Day 54

Weather:
Sunny and windy. High around 80 degrees.

Today’s Hike:
Thomas Knob Shelter to Old Orchard Shelter – 11.0 miles

Today was amazing! As soon as we left the shelter and stepped out into clearing a whole new world opened up. It was easy to see why this stretch of trail is a favorite among previous thru/section hikers. The mountains and vistas looked like the mountain ranges out west. It was gorgeous, and a very welcoming change from the monotonous sleeping forests we've been hiking through. Within Our first 100 yards up the trail we caught site of a huge doe, a first for us out here. Shortly after, we caught site of some of the much talked about ponies that were off in the distance.

The trail itself was leading us out over open balds, over huge rocky outcrops, and through sheer rock wall passes. Incredible. I felt like we were transported back into an old western movie, and any minute Zorro would be riding over the mountain top (with cold Cokes and fresh fruit of course).

After a short walk from the shelter we squeezed through Fatman's (a small cave like area), and came upon our first close encounter with a feral pony. Rumor had it that the ponies had no fear of people, and wouldn't hesitate to nip at you, so as we approached our first one (it was standing in the middle of the trail). We were both excited and nervous at the same time. The pony definitely didn't care that we were coming and it made a bee line right for Muster (who got a little more then nervous), but then it quickly passed to me. I hiked on by, snapping a few photo's and we went on our merry way.

Shortly thereafter we entered into Grayson Highlands State Park - the land of ponies. They were so cute! There was even a little baby that we could have scooped up and carried with us. The hike with the ponies was short, but we spent about an hour watching them and wandering the area.

By noon we had hiked out of the park and were back in the sleeping forest. The rest of the day's hike was rather rocky and hard on the feet. We reached Old Orchard shelter by 4:30pm and my feet were done. As Cindy and I sat at the picnic table debating on whether or not to stay or to hike forward Nutmeg and Billy Hoot came down and expressed how worn out they were feeling. I thought aloud that I was happy that it wasn't just me who was having a hard time dealing with the heat and terrain. Here were really tough girls who were also struggling, leaving Muster to be the odd one out. It was decided - we were staying. By 6:00pm the Divas had also hiked down and it became an evening for the girls; 10 of us to be exact: Billy Hoot, Nutmeg, Lil' Dipper, Boy George, Rocket, Grommet, Storm, Egg, Muster and myself. Nutmeg and Billy Hoot made a fire and played the guitar. It was an evening that camping was made for :)