Day 129. Grayson Highlands State Park

Mile 1671 – Stealth To Mile 1689 – Massey Gap

Rocket and I were just finishing up our packing in the morning at our campsite when Torch and Ox walked by on the trail. They stopped yesterday at an earlier shelter while Rocket and I walked a little farther in order to have a more manageable distance to walk today. We all then walked together the rest of the day up into the highlands and through Grayson Highlands State Park. I’ve only ever seen pictures of this area in the summer, but the winter landscape that we encountered was something totally different. It felt almost alien, like we stepped onto a different planet.

Clouds touching the ground in the distance

Icy landscape

This area is home to a herd of wild ponies that live up here year-round. Today we only saw one, but we’ll have a better opportunity to see more tomorrow.

Grassy highlands

Ice crystals grow into the wind

We had arranged a shuttle to pick us up in the evening because it is too cold tonight to be outside at this elevation. We are grateful to be indoors as the snow is beginning to pile up outside. Tomorrow we are planning to go over Whitecap Mountain and then return here for a second night.