Grayson Highlands Fall Pt. 3

The fall colors and views just kept coming

It’s another warm sunny day, and we’re up and back on the trail by 10:00. We hike briefly through some of the maples that fascinated my wife. In retrospect, they remind me of Weirwood trees from Game of Thrones.

But before long, we were back out in the open hiking the rocky ascent of Wilborn Ridge.

The views in all directions remained spectacular.

Near the top, it was almost like a tableland. There were flat areas with stunted green grass (likely grazed by ponies) interspersed with rocky outcrops.

Somewhere along the way was the mis-named Fatman Squeeze. I was able to negotiate it without difficulty.

Periodically there would be small clumps of trees, and it seemed like there was a pony or two enjoying shade under each one.

The trail remained rocky, but we were so engrossed with all the awesomeness around us that it didn’t really detract from the walk.

There WAS one pretty rugged and rocky final climb that kicked our butts a little bit. IIRC there was even a little bit of actual rock scrambling involved.

We finally summited the ridge at 5526 ft. and proceeded to descend- sometimes steeply- through Rhododendron Gap, and then had a stretch of cruising trail where we encountered a volunteer work crew. One of the crew members was an Andrew Murphy with the Appalachian Trail Conference. We stopped for 5 minutes to chat and he apparently decided we were good people. Before we continued on, he gave my wife a trail charm that she still has.

After a bit over 5 miles we reached Thomas Knob Shelter for a late lunch of Packit Gourmet black bean burritos which was excellent. While there, we met Colorado and his friend from Richmond, and then an older guy named Stan.

We were low on water, so I went out behind the shelter in search of its water source.

Said water source was where? Thaaat’s right, it was way down the hill! It was better described as a seep that was being channeled into a metal gutter that that produced a drip as the final product. It dripped. Not gushed. Not flowed. DRIPPED. It easily took over half an hour to fill our water bottles, and during that time I managed to get quite a sunburn.

We returned to the trail a little after 4:00, walking through what seemed like acres of blackberries. I remember thinking at the time that the bears must really feast here, and apparently that’s true. Thomas Knob Shelter in fact was closed for a while in the past few months due to some very aggressive food-pilfering bears.

We got to Deep Gap after a couple more miles and found a nice place to pitch our tent. Of course, with it being so hot we had burned through all of our water again, so I set off- steeply downhill per usual- in search of the rumored spring. It was about a quarter mile way down in a holler, but it was piped, cold and gushing, so it was worth the effort. And as nightfall drew near, I got the tent pitched quickly and decently.

We had a great dinner of Hawk Vittles Linguini with Mushroom, topped with extra parmesan cheese, and fell asleep listening to a chorus of owls. A great day. It was worth the heat to have such clear skies and great views. Day 5: 7.3 miles.

Marmot Girl was excited the following morning when I told her that we only had to hike 2 miles to reach a paved road, from where we could probably call Gecko and get shuttled back to Damascus.

We got on the trail pretty quickly by our standards. The trail graced us with some more beautiful views along the way.

We then passed through what might have been a really old overgrown orchard that had hawthorns and crabapples. After that, we hiked up and over a couple of green pastures, one of which had a bench positioned for a maximally awesome view.

As we crested the final pasture, I saw the road and parking area (an area known as Elk Garden) down in the distance. But even from afar, I could tell that there were a few people milling around down there, maybe more than that even. And a couple of cars.

We reach the parking area and WOW, it’s trail magic! We have stumbled into the famous Leapfrog Cafe, run by none other than Fresh Ground himself. Colorado, his friend, and a couple of new hikers are already partaking of Fresh Ground’s generosity- hot dogs, home fries and ice cold Kool-Aid.

Fresh Ground typically bounces up the trail in the spring, serving up trail magic to NOBO thru-hikers, and if his money holds out, sometimes he even catches the smaller SOBO bubble in the fall. It turns out we’re sort of at the edge of this bubble, et voila. Fresh Ground was a really generous, friendly and humble guy, one who is held in great esteem by the thru-hiking community.

After satiating ourselves and thanking Fresh Ground profusely, I tried to call Gecko….but there was no cell signal there. One of the other guys said if we hiked a ways down VA600 we would eventually get service, so that’s what we did. We walked about a mile and learned why hikers hate road walks in the process. Eventually we got signal, reached Gecko and got picked up. We were back at the Old Mill in Damascus by 4:00, and by 5:00 we’d both showered and felt like new people. Day 6: 3.0 miles including roadwalk. Trip Total: 41.3 miles.

We spent the next day and a half exploring and falling in love with Damascus. It’s population may only be 900, but boring it isn’t. Multiple restaurants, hiker hostels, bed & breakfasts, outfitters, etc.

Without a doubt, a SOBO section hike of Grayson Highlands ending in Damascus is one of the top section hikes you can do on the AT. We missed out on the final 20 or so miles, including a hike over Whitetop Mountain, but we got to see the best of it, and more importantly, my wife had fun. Based upon reports out of Grayson Highlands in the past year, I would recommend that you consider using a bear canister. They may even be required by now for all I know. Certainly, the stretch from Old Orchard Shelter to Deep Gap isn’t going to offer many opportunities for hanging a bear bag. Trees are sparse and not very tall anyway. I think I could’ve easily completed this 60+ mile stretch solo in 6 days. Strong hikers might only need 3-4 days. In my opinion, it’s a section worth slowing down in. Savor every bit of it.