PDA

View Full Version : Grayson Highlands/Mount Rogers loop trail



JoshAuerbach
10-03-2012, 13:53
I was going to do the Atkins to Damascus section, planning on about a week, utilizing the shuttle service but I also know there are tons of side trails in the area making several possibilities for a nice loop hike. I came across this map:

http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=w6T&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1024&bih=609&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=ULMoFDQdd6I6GM:&imgrefurl=http://www.meetup.com/EastCoastHikers/files/&docid=TmZeYQhGSZxQ3M&imgurl=http://files.meetup.com/751131/Mount%252520Rogers%252520Map%252520with%252520our% 252520Route.JPG&w=3508&h=2552&ei=B3dsUOTpBY768QTQ1YDoAQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=88&vpy=81&dur=2707&hovh=191&hovw=263&tx=183&ty=141&sig=117217206678437818822&page=1&tbnh=115&tbnw=158&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:74


..marking what looks to be a nice loop and if it isn't long enough I can extend it using the official National Geographic maps.

My question is.. anyone have any idea how long this loop is or anyone that has done something similar that could answer some of my questions?

f5mandopicker
10-03-2012, 14:19
Check out this link: http://mratc.pbworks.com/w/page/34776112/Suggested%20Hikes%20and%20Trips
Hope it helps.

Tipi Walter
10-03-2012, 14:35
I've done the loop on the map except for the short portion from Grindstone Campground to the Fox Creek road crossing. No loop in Mt Rogers is complete unless you also do the Pine Mt section, which actually used to be the old AT back in the 1970's.

Drybones
10-03-2012, 14:38
Check out this link: http://mratc.pbworks.com/w/page/34776112/Suggested%20Hikes%20and%20Trips
Hope it helps.

Good info for me....thanks!

Mr. Bumpy
10-03-2012, 19:38
The loop on the map isn't going to take a week, or you'd be doing a lot of criss-crossing (which is still a great thing to do up there). Try looking a loop using Iron Mt. Trail and AT out of Damascus or Beartree Campground. Lots of options are available and you can't go wrong. Be warned, the campsites from Rhododendron Gap to Mt. Rodgers are really over used--examples of human waste poorly disposed of are everywhere.

Tipi Walter
10-03-2012, 22:43
The loop on the map isn't going to take a week, or you'd be doing a lot of criss-crossing (which is still a great thing to do up there). Try looking a loop using Iron Mt. Trail and AT out of Damascus or Beartree Campground. Lots of options are available and you can't go wrong. Be warned, the campsites from Rhododendron Gap to Mt. Rodgers are really over used--examples of human waste poorly disposed of are everywhere.

I call the stetch between Rhodo Gap and Thomas Knob shelter the Gauntlet for all the campsites available. I was there in May and didn't see much human stool or toilet paper and explored most of this area. Neat thing is, there's a spring real close to Rhodo Gap and close to the first campsites on the Gauntlet. Weird thing is, I didn't see any human turds but I did find newborn afterbirth from a highland pony.

http://assets.trailspace.com/assets/4/2/7/762919/TRI-132-332.jpg

bigcranky
10-04-2012, 10:55
That's a ~25 mile loop. It makes a nice 3 day hike, 4 days if you have to include a lot of driving time.

You can make a week-long loop out of the AT and the Iron Mountain Trail, starting in Damascus and returning there.

JoshAuerbach
10-04-2012, 11:36
I was doing some thinking and decided that I may get shuttled from Damascus to the mt rogers nra hq and on the way do a small loop in grayson highlands/mt rogers area to extend to hike back.

Lone Wolf
10-04-2012, 11:46
I was doing some thinking and decided that I may get shuttled from Damascus to the mt rogers nra hq and on the way do a small loop in grayson highlands/mt rogers area to extend to hike back.

PM me if you need a shuttle

Lone Wolf
10-04-2012, 11:48
Be warned, the campsites from Rhododendron Gap to Mt. Rodgers are really over used--examples of human waste poorly disposed of are everywhere.

i hiked in and camped in that area yesterday. just got back. i didn't see any litter, TP or human waste anywhere

dale1627
10-04-2012, 12:33
I did this exact route in May this year. Started and finished just down the road from Grindstone campground. I started late in the afternoon. Easy three day two night outing. I don't think that I saw a single piece of trash on the route.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

JoshAuerbach
10-04-2012, 14:05
Thanks a lot for the help everyone. Lone Wolf - Won't be till next spring or fall but when the time comes I will contact you about shuttling. Thanks.

bspycc79
10-04-2012, 22:24
I'm planning on this area this weekend with my grown kids. With cold weather / rain expected on Sat night, we will prob do Summit Cut to Damasucs on Sat, stay in hotel / hostel in/near Damascus Sat night, and then do Elk Garden to Summit Cut on Sunday. I'm then gonna drive to Atkins and pack back to Elk Garden.

Are the shelters in this area decent? I am thinking of ditching my tent, with it being mid-week, not summer, not thru-hiker time. Any thoughts on that?

Thanks for any input,
BearsPrey

Mr. Bumpy
10-05-2012, 19:28
i hiked in and camped in that area yesterday. just got back. i didn't see any litter, TP or human waste anywhere

Maybe I have crappy luck, but seriously??? I'm not up there a ton, but I do get to the the area at least once a year and in the past 10 years I'd estimate I have at least 35 nights on the highlands/IMT/AT etc. Obviously I am not deterred, and I will put the disclaimer out that I am speaking of the area around rhododendron gap towards the shelter, but it seems regardless the season it is easy to find un-burried TP and poop, trash, busted up trees used for firewood, large groups camping directly at the spring, and other such evidence of misuse. Last April around spring break when I went there must have been around 200 people between the rhodo gap and the shelter. My LNT ethic can be criticized, and I can't stand backcountry restrictions, but in my mind, it would be hard to complain if whatever agency tried to restrict use of that immediate area.

I will take a second to reiterate that I think the area is a gem, I will always plan at least one annual trip, and I will always pack out something that ain't mine, but I just don't camp near rhodo gap. Just sayin'.

Mr. Bumpy
10-05-2012, 19:30
Oh. That is a great picture, Tipi Walter, and I love your posts and trip reports in general.

Lone Wolf
10-05-2012, 19:39
Maybe I have crappy luck, but seriously??? I'm not up there a ton, but I do get to the the area at least once a year and in the past 10 years I'd estimate I have at least 35 nights on the highlands/IMT/AT etc. Obviously I am not deterred, and I will put the disclaimer out that I am speaking of the area around rhododendron gap towards the shelter, but it seems regardless the season it is easy to find un-burried TP and poop, trash, busted up trees used for firewood, large groups camping directly at the spring, and other such evidence of misuse. Last April around spring break when I went there must have been around 200 people between the rhodo gap and the shelter. My LNT ethic can be criticized, and I can't stand backcountry restrictions, but in my mind, it would be hard to complain if whatever agency tried to restrict use of that immediate area.

I will take a second to reiterate that I think the area is a gem, I will always plan at least one annual trip, and I will always pack out something that ain't mine, but I just don't camp near rhodo gap. Just sayin'.
seriously. i saw no poo or paper or trash in the fire pits. did see the trees and such around the pits. was only 3 of us camping in that area

SevenPines
10-06-2012, 12:31
17669
hope you guys enjoyed my triangle rock step I helped build on the AT just south of mt rodgers spur!

Tipi Walter
10-06-2012, 12:40
17669
hope you guys enjoyed my triangle rock step I helped build on the AT just south of mt rodgers spur!

Everytime I go to Mt Rogers I find intricate cairns, as below---

http://assets.trailspace.com/assets/6/b/2/67250/TRIP-123-195.jpg

A cairn near Rhodo Gap in 2011.


http://assets.trailspace.com/assets/3/b/a/762810/TRI-132-305.jpg

A cairn from 2012.

SevenPines
10-07-2012, 03:46
rest assured Tipi Walter, mighty elder; I have no dealing with "hippie signage":D--a term I discovered, and still use thanks to you sir!

brotheral
10-07-2012, 09:07
i hiked in and camped in that area yesterday. just got back. i didn't see any litter, TP or human waste anywhere
Hey LW !! I saw your name on the trail register when I was out there Friday....Darn, I just missed you..

Tipi Walter
10-07-2012, 10:19
rest assured Tipi Walter, mighty elder; I have no dealing with "hippie signage":D--a term I discovered, and still use thanks to you sir!

Hippie signage and cairns are usually found abundantly in North Carolina and Virginia like at Mt Rogers or in Slickrock or Shining Rock but they have even migrated into Tennessee, the last anti-hippie stronghold left in the Southeast. I am finding more and more hippie cairns and some of them are ones I built.:)

brotheral
10-07-2012, 10:31
17700
Here's a great campsite in this area north of Mt Rogers.

Tipi Walter
10-07-2012, 10:42
17700
Here's a great campsite in this area north of Mt Rogers.

I think I know where this pic was taken. It's by the spring near the Crest trail where the Pine Mt trail jcts with the Cliffside trail down into the Lewis Fork wilderness. It's a great spot with water nearby. I have some shots, too----


http://assets.trailspace.com/assets/4/2/f/762927/TRI-132-334.jpg

Here's where the Pine Mt trail jcts with the Crest trail and the Lewis Fork trails.


http://assets.trailspace.com/assets/7/d/f/67551/TRIP-123-347.jpg

The campsite you showed with the fire ring is at this spot. Who can pull a solo trip with these guys around?


http://assets.trailspace.com/assets/7/e/6/67558/TRIP-123-346.jpg

This pic shows the gap a little bit, the spring down to the right.

Rasty
10-07-2012, 15:03
Tons of great campsites for any wind direction.