Magic in the Mountains

May 12, 2021 (12.3 miles)

Hurricane Mountain Shelter – Grayson Highlands Inn

What an interesting day. If anything the trail has taught me to be flexible and roll with the punches (and that sometimes you have to suck it up and do hard things despite not wanting to). The day started fine at the shelter, we said bye to Wilson and Bug Bite and knew it was going to be chilly and wet but did NOT expect what the weather threw at us. It started flurrying around 10am, but by 11am it was dumping snow as we climbed into Grayson Highlands. I was wet, cold, and not having a great time.

Our SoBo plan was to make it to Thomas Knob shelter right below Mount Rogers, but because it’s so high in elevation we knew it was going to be freezing up there. Rat King found an inn outside of the park, and the potential of a warm room was all that got me through the day. I was able to make a call at Wise Gap to get us a room for the evening, and my mood significantly improved from there! The snow was beautiful, but I didn’t enjoy it because I was walking through it. I didn’t see many ponies because of the weather either.

Thankfully the Inn is lovely and Dennis, the owner, is outstanding. I got warm food, took a shower, did laundry, and get to sleep in a bed tonight. Tomorrow I am spending the night with Amber, one of dad’s cousins, so that should be fun. My SoBo adventure has made me less excited about getting to Maine, I hope I feel better after Trail Days…