Damascus, VA to Pearisburg, VA

Day 3, Saturday, September 22

Thomas Knob Shelter to Old Orchard Shelter, 11.0 miles

I wake up at 5 AM and decide to see if the stars are out now that the Moon has set. Half of the sky is cloud-covered, but half is open. It's a gorgeous view above and down into the valley below in the dark. The breeze is still cool and flowing up out of the valley below.

I crawl back into my sleeping bag until 7 AM when both of us get up. I pack up, eat a cold breakfast, and I'm ready to hit the trail. Richard and I walk behind the shelter to the rock outcrop/overlook. While we're standing looking at the valley below and the clouds/fog hanging over Mt. Rogers, a doe deer walks up to within 25 feet of where we're standing. She watches us for a minute before retreating.

I leave the shelter at 7:45 AM. I spy the same deer (at least it looks like the same one) a half-mile up the trail behind where some people are tent camping. She stands there as I walk by 25 feet away. She "dances" a few times but doesn't run away. She's almost tame.

A man and his 5-year old daughter pass me as I climb the next rise. He tells me the horses are just ahead. As I approach a stile at the edge of a fenced area, there are a bunch of wild horses grazing. They pay me no mind, content to pay more attention to the grass.

The walk down out of the Mt. Rogers NRA toward Grayson Highlands State park is beautiful. It looks like out West, rocky, no trees, and the sound of horses in the distance. I pass several people hiking south, and a Boy Scout troop headed out for the weekend. I reach Grayson Highlands State Park and the trail to Massie gap a few minutes later at 9:15 AM. I sit down to wait for Dad.

He still hasn't shown up at 9:45 AM, so I stash my pack behind some bushes and start walking toward Massie Gap. I don't get a hundred yards before I see him coming up the hill. We walk back up to the trail junction and sit down. He's brought me a bacon and egg sandwich from Damascus and my food bag. I welcome the b&e sandwich and quickly devour it. The food bag isn't as welcome as it adds 8 pounds to my load!

I say goodbye at 10:15 AM and head up the trail toward the woods. The next two hours plus of hiking are beautiful. High meadows, streamside in hollows, deep woods, all of the above. I reach Wise Shelter at 11 AM and stop for a few minutes to rest.

The climb out of Little Wilson Creek is beautiful. You cross high meadows the last mile or so to Scales. I see my first bear scat, in fact eight different piles, of the trip. I reach Scales at 12:30 PM and stop for a break in the sun. Several groups of horses and riders come and go while I'm resting. I push on at 12:45 PM.

By 1:00 PM, I'm on top of Pine Mountain. I startle my second grouse of the trip as I step through the fence on top of the mountain. I get a magnificent view of this bird as it takes flight across the meadow in front of me. This is the last high view before I head down the hill toward Old Orchard Shelter two miles away.

I reach the shelter at 2:15 PM. There isn't anyone here yet. Since I'm here so early tonight, I'm going to clean up and wash clothes as well. By 3:30 PM I've gotten water, taken a bath, washed my clothes, and hung them to dry in the warm sun.

Two hikers from New York show up followed by three more hikers from Ohio. All of a sudden we have a full shelter. Old Orchard Shelter is the smallest shelter so far on this trip. It will be crowded with the six of us.

I cook Ramen noodles and soup for supper. I'm fed and feeling good by 5 PM and cleaned up by 5:30 PM. It's a nice afternoon, a few clouds in the sky, but sunny and warm. The guys have built a fire and the smell of smoke drifts near. It's going to be another great evening. We're in bed before 8 PM, watching the Boy Scouts camped below us play football until the last bit of light is left in the clearing below. Then they too, head in.