Greyson Highlands

With my fresh new shoes, I set out for Marion,VA - a four day leg of about 65 miles. Cornbread went ahead early and was headed for a hostel known as Bear Garden where he would meet up with a couple of our Warrior Expedition buddies. I was stopping in Marion to see my family for Mothers Day.

This section would take me over Greyson Highlands and Mount Rogers, a series of balds in the Jefferson National Park and Greyson Stare Park. This area was famous for its wild ponies. They were introduced about 50 years ago to keep the vegetation down and maintain the namesake balds.

The climbs were milder but significant and the constant woodlands gave way to intermittent farmland and country roads. Livestock was common and wildlife was more prevalent. So was the rain! It rained every day with a couple very strong evening thunderstorms.

Rain on the trail doesn't mean much. It means I get wet but I dry out and my gear is waterproofed. I don't bother with a rain jacket unless it get really cold. Rain overnight means you have to carry a wet tent but it will dry too. Wet gear adds another couple of pounds to the load.

I was fortunate to have a close encounter with the ponies and a distant encounter with a bear family. Both exhilarating and special in their own way. And both involved babies - a frolicking colt and and two curious, though cautious, cubs.

The woods are in full late Spring form. The trees are almost fully leaved and the forest floor is still a carpet of triliums, violets and the occasional lady lady slippers. The song birds are migrating back north and the mosquitoes are making their presence known. Ticks have been spotted and we are all waiting for the Brood XIX Cicadas to drive us nuts for a couple of weeks.

We had a great family weekend in Marion - nothing elborate, just quality time. Quality time has taken on a new, more purposeful meaning. Somehow the hours are sweeter and more precious. I am so much more present than I've been in recent memory. More patient and involved. Less hurried and self absorbed. The trail heals.