I just managed to beat the weather and had a great hike this week. I was going to park at Iron Mountain when I met CC. She runs the Greasey Creek Hostil and invited me to park there as it would be much safer. Since all my show inventory is in my van, I decided to take her up on her offer. My objective for this hike was to get scenics from Roan Mountain. I was hoping that the rhododendrons would be blooming. It was a little too early for most of them at the higher elevations. I wish that I could have gone two weeks later. The first night, I hiked to Roan High Knob Shelter. It is a nice little cabin with a door and a loft. I shared it with two boys who were section hiking. They were nice company. I met a number of though hikers at my lunch stops, but they were on a different schedule than me since I was just there for pictures. The second day I hiked to the old barn. The views over the little valley were spectacular. The same section hikers were there. I couldn’t go any further since I had to backtrack and hike out in time for my art show in Pittsburgh. We slept on the platforms facing the great views and the birds sang us to sleep. We watched the full moon rise over the mountains. We woke early in the morning hoping for a great sunrise, but it was behind the mountain. I hiked about 16 miles back to the shelter. I know the milage was a little more because they put in a bunch of new switchbacks that added about a mile to my day but made the hiking much easier. The last 2 miles back to the hostil, I heard thunder rumbling. It was getting closer so I ran most of the last two miles down the mountain with a fully loaded pack. It gave me a couple of blisters, but they popped and heeled quickly. I beat the storm by about 10 minutes. It was great to be out of the weather and get a much needed hot shower. Thanks for everything CC. I’ll by back next season on my thru hike. I took a lot of good pictures on this section, but this weekend, I dropped the hard drive on the cement right in the middle of downloading them. I hope my husband can find a way to retrieve them. I posted a couple from this hike.

My sister flew up to hike with me this week. I picked her up in Knoxville and then we drove to Greyson Highlands State Park to hike Mt Rogers and find the ponies.

It was cool, rainy, and foggy for our hike…quite a change from last week’s beautiful hiking weather. We arrived later than planned so we grabbed a campsote for the first night. Then we hiked in to Thomas Knob Shelter. There were a lot of former thru hikers on the trail heading for Damascus. We met Braid, Cantaloup, and several others.

The next morning, we finally saw the ponies. We got lots of good pictures. There were 15 ponies not far from the shelter. There were 3 foals. I will post pictures soon. Time to go set up my booth at Trail Days.

I am running behind on my entries. Certain libraries don’t want to give enough time to attend to my business and post, even if it isn’t busy.

The weather cooperated beautifully for this hike. The adjenda was to hike into the shelter and then photograph McAffey Knob at sunrise. I wish that they still allowed camping up there because I had to get up really early to hike back up from the shelter and I could have gotten better pictures if I was there 10 minutes sooner. I am trying to figure out how to post the pictures in a timely manner. Please bear with me. For those who are lucky enough to be at Trail Days, I will have them on display in the park.

This hike produced several interesting pictures. There was a box turtle sitting in the middle of the trail. I took some pictures of her and then moved her off the trail after a young day hiker stepped on the edge of her shell. The open brushy area near the shelter where the power lines went over the mountain were full of a great variety of birds. I was able to photograph an Indigo Bunting. Also Rose Breasted Grosebeaks, Summer Tanagers, Rufus Sided Towhees, Bluebirds, ect…

Much to my surprise, I had the shelter all to myself. It was a mild night and I was getting too warm in my sleeping bag. I should have gotten the liner out for cover and just used the bag for cushion but I was being lazy. Five am came too early. But a beautiful morning it was.