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A picture is worth a thousand words… so here are some of my favorite pictures and their stories from my few days in the Grayson Highlands.
After getting rained out (and losing many of the endless views) of the Roan Highlands, I was itching to finally find the beautiful experience of the highlands (and see some ponies).
The hike up
After spending a chilly and rainy night at the Lost Mountain Shelter, early in my day of hiking I was met with a frosty view of the Roan Highlands.
As I continued up the climb, the frost grew thicker and thicker in the brush. Finally, I broke above tree line to a beautiful view of the frozen valleys of the highlands contrasted by the green and brown mountains surrounding them.
The highlands
The trail wound through the frozen fields for a few miles before descending back down into the sun-filled valley, where the sun had melted much of the morning frost.
After a short road crossing, I again climbed back into the frozen highlands. This time paired with sparse evergreen trees dotting the fields.
Thomas Knob Shelter
After winding my way through fields and valleys, I arrived at the Thomas Knob Shelter. At the shelter, the setting sun dipped behind a mountain peak. While the sunset could not be seen, it painted the valley below us an incredible array of pinks and yellows.
Mile 500
Almost immediately after leaving the shelter the following morning, I hit mile 500. Even the mile marker sign was paired with an amazing view of the surrounding landscape.
The endless views
On my second day in the highlands, I had finally arrived at the endless views that I’d been waiting for since the rain in the Roan Highlands. Fields of short grass looked over endless rolling hills. The views were so fulfilling after we had missed them in the previous highlands.
The ponies
Towards the latter half of my time in the Highlands, I had yet to see any of the ponies, and honestly, I was starting to worry that I wasn’t going to see one (I thought the cold had sent them into hiding). As I was rounding the top of a small hill, I heard a hiker shout from the other side, “Look! I found the ponies.” And there they were. A herd of majestic and small horses. I was astounded at how strong the ponies looked and impressed by their natural beauty. I was so excited that I got to see a total of 11 ponies throughout the rest of the Highlands.
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