Day 10 - 6/12/24 – Beautiful Views-500 Miles-Unwanted Pests

Saunders Shelter (480.4) - Old Orchard Shelter (511.1)

Famous Grayson Highlands Wild Ponies

Day 10. Wow. It does not feel like I’ve been out here that long. Time flies when you’re having fun. The morning started off with two substantial climbs up to Whitetop Mountain, but the views easily made up for the tough hiking. I also got to try a new trail snack I’d been saving: Twix bars. I’d only been having Snickers, which were good, but starting to get old. The section of trail I passed through next, before and through Grayson Highlands, was one of my favorite parts so far. The vistas were just stunning, along with beautiful wildlife: deer, rabbits, and wild ponies. I even saw a doe with her fawn.

Passed 500 miles - Almost a qurter of the AT!

Today I also passed 500 miles, roughly a quarter of the whole AT, which felt pretty good.

Old Orchard Shelter

The descent down off the ridge of Grayson Highlands was slow going, and I didn’t arrive at Old Orchard Shelter until 8:00pm.

I had hiked just over 30 miles, and I felt like it, so I didn’t appreciate my introduction to shelter mice. Because it was already late, I opted to use the empty shelter instead of my tent, but unfortunately this shelter, like many others along the AT, was home to a family of mice pitter pattering around the whole night looking for food. At some point, though, I passed out anyway, too exhausted to care.