Day 38 The Grayson Highlands

Writing from my tent while finally resting after hiking over 27 miles.


Well the campsite last night was full of rude people. There was a group that showed up after dark and spent 3-4 hours shining their headlamps around, breaking sticks to make a fire, talking loudly, and playing music. This was all while there were about 10 other people who were all quietly sleeping in their tents before the buffoons showed up. 


I slept probably 5-6 hours last night. Not ideal but not terrible all things considered. I woke up just at the end of a beautiful sunrise.



We began the morning by climbing Mount Rogers and crossing the 500 mile mark. 





From Rogers we hiked the peaks and ridges of the Grayson Highlands for most of the rest of the day. We had great weather, excellent views, and saw some ponies. We also passed through a short cave called the Fatman Squeeze. 






After exiting the Grayson Highlands, most of the rest of the day was hiking at lower elevation without much to look at. Our afternoon was prolonged because the app we use for maps and distances gave the wrong distance. We thought we had about 5 miles left at 4:30PM, which would have put us right around 26 miles on the day. However, the maps underestimated the distance by around 2 miles. So we probably hiked 27-28 miles today. Unfortunately we will never know the exact distance. Oh well I’m sure one of here days we will go further. 


The last part of the day involved hiking up and over a pretty cool waterfall.



After making it to camp we ate dinner quickly and got in our tents. I’m exhausted and sore but happy with our progress. I’m also happy that I have no injury concerns at the moment. Very grateful overall.


Tomorrow we will hike 25 miles into Atkins VA, a small town right on trail with a gas station and a couple small restaurants. From Atkins we will shuttle into Marion where we will resupply and spend the night. 

It’s really exciting to be this close to Pearisburg, where Tyler and I stopped hiking in 2020. Up to this point we have experienced the whole trail and have something to compare to. After Pearisburg everything will be new. I’m very excited and motivated for that. 


Goodnight,

Walker 







If you want to follow Tyler or Spencer, here are their logs as well:


Tyler: https://tylerat2024.blogspot.com/?m=1


Spencer: https://www.instagram.com/baxter.bound?utm_source=qr&igsh=MWx4MzRqa3M4dGk3Mw==

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