Mt Rogers high point

We finally made it to Grayson Highlands park for our Mount Rogers climb to the high point of Virginia.  I had passed on the chance to try it immediately following Hellgate in December.  Then bad weather thwarted us in March.  We were rewarded for our patience with a nice sunny day in April:

And wild ponies all over the hillside!

The additional sticker on the horse reads "This medium is Unclassified":

And also - one more chance to follow the Appalachian Trail a short distance!  We do enjoy hiking on the AT, and small doses at a time is working for us.

Another nice High Points bench, partway up instead of at the top this time:

The trail had a lot of variety, starting with great views of wide meadows and distant terrain, and more horses:

Also a short tunnel through some large rocks:

Then into a thicket of rhododendrons:

At the top it was dense, dark conifer forest:

We found the highpoint marker amid the trees:

On the way back we rounded the corner to see a horse seemingly waiting for dinner at the shelter:

Another view, this time in the general direction of the Smokies:

Mount Rogers in the background - it's a gentle summit:

Still fascinated with the little horses:

Highpoint number 23:
http://www.kipley.com/marcy/highpoints/virginia.html