April 16, 2000

Wise Shelter, VA · 16 Miles Hiked Today · 487 of 2167 Miles Hiked Total

Today was great! The rain stopped last night and the hike up Whitetop Mountain and Mt. Rogers was easy. Plus the scenery was awesome. Just outside Grayson Highlands State Park and all the way to the shelter the landscape changed to something like you would see in parts of Idaho or Montana. There are even wild ponies (which we saw). The only downside was that the trail was super wet for a while and then super rocky and muddy. By day's end, the fog had lifted and the clouds parted (dry socks tomorrow!) which made for a spectacular late afternoon.

In other news, I will get to Atkins early, so Wednesday night I may go into town and try to find a place to sleep, like the back of a church or something so I can head out early for Wytheville.