Wild horses in the Grayson Highlands

We woke up feeling well rested and ready to get back on the trail! There is definitely an urge to keep walking when you are doing a full hike. On the last day of our hikes, I was usually eager to get back in the car and drive home. However, there is definitely a change in that mindset when hiking. After spending most of the last 2 days in the city, we were eager to get back on the road!

Back on the trail

We checked out of our Airbnb (a little later than planned) and headed back to the Damascus Diner to fill our bellies with one last meal before turning to backpacker meals along the way. Although we may have gone a little overboard. Note for the future: Don’t eat so much that the walk out of town feels more like a swagger than a walk. Anyway, we started the trail around noon with very heavy backpacks, overly full bellies, and a sun that made the afternoon heat rise higher and higher.

Hindsight hurts

Like most days out of the city, it was a day of climbing. We quickly ran into little water and few water sources along this stretch of trail. However, we made sure Turkenna had as much water as she wanted and saved our water intake as we climbed in the hot afternoon sun. We did this to ourselves. Looking back, we realized we should have hit the road earlier, eaten a smaller meal for breakfast, and not bought our resupply on an empty stomach. Lessons learned.

The Damascus Detour

Soon we came across a sign informing hikers of a detour. We left the AT and began following the Iron Mountain Spur Trail to take the 20 mile detour. Luckily we reached a good water source just in time. Cody started filtering, Turk drank water straight from the stream, and I got out some snacks. It’s crazy how quickly we can go from full to «I could go grab something to eat» when walking on a trail. We all lay down in the camps adjacent to the spring and everyone found shade where they could. Before long, we and a few other hikers were finding places to lay down and take a nap. Almost 2 hours after our arrival, Cody’s alarm woke us up. We knew we had to keep going. Straight Branch Shelter was only 5 miles away.

At this point, the heat of the day had passed and the hike became much easier. We enjoyed the late afternoon hanging out with other hikers at the Straight Branch Shelter.

Starting day 42

The next morning we woke up to a cold and foggy morning. Getting motivated to set up camp is always a little more challenging when the morning is cold. But Cody getting the Ursack back and getting everything ready to make coffee always helps!

The Iron Mountain Spur trail was easy. It runs parallel to the Appalachian Trail, but skirts Whitetop Mountain, making the elevation change fairly gentle.

The inserts are not enough

Even on easier terrain, my feet started giving me trouble pretty quickly. The insoles they had bought me in Damascus were not enough and my shoes were in their last state. Blisters were starting to form on the back of my braces, my toes were cramping with pain with every step, and my arch was in sharp pain. Finally, I took out the inserts and used enough Leuko tape to wrap almost my entire foot.

We stopped for lunch just before the end of the detour. The closer we got to the AT, the higher we climbed. The wind picked up as we climbed above the tree line, closer to the ridge. We took a break at the Thomas Knob shelter. We didn’t want to stay there because of the freezing temperatures that night. The shelter sits at over 5,000 feet in elevation with little protection from strong winds. By comparison, the Wise Shelter (just 5 miles down the trail) is nearly 1,000 feet lower and situated in a grove of rhododendrons and trees. But as we sat in the shelter, I had a hard time imagining having to walk even another mile. My feet were killing me, the cold was miserable (especially since I had shipped my winter gear home to Damascus), and I was feeling frustrated by the whole situation.

Frustrations along the way

Rest at the Thomas Knob shelter

Unfortunately, that frustration was inappropriately directed at Cody. He calmed me down and offered solutions to make the rest of the walk easier. I quickly apologized for lashing out at him. Getting into disputes along the way can be complicated. We depend on each other for food, water and shelter when we are on the road. Sometimes we just need some time, we just need to separate ourselves for a little bit. Most of the time, we made up as quickly as the argument started.

500 Miles and the Grayson Highlands

Luckily we recovered quickly because we had so much joy to experience on the next 5 miles of trail! Almost immediately we passed the 500 mile marker, indicated by rocks placed in the ground. We took a quick photo and were soon walking towards Grayson Highlands. We were hoping to see the famous Grayson Highland ponies!

The highlands were beautiful! Wide open fields stretching over mountain tops. Large rock features create these unique formations like ‘Fatman’s Squeeze’. Cody, Apollo, and I took turns walking between two huge rocks that towered high above us.

And then there they were…the Grayson Highland ponies! A whole herd of them grazing in the windy bald. We took pictures from a distance, but little by little they all began to come towards us. We stood still, with Turk tied up, taking pictures as they wandered around us, seemingly uninterested in our presence. We squealed with joy as the wild ponies approached us. A colt ran in the distance, neighing and buzzing across the field. We stayed there for a few more minutes before leaving the flock to continue grazing in peace.

It took us little time to reach Wise Shelter. There we met a handful of fellow hikers who were already lying in their beds. The cold afternoon, although it was still daylight, invited them to enter the warmth of their sleeping bags. Cody found a spot in the shelter to set up our sleeping pad while I quickly made dinner and changed into warmer clothes. As the night grew colder, we quickly ate dinner and climbed onto our sleeping pad. The shelter protected us from the winds allowing us to sleep well at night.

This website contains affiliate links, which means The Trek may receive a percentage of any products or services you purchase using links in articles or advertisements. The buyer pays the same price they would otherwise pay, and their purchase helps support The Trek’s ongoing goal of bringing you quality backpacking information and advice. Thank you for your support!

For more information, visit the About page of this site.