Day 3 of May 2022 Virginia Trip, Grayson Highlands

by admin

The third day of my 2022 Memorial Day weekend trip. I would be doing a long day hike in Virginia’s Grayson Highlands State Park and the nearby Jefferson National Forest, featuring Mount Rogers as Virginia’s highest elevation point, some fun on the rocks along Wilburn Ridge, and a combination of forests and open meadows which were not a common sight in Virginia. Unfortunately, just like the previous two days, I still had to battle with annoying mud for portions of the hike.

Fields from Wilburn Ridge

Morning Mist in Wytheville

Mount Rogers/Grayson Highlands were located in a rural area in southern Virginia, while most of the hotels in reasonable proximity were along the I81 corridor. For my visit, I picked one in the city of Wytheville, which was just over an hour from the Grayson Highlands State Park.
My hotel was on a small hill overlooking the city. As I woke up on this Sunday, I was thrilled to find most of the city was veiled behind a layer of morning mist, looking mystically charming. So before I set off for Grayson Highlands State Park, I launched my drone for an aerial tour.

Mist over Wytheville
Mist over Wytheville
Mist over Wytheville
Mist over Wytheville
Mist over Wytheville
East Main Street
Fields
Some open fields behind my hotel that’s not covered in mist.
Mist over Wytheville
As seen from over my hotel.
Mist over Wytheville
As seen from over my hotel.

Overlooking Wytheville in Mist

And here’s a video:

Grayson Highlands Long Day Hike

Apart from providing the easiest access to Mount Rogers (which, like most of my day’s hike, was actually located in the nearby Jefferson National Forest), the highest elevation point of Virginia, Grayson Highlands State Park was famous for its “wild” ponies that roamed its surrounding land. In the 19th century, extensive logging operations created patches of meadows that were used for cattle ranching in the early 20th century. After cattle ranching ceased with the creation of the state park, ponies were manually introduced to the area in 1975 to keep the meadow landscape trimmed. And my aesthetics certainly appreciated the meadow landscape as otherwise I was a bit bored with the ubiquitous forests of Blue Ridge Mountains.
Except that their droppings were occasionally visible on the trail.

Grayson Highlands State Park opened at 8am in the morning. However, since I spent some time playing with my drone earlier, and with the mountain road of US58 being rather twisty and demanding, I only started my hike after 9am. It’s Memorial Day Sunday but the parking lot was far from full by the time I arrived.

Overview

Here is a map of my day’s hike, which I took in the clockwise direction:

Today’s Hike

Between trailhead and Pine Mountain, there were many community trails in parallel so there’s no worry of getting lost. I took the Wilburn Ridge Trail (dark blue) which involved some rock scrambling, but it also provided the best views on top of a few rocky mounds.
After Pine Mountain I turned left onto the Appalachian Trail (red). This section was in great condition, with occasional views of vast fields and meadows to the south. There was a spring water source at Thomas Knob Shelter.
The spur to Mount Rogers Summit (green) was 1mi/1.6km roundtrip, in what looked like rainforests. It’s the highest elevation point in the state of Virginia, unfortunately, no views at the summit.
The subsequent Appalachian Trail (purple) was starting to get wet. At some open field, I planned to continue on Appalachian (dashed yellow), but went onto Virginia Highland Horse Trail (blue) instead.
Mount Rogers Trail (brown) after that was narrower, wetter, and sort of boring.
Lewis Fork Trail (cyan) was the worst part of the day. Probably because it’s on the northern slope of a mountain, it’s very wet and horrendously muddy. I talked with another group of hikers that took a different part of Lewis Fork Trail (dashed red), and they concurred it’s very muddy.
Crest Trail (green) was decent, with views at certain places. It’s designed as a gravel vehicle road so conditions were mostly great, but with a few muddy spots. I ran into a few ponies along the trail.
Scales Trail (purple) was a gravel vehicle road, but very wet (not necessarily muddy though) at places. Despite a few exposed rocks it’s still a struggle to stay dry. I planned to take the “Virginia Highland Horse Trail / Wilson Creek Trail” (dashed blue) which from my drone photos may not be as wet, but mistakenly went on Scales Trail.
The remaining Appalachian Trail (cyan) was well-maintained, a typical walk in the woods like many other hikes in the Blue Ridge Mountains, not particularly exciting though. After reentering Grayson Highlands State Park there were a few rocky mounds offering decent views.

And here was a collection of GoPro videos that I took along portions of the trail. Warning: video playback at 8.3x speed, which could cause motion sickness to some audiences.

0:00 Introduction
0:05 Starting off (orange)
0:43 Appalachian Trail (orange), to state park boundary.
2:04 Wilburn Ridge Trail (dark blue), between the first overlook and actual “Wilburn Ridge”, crossing Rhododendron Gap Trail at 2:22.
3:43 Wilburn Ridge Trail, onto a small overlook near “Pine Mountain”.
4:27 Appalachian Trail, from “Pine Mountain” to the intersection of Crest Trail.
4:45 At the open field, following Virginia Highland Horse Trail (blue) into Lewis Fork Wilderness.
5:44 Crest Trail (green), onto Scales Campground.

And here’s GPS tracking for the day:

Wilburn Ridge

I opted to take the hike in the clockwise direction, so as to visit the most exciting Wilburn Ridge first.

Haw Orchard Mountain
As seen from the trailhead.
Trail
Near the trailhead, wide and well maintained.
Wilburn Ridge

Two small hills made of rock that required scrambling to reach their tops. The one on the right was the actual Wilburn Ridge, while Wilburn Ridge Trail also passed the one on the left.
Hills to the East
A ridge with some stones on top. The Appalachian Trail passed along this ridge.
Hills to the East
A ridge with some stones on top. The Appalachian Trail passed along this ridge.
Horses along Trail

These wild horses happened to be on “Horse Trail North”. I took the Appalachian Trail parallel to it and missed them.
Horse

Trail
Typical trail condition for this section of the Appalachian Trail.

Not long after entering Jefferson National Forest, Wilburn Ridge Trail forked from the Appalachian Trail. First, the trail would ascend onto a small rocky mound, some sort of a preview of the rock scrambling to come.

Trail on Rocks

This part of Wilburn Ridge Trail involved some rock scrambling, which I would rate as YDS class 2+.. The path was clearly marked by blue paint, so there was no worry of getting lost.
Looking Back at Grayson Highlands State Park
Another group of hikers tackling the rock scrambling section.
Looking Back at Grayson Highlands State Park
Where I came from.
Looking Back at Grayson Highlands State Park
Where I came from.
Fields to the West
Wilburn Ridge
The actual Wilburn Ridge, which was another hill of rocks to the north, that was higher and larger.

Fields

After descending down the previous rocky mound, Wilburn Ridge Trail crossed the Appalachian Trail again, then made its way up the actual Wilburn Ridge on maps, where the views (below) were better.

Fields to the South
Fields to the Southwest
Fields

Intersection of many trails. The small hill in the center-right was the previous hill where I made a brief stop.
Fields to the West
Towards Mount Rogers.
Hill

A small hill to the north, made of a bunch of rocks. On the map it’s called “Pine Mountain”, where I was heading next. A few horses were right next to the trail. Unfortunately, they were all gone by the time I walked past.

It’s also a more spacious mound where more people were resting.

Fields from Wilburn Ridge

Leaving Wilburn Ridge, the trail ducked its way through shallow bushes until it reached the Appalachian Trail (not the most pleasant for tall people).

Wilburn Ridge
As seen from directly below.
Trail
Wilburn Ridge
As seen from “Pine Mountain”.
Fields
Fields

At “Pine Mountain”, I took a small detour from the trail and found a piece of rock with views to the east, where I enjoyed some solitude with snacks, the breeze and the view.

Rock in Field

I enjoyed some great solitude on this rock, appreciating the sceneries, and watching the landscape under passing clouds.
Fields to the East
Fields to the East
Fields to the East

View to the East of Pine Mountain

Finally, I reached the intersection of Crest Trail and the Appalachian Trail at 11:30am. Not far from the intersection, there were a few boulders which offered decent views. So in line with my tradition of the day, I climbed on top of them and grabbed a few photos. Unlike the previous rocks, here I got views of rolling forests to the north, typical of Blue Ridge Mountains.

Mount Rogers
Mountains to the North
Fields to the East
Boulders
Hill to the South
“Pine Mountain”. Two National Forest rangers in the foreground, providing information services.

Mountains

Appalachian Trail 1

Up till this point, I had been having fun with the rocks and the scenery along Wilburn Ridge Trail. Hiking in open fields like this wasn’t typical in Blue Ridge Mountains, and I have been cherishing the moments.
After that, I made a left turn and joined the Appalachian Trail towards Mount Rogers (red line on map). With occasional views of vast fields and meadows to the south, I still enjoyed this part of the hike.

Fields
Fields
Fields
Fields
Fields
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail

Spring

250m from Mount Rogers intersection was Thomas Knob Shelter, a place for Appalachian backpackers to catch some rest. I learned that there would be water sources here, which turned out to be an untreated spring located 130m off the main trail. I wasn’t carrying any water treatment equipment so I reluctantly filled up two bottles and left them to the end of the day.

Mount Rogers Summit

After that, I reached the intersection of Mount Rogers Spur at 12:15pm. Despite knowing there wouldn’t be any views at the summit, I still liked to add it to my state high points collection.

Bag Stashing

The spur to Mount Rogers summit was 800m one-way with 80m elevation gain. Like many others, I left my backpack near the intersection to make my detour to the summit easier.

Trail
To begin, the trail looked not too different from earlier today.
Trail
To begin, the trail looked not too different from earlier today.
Trail

Then it seemed to enter what looked like a rainforest, which was unique from the landscapes I saw for the rest of the day.
Trail

Then it seemed to enter what looked like a rainforest, which was unique from the landscapes I saw for the rest of the day.
Trail

Then it seemed to enter what looked like a rainforest, which was unique from the landscapes I saw for the rest of the day.
Trail

Then it seemed to enter what looked like a rainforest, which was unique from the landscapes I saw for the rest of the day.
Trail

Then it seemed to enter what looked like a rainforest, which was unique from the landscapes I saw for the rest of the day.
Trail
Some stairs.

The sight of extensive mold on trees during the latter part of the trail was really refreshing to me, as an exciting novelty to the Blue Ridge Mountains.
At 1746m elevation, Mount Rogers is the highest elevation point in the state of Virginia. The summit was among similar landscapes like previous rainforests. Unfortunately the humid environment meant a few bugs were bothering me at the summit. So I spent about 7 minutes taking a few photos before heading back down.

Markers on Mt Rogers Summit

Weirdly, I found two geological survey markers on two different rocks, separated by about 20m apart. As a result, I wasn’t too sure where the summit of Mount Rogers actually was.

Summit of Mount Rogers
As a result, I picked my favorite rock between the two, and decided to call it the summit.

Misery with Mud

After taking a short rest at the intersection, I continued onto the Appalachian Trail at 1pm. This time, I tried to circumvent Mount Rogers.

Fields
Views like these quickly disappeared after leaving Mount Rogers.

While going downhill, the conditions of the trail quickly deteriorated with the emergence of a few muddy spots.

Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Wet Trail
Creek
These creeks created a few water crossings, probably the culprit of all the mud along the trail.
Creek
These creeks created a few water crossings, probably the culprit of all the mud along the trail.
Creek
These creeks created a few water crossings, probably the culprit of all the mud along the trail.
Tree
I had no idea how it grew, or was cracked, into such shape.

At about 1:30pm, I reached an open field (at the intersection of the purple and dark blue line in the trail map). Having endured the misery of mud, I was rather rejuvenated by the pleasant sceneries in sight.

View of Fields
From the pile of rocks where I took a brief rest.
Fields
Fields
Fields
Fields
Fields
Distant Whitetop Mountain.
Fields

View of Fields

Originally, I planned to continue on Appalachian Trail (dashed yellow line on map), but I was a bit carried away by the scenery that I decided to wander around in such open meadows. As a result, I went onto the nearby Virginia Highlands Horse Trail (blue line on map). It’s not a big deal as the two trails went parallel to each other. After entering Lewis Fork Wilderness, the Horse Trail had a few wet spots, but its rocky surface meant staying dry was relatively easy.

Virginia Highland Horse Trail

It’s still wet in certain portions. But with enough exposed rocks it’s not too hard to keep shoes dry.
Virginia Highland Horse Trail

It’s still wet in certain portions. But with enough exposed rocks it’s not too hard to keep shoes dry.
Virginia Highland Horse Trail
Virginia Highland Horse Trail
Virginia Highland Horse Trail
Appalachian Trail
Intersection of Appalachian Trail

The two paths here were both Appalachian Trail. I should have come from the left, instead, I took a small detour onto Virginia Highland Trail and came from the right. Mt Rogers Trail started behind this photo.

Mount Rogers Trail
Mount Rogers Trail
Mount Rogers Trail
Mount Rogers Trail
Mount Rogers Trail
Mount Rogers Trail
Mount Rogers Trail
A few wet and muddy spots.
Mount Rogers Trail
A few wet and muddy spots.
Mount Rogers Trail
A few wet and muddy spots.
Mount Rogers Trail
Mount Rogers Trail

At 2:15pm, I went onto Mount Rogers Trail (brown on map). It’s much narrower, among a diverse forest landscape. There were quite a few muddy spots, especially towards the end, which was quite disheartening.

At 3:07pm, I reached the intersection of Mount Rogers and Lewis Fork Trail, where I could rest my legs on a few stumps (there weren’t any good spots to rest along Mount Rogers Trail). Here I ran into another group of hikers that were doing a similar loop as me but in reverse direction. They informed me that Lewis Fork Trail was “very very muddy”, which sunk my heart.
If there had to be some encouraging news, they took the “lower” part of Lewis Fork Trail (dashed red line on map, shorter but with more elevation gain), and I intended to take the “upper” part (cyan line on map). I consoled myself that things wouldn’t be as wet on higher elevations.

Lewis Fork Trail
The trail began in great condition, a pleasant walk in the woods.
Lewis Fork Trail
The trail began in great condition, a pleasant walk in the woods.
Muddy Section of Lewis Fork Trail

Then just before the intersection of upper and lower Lewis Fork Trail, it entered a very muddy section.
Muddy Section of Lewis Fork Trail

Then just before the intersection of upper and lower Lewis Fork Trail, it entered a very muddy section.
Lewis Fork Trail
The few sections that weren’t as wet.
Lewis Fork Trail
The few sections that weren’t as wet.

It turned out that sections of Lewis Fork Trail, especially the southern part, was muddy as hell. With the aid of hiking poles, my passage wasn’t that torturous. The previous group of hikers informed me that Lewis Fork Trail was mainly intended for horses, so there wasn’t as much incentive to construct drainage and improvements along it.

Creek
A few creeks were flowing down the mountain, crossing the trail at various places.
Creek
A few creeks were flowing down the mountain, crossing the trail at various places.
Wet Trail

Unfortunately, instead of being channeled directly down the hill, the water from those creeks would often flow along the trail for some distance, and that created multiple wet sections like this.
Wet Trail

Unfortunately, instead of being channeled directly down the hill, the water from those creeks would often flow along the trail for some distance, and that created multiple wet sections like this.
Wet Trail

Unfortunately, instead of being channeled directly down the hill, the water from those creeks would often flow along the trail for some distance, and that created multiple wet sections like this.
Wet Trail

Unfortunately, instead of being channeled directly down the hill, the water from those creeks would often flow along the trail for some distance, and that created multiple wet sections like this.
Wet Trail

Unfortunately, instead of being channeled directly down the hill, the water from those creeks would often flow along the trail for some distance, and that created multiple wet sections like this.
Lewis Fork Trail
The few sections that weren’t as wet.
Lewis Fork Trail
Finally, Approaching Crest Trail, familiar landscape was coming up.

Crest Trail

Finally, at 4:40pm, I came out of the miseries of mud along Lewis Fork Trail, and back to the sunlit Crest Trail.
Nearby there was a campground and another water source, which I assumed to be untreated spring water. I had enough water in the backpack so I didn’t check it out.

Looking back at Wilburn Ridge
Fields
Overlooking Crest Trail
Where Lewis Fork Trail joined Crest Trail.
Fields
Fields
Overlooking Crest Trail
Crest Trail
Crest Trail

For Crest Trail, it’s rather a gravel road for forest rangers’ ATVs, so for hiking it’s actually in decent shape. Despite that, there were still a few muddy spots.

And with open fields surrounding Crest Trail, I launched my drone for an aerial tour. Here’s a video:

Overlooking Crest Trail

And I also tested out the drone’s “follow” feature, which worked great on such flat and open trail.

It’s also along Crest Trail that I ran into a few groups of ponies grazing. Otherwise, I would probably begin to doubt whether the ponies were really that popular since I saw few earlier today.

Grazing Horses
Against the backdrop of Wilburn Ridge.
Horses
At first, they were grazing along the trail.
Horses
Upon seeing my arrival, they retreated back to the fields.
Horses
These two seem to be good friends of each other.
Horses
These two seem to be good friends of each other.
Horses
Then this one seemed to be deserted by the previous pair.
Horses
Some more horse sightings down the road.
Horses
Some more horse sightings down the road.

At the end of Crest Trail it’s Scales Campground, reachable by car through a dirt road (FS613). It’s an enclosed campground, most likely to keep the horses from innocent campers.
On a hill to the east of the campground, quite a few horses were grazing. I felt I hadn’t seen enough ponies for today, so I decided to check them out.

Hill off Scales Campground
Lots of horses were grazing on this patch of land.
Horses
Some horse action scenes rated R.
Horses
Another male horse arriving at the scene. He certainly thought the brown horse was his lady.
Horses
Another male horse arriving at the scene. He certainly thought the brown horse was his lady.
Horses
The two males were having some words after the action.
Horses
Change of subject for some family-oriented scenes.
Horses
Change of subject for some family-oriented scenes.
Horses
Some more tranquil scenes.
Horses
Some more tranquil scenes.
Horses
Some more tranquil scenes.

Scales Trail

Scales Campground was the intersection of a few trails, incluing Appalachian. So to go back to the trailhead, I had a few options. I ruled out the Appalachian Trail first since it’s a longer detour. I planned to take the combination of Virginia Highland Horse Trail and Wilson Creek Trail (dashed blue line on map), but instead went on the Scales Trail, since start of these two were very close to each other.
It ended up that Scales Trail was a gravel vehicle road, but it’s very wet, like a creek with a few exposed rocks. (In addition I believed the views along the other trail would be better.)

Scales Trail

The initial part of Scales Trail was very wet. The few exposed rocks were making my passage easier, but it’s still an unpleasant experience trying to stay dry.
Scales Trail

The initial part of Scales Trail was very wet. The few exposed rocks were making my passage easier, but it’s still an unpleasant experience trying to stay dry.
Scales Trail
Then the trail condition improved, just not for too long.
Scales Trail
Then the trail condition improved, just not for too long.
Forests along Trail
Appalachian Trail

Appalachian Trail felt more like a typical walk in the woods, not much altered by civil engineering.
Wilson Creek
There were two subsequent water crossings, both with footbridges.
Big Wilson Creek
There were two subsequent water crossings, both with footbridges.
Big Wilson Creek
There were two subsequent water crossings, both with footbridges.

Along the way, I launched my drone for some aerial tour.

Distant Wilburn Ridge (left) and Wilson Creek Trail (right)
The trail that I intended to take.

Fields and Forests

And here’s a video from the fields around Wilson Creek:

Appalachian Trail 2

Finally, just before 7pm, I crossed both Wilson Creeks and got back to the Appalachian Trail (cyan on map). After that, it was a steady uphill back to Grayson Highlands State Park. This section felt like a walk in the woods, typical of Blue Ridge Mountains. It was getting dark so I raced through it without much delay.

Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail
The tree in the right in such an unusual shape.
Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail
At least this part of the Appalachian Trail had decent drainage.
Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail

After the Appalachian Trail reaches the top of a ridge, it’s lined with groups of boulders. I climbed onto one of them for some views. Much to my surprise, I got cellular signal there.

Mountains of Grayson Highland
Appalachian Trail passed through the open field in the foreground.
Boulders along Trail
Boulders
The Appalachian Trail passed through the woods. Rolling mountains in the distant background.
Mountains to the North
Where I hiked through earlier today.
Hill of Boulders

Taken later where I closed the long loop at Horse Trail North. I was sitting on some boulders like this about 10 minutes ago.

Mountains to the North from Appalachian Trail

Horse

As I was leaving the Appalachian Trail for the parking lot, I found these two horses not far from the trail. Since Grayson Highlands were popular for its wild ponies, I felt it’s appropriate to end the day with them.

Finally, I got back to the trailhead at 8:20pm, 11 hours after I started, finishing this very long day.
END

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Category: Hiking, May 2022, Virginia, Travel Tags: Grayson Highlands State Park, Jefferson National Forest

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