Monday, September 1, 2014

Jefferson National Forest - Mt. Rogers and AT trip report







We started at Grindstone Campground, which came highly recommended and I can’t say enough about it! First off, what do backpackers love more than running water, right? Flush toilets! Water stations! Showers! Sinks with real soap! And even mirrors in the bathroom! Mirrors are where we run into our first (and only) traumatic experience, without the mirror I would have never seen it. I was brushing my teeth and luxuriating in the top-notch first-world facilities when I felt something and saw a blur in the steamy mirror move on my hair, I peered as well as I could in dim light and steam and saw spider legs. There was a big effin’ spider perched on my head with its legs tucked into the top of my ear. So I did what any rational human would do… I gently moved the length of my hair aside and flailed wildly at the area where it was chillin’ until I saw it land on the counter. I looked at it, it looked at me. There was a breathless 5 second eternity while this grass spider and I had a standoff. It decided I was bigger and skittered off the counter and flung itself in to the corner while I convinced myself to be a big girl and not freak or smash the stupid thing in a rage for it touching me with that unnatural number of legs. 

Now that the trauma was out of the way, time to sleep so I could get up and hike! The camp spots are gravel, which isn’t my favorite, but overall, it was a decent enough spot. We slept with the rain fly off and ended up southern-mist covered in the morning, but it was nice to see some stars.  In the morning, we checked out Grindstone on our way out, parking in the designated area near the wading pool, (which is the coolest thing ever), Grindstone allows you to leave your car for $3 a day, tucked safely into the campground behind a gate they close and lock at 10p.m.. We checked out the stream fed wading pool and then headed off to Mt. Rogers. 


 There’s a trail that meets up with the Mt. Rogers Trail from inside the campground, but it was closed for some reason, and there was no one around to ask about it that early in the morning, so we set off for the road. .4 miles down the road is the trailhead for the Mt. Rogers Trail.


 Over a little wood path and through the rhododendron tunnel into the rather densely dark woods, the trail seemed to not have been used recently, at least long enough that the spiders had made a mass of webs across the trail pretty much the whole way up. If the register was correct, the last person to sign in had come through almost a week ahead of us. There was really truly not a soul around.

There are a few peeks of sky and glimpses of open fields, then an open area before the summit spur trail. The summit is completely anti-climactic, enclosed in a rather creepy forest of downed pine. But there’s a peak to be bagged, so bagged it was. 


Then we set off on the Appalachian Trail. We found a great lunch spot, and then wandered around the area for a while and set up an early afternoon camp for a nap. Post-nap the rain moved in, after the storm passed, we did some more exploring, checking out the trail shelter, the spring behind it, and the little offshoot trails all over the area we were in. We named it the Camp Poo, because every direction you went there was horse crap to step over. We were clearly in the backwoods version of a hostel though, there were tiny offshoot trails everywhere off the main area surrounding the fire ring that seemed to have been “bedrooms”, another offshoot lead to what was clearly the loo, because there was a lot of TP and wipes pretty much just left behind (bad hikers!!), and some other random hiker detritus, including a pair of boots. Debris field aside (which wasn't all that bad for such a heavily used area, but come on, leave no trace, people!), the ridge has some fantastic views in that area. We camped on the ridge that night, while huge misty clouds and never ending winds rolled over us. Which made for a not so great night’s sleep. But it did make for a great half asleep joke. Some time around 3 a.m. I heard the husband mutter something about the wind not letting up and Rick Astley popped into my head, so I deadpanned “The clouds are Rick Rolling you…” and started falling asleep again. A few minutes later I hear a snicker, “Damn you, that song is stuck in my head.” 

The clouds and wind started to vanish in the early morning and we were greeted by a gorgeous sunrise and blue sky. 

After refilling our water supply at the spring, and a side stop to scramble up a huge rock formation, we set out for the Crest Trail and followed it out to the Scales, I was hoping for more ponies, but I only saw a lone pony who did not wish to be friends. 


There were however a lot of steer. Big BIG ass steer. Apparently they own the trail, so we let them have it and went around them, because how the hell do you convince steer to move? 


Other than meeting some horseback riders and more huge things that moo, there was nothing terribly exciting about the Crest Trail for me. There were a few nice views, and a bench-shaped rock for me to park my ass on for a bit, but otherwise it felt like walking a forest road in the baking sun. Which I think I’ve done one too many times. We had to turn around and follow Crest Trail all the way back to Cliffside Trail and took Cliffside down to where it turns into Lewis Fork, which takes you down a fairly steep, rocky hill, through some prehistoric rhododendrons, along a creek and eventually over a bridge, out through a gate and into an open field, then through yet another gate back to the road. 



I really wish we’d had more time to spend out there, because there was so much more to see but it was time to head back to the car and home. I can’t believe I haven’t been through that area before! I lived in Virginia years ago and hated it, so I’ve always skipped and skirted around Virginia whenever possible, but I have to say it’s completely not what I expected on that side of the state and I’m so glad I went and I really can’t wait to go back and explore some more. And hopefully find some more ponies. 


*Trip notes: I did not include side trails we ventured or the names of ones we were only on a short time, junctions, or places where trails merge together - such as Mt. Rogers runs into the AT before the summit spur trail, etc.  Total hike was a little over 20 miles total because we like to poke around and look at stuff. We generally hike in the mornings and cover 10-ish miles by lunch and turn into lazy asses after. You can email me if you need more details.

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