Grayson Highlands 1 Night Trip

Join us for a loop through Grayson Highlands and Lewis Fork Wilderness. We should see some ponies, some beautiful scenery and hopefully some good fall foliage.

As this is a year round favorite for hikers and backpackers, we should expect parking to be at a premium during this colorful fall season so we will meet at 8:00 am Saturday morning. Our meeting spot will be the parking area on county route 600 where the Appalachian Trail crosses.

We will head northbound on the AT for the first couple miles. When we reach Deep Gap we will turn left on the Mnt Rogers trail and make a clockwise loop around Mount Rogers via the Lewis Fork trail. CHANGE. Option1 - We will continue on the Lewis fork trl to Old Orchard Shelter then turn south on Pine Mnt Trail til we reach Rhododendren Gap to stay for the evening. This leaves 5 miles to our car - probably in the rain??
Option 2 - From Lewis Fork Trl we turn right/East on Cliffside trail til we hit Pine Mountain Trl, then south to Rhododedren Gap, turn right and proceed southbound on AT 2.5 miles to a meadow( coordinates 36.65013, -81.54947) . This leaves 2.5 miles to our cars Sunday.
Either option is a 10 - 11 mile Saturday.

Let me know in the comments which distance out you prefer Sunday morning.

Also the meadow(2.5 from car) does not to my knowledge have a bear box close by so you will need your own bear canister or ask to share with someone.

Day 2 we will resume our southbound journey on the AT the entire day. We will see some beautiful views as we hike through Grayson Highlands with perhaps the highlight being the views south from Rhododendron Gap.
Day 2 is 7 miles, 1350 ft AEG, and 750 ft AEL.