Take a Hike, Reprise

A bonus feature tonight! I've made a slideshow of our hike to Mt. Rogers last week. Here's a synopsis of what you'll see:

Lots and lots of beautiful blooming shrubbery: Flame Azealea, Mountin Laurel, and of course, the Catawba Rhododendron which is what we went to see. These pictures illustrate the show tune, "June is Bustin' Out All Over." The hike starts at Massie's Gap in a broad meadow leading up to the rocky crags of Wilburn Ridge, where, if it's clear, you get the most amazing 360 degree view of 3 states. We, however, had a great view of the storm clouds brewing. This area is also known as Rhododendron Gap. The stuff is blooming everywhere up there! Just below the crags, the trail becomes a tunnel through the Rhodies. The path is carpeted with pink blossoms. It makes you almost expect to look up and see an elf or a hobbit strolling towards you. (But if you ask any of the kids, they would tell you to be on the lookout for Darth Vader, instead, but that is another story tha Briana is going to tell.)

When we arrived at the Thomas Knob Shelter, the wild ponies had taken up residence there. One of the highlights of the hike for the kids is writing in the log book (about their adventures with Darth Vader.) Shortly after passing Thomas Knob, you take a spur trail leading to the summit of Mt. Rogers. One might expect a panororamic view from the top, but the summit is blanketed in a thick forest of red cedars, akin to the forests found in Nova Scotia. I've never been there, but it reminds me of being in the Pacific Northwest with all the tall straight tree trunks and the fern covered forest floor. Christine (or perhaps it was Briana (I'm sure I will get corrected on this!) brought bubbles to celebrate being the "highest people in the state of Virginia."

We were fooled by a short spell of sunshine while relaxing at the summit when the distant rumble of thunder sent us scurrying on our way back. It is a 4.5 mile hike back to the parking lot. We reached the shelter and pondered staying there and waiting it out while watching the storm clouds roll in from the west and overtake us. After talking it over with a through-hiker,"Ukelele," who arrived at the shelter, we decided to make the run for it. Notice that there are hardly any more pictures of us scrambling through the thick fog and rain. We even bypassed the little cave in which we sought refuge from the lightning bolts last year. Thankfully, the lightning was not as close this time and we made it back to the van without frying!