Mount Rodgers/Grayson Highlands 3 day 2 night trip around 21.5 miles total

6 people max including myself .

2 nights, 3 days

NEW DATES!!!!!!!!!!!

November 25th 26th, 27th.

Backpacking Double Overnighter The Destination: Grayson Highlands, Mount Rogers.
Mount Rogers is the highest peak in Virginia. While quite a few peaks in the Appalachians outside of Virginia are higher, Mount Rogers can claim to be the highest of the state highpoints east of South Dakota that lacks a road to its summit. The summit is covered by a thick spruce-fir forest and offers no views, but the trails to the summit pass through open meadows and cross bald ridge tops with far reaching vistas. The Mount Rogers area contains a unique record of the geohistory of Virginia. There is evidence from the rocks that volcanoes were part of the landscape, but not for about 200 million years. Roughly 750 million years ago, rift-related (divergent) volcanoes erupted along the axis of what later became the Appalachians, and one remnant of that volcanic zone, with its volcanic rocks, still can be seen at Mount Rogers. Massive rhyolite lava flows erupted at the mountain during the Precambrian rifting event. Mount Rogers is also the only place in Virginia that preserves evidence of ancient glaciation. There are also two separate herds of wild ponies in the area! (No feeding of the ponies!)

Travel: we will meet in the Campbell county library parking lot in Fort Thomas at 7, and drive the almost 6 hours to the grindstone parking lot to begin our hike. I will be using my wife's car which is very tiny, so I would like to ride with someone. Of course, I will split gas cost.

Day 1: We will hike from the parking lot along Fairwood Valley Trail until we hit Old Orchard Trail which we will follow to the Appalachian Trail (AT). Once we hit the AT we will follow it to the Old Orchard shelter where we will camp for the evening. Total miles for day one will be about 3.

Day 2: We will leave from Old Orchard shelter and follow the AT until we reach the Thomas Knob shelter. It would be a total of 11 miles for day 2. Depending on when we reach the camping area we could hike the Mount Rogers Spur Trail to the top of Mount Rogers or we could do that on day 3.

Day 3: We will follow the AT until we hit Deep Gap where
we will pickup the Mount Rogers Trail until we hit our original parking lot. Total miles would be 7.5 for day 3. We would then stop somewhere for obligatory post trail eats.

More Random Stuff: I’d suggest getting a copy of the map so everyone will have an idea of our route. If need be, I can print one off for everyone. (Tip: Put it in a clear Ziploc bag to keep it dry!)
This trip is considered moderate due to the distance and elevation gains/loses, as well as being a winter trip. You are responsible for all your equipment including shelter and food. please have all gear needed for changing winter conditions such as snow, ice, rain, high winds, and low changing temperatures below freezing. we don't want anyone out there freezing their tails off. If you have questions, feel free to email me, or post here.
please bring some form of water treatment, as we will need to filter our water.You would be expected to split gas cost for carpooling, so please bring cash for that purpose. once again, please be prepared for changing winter weather, as this area is known for them.
There is a limited number of spots for this hike. If you are not 100% sure that you are going to attend please do NOT rsvp yes, just to hold a spot- it's not fair to the other members in the group!

We did this trip in 2016 or 2017 I believe, and it was awesome! You can look up that past event to get an idea of what the trip was like. I also made a youtube video of the trip. Yes it is amateur as all get out, but I am no expert. Here is the link to it.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JvzVQEG8efE

As always, if you have any questions or concerns at all, feel free to ask. Thanks!