Christy, Dave, Bob, Laura, Saucony and I headed for Mt. Rogers on Sunday in search of some fall colors. We figured that the high elevation and northern latitude made it the best bet for peak color in early October. We anticipated massive crowds at Grayson Highlands, so we opted for a primitive route on the northeast side of the range. The plan was to connect two lightly traveled horse trails with the high ridge route across First Peak.
We parked near a gate and the trailhead for the Shapiro (sometimes called the Jackie Street) Trail. We had been hiking in shorts a couple of weeks ago, but now it was seriously cold. Temperatures in the 30’s and strong winds had us in multiple layers, hats, and gloves. We started the hike up VA route 739 in Rocky Hollow. After ¼ mile, we turned left onto an old road that isn’t shown on any map or mentioned in any guidebook. 3 years ago we had ended a hike in the snow here. That was a bit of an accident, as the cars were a couple miles away. Today though, I hoped to use my knowledge of this unofficial route to create a new hike.
We hiked up the old road, which began to look more like a trail as we went. We started up a valley before climbing steeply on a ridge. We hiked through hardwood forest, and the leaves were beginning to turn. After 45 minutes the trail turned and began to descend. This didn’t seem right, so we searched the area for a connecting trail. My memory from 3 years ago was fuzzy, and the area didn’t look the same without a foot of snow. We didn’t have any luck finding another trail, but Christy remembered passing a trail coming up. Nobody wanted to backtrack, so we decided to go cross-country.
The woods were open, and the grade was fairly gentle. After a short distance, we intersected an obvious trail marked with ribbons. We followed it for some distance, but it was running east/west, while we wanted to go south. Eventually it too turned downhill, so we went cross-country again. We encountered a similar trail later, but it died out. Finally we stopped in a sunny spot and had lunch. It was fairly sheltered, but still too cold to linger long. We pushed on, and soon were climbing to the crest of the mountain.
We came out on Second Peak in an overgrown meadow. We only missed our target, the 3rd Peak Trail, by a couple hundred yards. We were expecting brutal winds once we were in the open, but it wasn’t as bad as expected. The sun was out, and it was starting to warm up a little. We decided to hike over to 3rd Peak to take in the views before heading back down.
We passed through a gate and climbed to the windswept crest of 3rd Peak. Along the way we passed the trail we had planned to come up on. Near the top, we encountered a whole herd of "wild" ponies that shied away when it became apparent that we weren’t going to feed them. The views of Mt. Rogers, Wilburn Ridge, and the High country of North Carolina were outstanding. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and visibility was incredible. The vista got even better though, as we approached the area of The Scales. The opposite ridge was covered with hardwoods at peak color.
We backtracked on the First Peak Trail and passed two horseback riders. They were the only people we saw all day. We followed the trail over Second Peak and into the gap below First Peak. Here we had a decision to make. Our original route, on the Hightree Rock Trail, would be another 8 miles or so. It was getting late, so we decided on a shortcut. We elected to hike down the Shapiro Trail, which would bring us back to the cars after only 3 miles. We had plenty of time, so we stopped at a nice sunny campsite and had a nap. Everyone had been up late the night before, so it was nice to relax and enjoy the quiet fall day.
Eventually we had to head home. We hiked down the Shapiro Trail, which was wet, muddy, and rocky. It ended at a gate and a dirt road, which led down through meadows with more fine views. After passing several more gates and a farm, we arrived at the cars. It had been a great adventure. Next time though, we’re definitely going to make it to the Hightree Rock Trail.
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