had to traverse the Grayson Highlands with a bad knee but it was all worth it.
When we were approaching camp I saw a sign pointing toward the campgrounds that said 'Magic'. Trail Magic!? Yay! Well as it turns out the trail angel doing the magic was camping down the street for a couple weeks and feeding hikers that came along. He had his own picnic table, a tarp, and comfortable chairs set up around a fire pit. When I got there it was only thru-hikers who were camping there but just having a comfortable place to rest was wonderful! We roasted some marshmallows that Tric had been saving and relaxed as well as set up camp and went to sleep hoping that the trail angel would be there in the morning for breakfast.
How jersey girl gets over a stile:
Those pics with the rocks almost look like your in Colorado! Don't ever get between a bull and heifers when you encounter cows. Have found out that.
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Take care of yourself!
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