Grayson Highlands Backpacking: The Attack of the Wild Ponies

I’m very familiar with backpacking Grayson Highlands in Southwest Virginia. More so than most people. That’s a fact. Simply because I usually backpack Grayson Highlands about two to five times per year. Moreover, I’ve been backpacking Grayson Highlands, like this, for several years now. So I know the trails, campsites, locations of most of the springs. And so forth. And so on.

Of course, I keep coming back to Grayson Highlands, because it’s such an amazing place. So much so, that I’ve already covered Grayson Highlands on my blog, three times! In fact, this will be the fourth article that I’ve written about the subject.

But, in this particular post, I’m not going to cover all the essential items and gear, which you’ll need for a successful overnight backpacking trip to the highlands, or elsewhere. Nor am I going to cover the most important tips for your backpacking adventure to the highlands, since I’ve already covered that exciting topic, right here.

Instead, I’m just going to focus on my unforgettable experiences during my latest trip. Hopefully, this will let everyone know what Grayson Highlands is really like. And maybe, even, inspire a few of you to take the trip to Southwest Virginia to find out for yourselves exactly why Grayson Highlands is among the very best backpacking destinations in the entire United States.

So, without further ado, here are my thoughts about my most recent Grayson Highlands backpacking trip. And I truly hope, this brief and thrilling adventure of mine will inspire all of you to get outside and experience the world around you. Taking the highroad, as I have just done, recently, right into the beating heart of the highlands.


Grayson Highlands
from morning to night…

in the early morning light
hike your butt off for half a day
the elevation gain
not too tough
still
out of breath
sweaty
thirsty
legs burning
aching
but feeling good
and alive

then you find
a pure mountain spring
and a glorious
campsite
in a pasture
among a grove of
spruces and pine trees
that have stood the test of weather
and time

One of many epic campsites to be discovered backpacking Grayson Highlands.


where there is the highlands experience
an immaculate blend of
sights and sounds
like the wind
rushing through the crow’s wings
as it flies by you
or the dance of a butterfly
as it flutters on warm updrafts
from the valley below
slowly descending into the abyss
while in front of you
an endless ocean of blue mountains
splashes off toward the horizon

then you take a brisk day hike
on a craggy ridgeline trail
discovering even more endless vistas
than you could’ve ever imagined

Grayson Highlands backpacking trip. Vista from ridgeline trail.



until you return to camp
to find
so many ponies and foals
grazing in a lush pasture
in the late afternoon

Collage of Grayson Highlands ponies grazing in a pasture in the afternoon.


with sun going down
all red, pink, yellow, and orange
behind those blue mountain ridgelines


until night comes
when stars break through
the black sky
so bright
golden and yellow


with the milky way arching across
this universe of infinite possibilities
like a silver mist
a dense fog of stars and galaxies
where light and time is crushed
into the chaos of the black velvet void
where the individual ego goes to die
and the infinite potentiality is born
into the next life
or a higher awareness
of unity and oneness

but this one is already gone
has evaporated
vanished
and no longer exists in your point of
awareness
that is infinite and indestructible
like energy
born of the love
that came from the ultimate source
beyond time, space, and matter

in the beginning
the word
of the creator
the infinite consciousness
in which all things exist
as one
the thoughts of which
are all abruptly captured
by the exquisite trajectory of a shooting star
which eventually
inspires the eternal soul
to finally
escape the illusion
the subterfuge
of the simulation
of limited and false perceptions
projected upon all of our consciousnesses
by the dark forces that can never
rule over those of us who have seen the light
of the truth
of something indestructible inside of us
around us all

until you awaken
in the pale moonlight
with the ponies gathering around again,
truly unruly and unrepentant,
circling your tent
licking, nibbling, and pawing at the thin fabric
coughing, wheezing, hacking,
making one heck of a racket
until you finally emerge from your tent
your place of refuge,
of rest,
sorely vexed,
glaring daggers

yet still, they do not move
but remain still, like statues,
hardly blinking,
staring at you,
daring you, as the fool, to step to them,
like a gang of thugs,
thick as thieves,
they plot and scheme,
great mischief and a night of reckoning,
if only, for the time being
and only begrudgingly part ways
as you push your way in between them

staggering off under the stars
to find a tree, or bush, to relieve
yourself
while
you stare up into the night sky again
unable to comprehend
how exhilarating, immense, and timeless
these highlands really are
time and time again
from morning to night

as the journey never ends
because you’ll be taking
the highroad
the glorious path to the highlands
once again
someday soon

One of many highroads to take to Grayson Highlands in SW VA.
One of many highroads to backpack into Grayson Highlands in SW VA.

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After a long career in the publishing industry, Gary Alan left his corporate job to pursue his next adventures in life as a blogger, writer, investor, fly fisherman, hiker, and traveler. He is the author of the adventure fiction book, 'Big Thunder-Hearted River'.

6 thoughts on “Grayson Highlands Backpacking: The Attack of the Wild Ponies”

  1. Gary,
    I was impressed with your writing which was more like prose. And, your photography was beautiful, too — except for the picture of the old man. You know that was a joke, hopefully. Nice job.
    Love, Mom

    Reply

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