Day 44 (Monday, May 26th) - Pond campsite to Thomas Knob Shelter 495.4

Today's Miles: 16.20
Trip Miles: 495.40

There's something about bridges, 

I just really like them

I started out before M and N for Lost Mountain Shelter where we would meet. There were lots of tents along the way; some people I recognized, some I didn't. Not much conversation because most people were just getting up. Not long in to the hike I saw Yvanna and Andi. I told them that M and N weren't far behind me if they wanted to hike with them. They said they hadn't yet had breakfast, but they would soon follow.

There were some cool footbridges along the Creeper Trail (a bike trail that gets a lot of visitors, and runs beside, and sometimes on the Appalachian Trail). M and N met me at the shelter and we continued north. Our hope was to reach the wild horses of Grayson Highlands.

We stopped for lunch at Buzzard Rock and laid out in the sun. It was a nice bald area with close proximity to a road so there were lots of day hikers there. Along the sides of the well worn trail there were small gray/blue birds that flew out from the banks along the path. I noticed a tiny nest and some eggs hidden in the grass. Little ground nesters with eggs smaller than a dime. After lunch we stopped for water at a stream, and Andi and Yvanna came by. We talked for a while and decided to meet at the Highlands later in the day.

Along the Creeper trail

Further down the trail we met Quest and his dog, Vision. He's a visually impaired hiker trying to thru the AT. Different people along the trail have helped him out along the way and it's slow going, but he says he's enjoying the journey. Met section hiker Rocky at Whitetop Mountain Rd. Rte. 89. He wears a kilt (something I had thought about) and says it's really comfortable and cuts down on the chafing problems. We moved on from there through an open area and up into the Highlands.

Back into the trees for a while and we saw our first wild horses on Brier Ridge. They were kind of skittish and we didn't get very close to them. There were a lot of tracks along the trail, but no more horses.

You'd need a lot of these to make an omelette

We reached Thomas Knob Shelter and backtracked a few hundred yards to a nice campsite. We hadn't
seen Andi and Yvanna for a while and wondered if they had stopped earlier, when they came up over the ridge. We had plenty of space for them so they camped with us. They're so much fun to talk to and we always have a good time when we're together.

We all sat down to eat and some horses walked by our area, so we went out to see them. They're so tame, many let you walk right up and pet them. The fact that we're all salty from a day of hiking doesn't hurt. They love to lick the salt off of bodies and backpacks.

We went back to our fire and sat up gabbing until 10. Time for bed. Wild horses in the morning and then who knows.

Bye for now.

Buzzard Rock --wait, is Mike naked?!

Ahhh! Easy walking....

The balds are always cool

Treeless forest

Back into the woods

The best time of the day!