Mt Rogers

I'm eating a self cooked waffle at the EconoLodge in Marion, VA. And will be on my way to climb Mt Rogers in a minute. I have already driven over 700 miles since leaving Albany and plan to be in Nashville, TN tonight. Gotta go. Hope to learn how to post pictures from an iPhone soon?

Still haven't learned to post from my iPhone, but I am back on a computer and have pictures from a successful summit of Mt. Rogers.  I saw wild ponies, got lost and then found the trail.  Did not see anyone else for five hours and enjoyed a beautiful day of solitude here.

It was nine miles round trip and 1079 feet of altitude gain to the summit of 5,729 feet.  But, the trail gains and loses altitude over the course of the hike as it crosses a number of rocky "knobs" and mirrors the Appalachian Trail for much of the climb.

along the trail I saw dozens of wild ponies!!

Fat Man's Squeeze is a well know part of the Appalachian Trail that I passed through here.

The summit is in the woods with no view, but the views on the way are beautiful.  I paused to enjoy the quiet as the wind blew through the trees, and was alone with my thoughts as I descended the trail.

I learned that there is a thin line between wonder and fear, as I was so alone here during the nearly 6 hours of my hike and found myself lost a couple of times with no one to ask for help. It's quite isolated, which is the part of the beauty of Mt Rogers.