MO: Grayson Highlands (26 miles)

I hear the flowers are in bloom in Grayson Highlands, so I'm putting together a last-minute trip to see if anyone else is interested. The plan is to meet at Vienna Metro North at 10:00am on Friday and carpool to the trailhead. This is a long 5.5 hour drive. We will then hike ~5 miles on Friday, and set up camp on the ridge. On Saturday, we will do an 18 mile loop around the park and return to the ridge for a second night. On Sunday, we'll do a quick hike out after sunrise and plan to make it to the car by 9am for the long drive back. This should be a tent only trip because we will be camping on the ridge. Also bring bear canisters if you have them because the wild ponies can be aggressive. I have extras if needed! Everyone should also bring a lot of water capacity (~5 liters) because the ridgeline campsites will be dry. The splits are 5/18/3.

Riders should pay their driver $0.10 per mile, which is $70 for this long drive. I have also reserved the backpacking lot for two nights for $38, so expect to split that cost among participants as well.

Caltopo for this trip: https://caltopo.com/m/QUC0BGN#

Trailhead Parking: https://maps.app.goo.gl/DprGaCLtWgmQAfTn6 Overnight Backpackers Parking Lot, Mouth of Wilson, VA 24363

I’m just a co-participant on this trip, not a guide or an expert. I have no special training, such as organizational, medical, or navigational. You are officially on the trip if you both RSVP on Meetup, we engage by email, text, or the app, and you meet me at the trailhead. Otherwise, you are doing your own trip until you make physical contact with me and I recognize you as a co-participant.
By RSVPing to this trip or any other DC UL trip, you agree to DC UL's liability waiver terms. (https://dculbackpacking.com/about/liability-waiver)

If you are a member, don't forget to pay your annual $10 dues. You can check to see if you need to pay dues by seeing if the current year is listed next to your name in your DC UL profile. Applicants do not need to pay dues for their first trip with the group. To pay your dues via PayPal, use this link: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/JenniferAdach/15