For Memorial Day, we decided to get out in the woods for a couple of days.  Andy has been fortunate enough to work up in western Virginia several times, but had not been to Grayson Highland State Park.  Wild ponies, the Appalachian Trail, and beautiful weather were the catalysts for this trip.  We woke up early Saturday to drive 3.5 hours to the state park to find the crowded parking lot.  Once on the trail, we hardly saw anyone and took he spur trail to the AT and headed north towards  “scales”.  Scales was where they weighed cattle prior to selling them that had been grazing at high elevations before driving them downslope and losing valuable weight.  Along the way, we enjoyed breathtaking views of meadows scattered with wild ponies and cattle.  Our first break was on top of one of the balds under a shade tree.  About 5 minutes into our break, ponies began to join us and snack on the grass around us.

Around 8.5 miles ainto the hike, we took the Pine Mountain trail and soon found a nice secluded spot tucked away in the woods off the trail with a fire ring and plenty of wood ready to go.  We explored the rock outcroppings around our site, built a fire and enjoyed the night (as much as we could with two adults and a dog in a backpacking tent for two.)

The next morning we continued on the Pine Mountain trail to more amazing views of meadows and ponies and went through rhododendron gap (which looks as it sounds).  Here, there were a few tall outcroppings to climb and one that Kate had to be coaxed into climbing but was well worth the 360 degree views of the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains.

We then linked back onto the AT to complete, where we began to see more hikers.  While the parking lots were very crowded, the trails were pleasantly quiet.  In total we hiked 12.5 miles along Pine Mountain and Appalachian Trail loop.

Grayson Highlands State Park is a phenomenal location with its mix of spruce forests, grazed balds, and wild ponies.   The entire trail provided refreshing and majestic views.  Even Emma Jean Jones herself thoroughly enjoyed the trip.