Photos: Mount Rogers ponies and vistas
Despite friends’ stories of wild ponies, profusions of rhododendron blooms and more wild blueberries one can ingest, I had not — until now — ever explored the high country.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
A feral pony checks on her newborn foal near Scales campsite in Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. The ponies eat scrub plants that prevent the mountain balds from reforestation.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
A small group of wild pony graze on grass near Massie Gap in Grayson Highlands State Park in early May.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
A newborn foal struggles to get its legs on a bald near the Scales campground in Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
Wild ponies graze on a bald near the Scales campground in Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
A newborn foal and its mother stand on bald near the Scales campground in Mount Rogers National Recreation Area in early May.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
A wild pony checks on her newborn foal near Scales campsite in Mount Rogers National Recreation Area in early May.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
A wild pony is lit by the first rays of sunlight near Scales campground in Mount Rogers National Recreation Area in early May.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
A wild pony grazes on a bald near the Scales campground in Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
A wild pony grazes on a bald near the Scales campground in Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
A foal struggles to get its legs on a bald near the Scales campground in Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
A wild pony checks on her newborn foal near Scales campsite in Mount Rogers National Recreation Area in early May.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
A wild pony grazes on a bald near the Scales campground in Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
Backpackers hike past grazing cattle on the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail in Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
A pregnant wild pony grazes on grass near Massie Gap in Grayson Highlands State Park in early May.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
A wild pony grazes on grass and bluets near Big Wilson Creek on the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail in Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
A feral pony grazes on a bald near the Scales campground in Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
Equestrian riders pass a group of wild ponies grazing in Grayson Highlands State Park May 5, 2018.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
Signs in Grayson Highlands State Park advise visitors not to feed or pet the ponies.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
Jay Jackson passes a rock prominence on the Pine Mountain Trail near Rhododendron Gap in Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
A wild pony licks the salty sweat from the hand of an Appalachian Trail section hiker at Thomas Knob Shelter in Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
Corey Mitchell, Marshall Combs and Braylon Gray-Hauser backpack through a grove of wild blueberry bushes on the Pine Mountain Trail in Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
There are lots of panoramic vistas on the Appalachian Trail in Mount Rogers National Recreation Area thanks to wild ponies that keep the area from reforestation.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
A hiking group from Richmond, Va. hikes near Grandview Peak about a mile from Grayson Highland State Park in Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
Competitors in the Grayson Highlands 50K ultramarathon, run through Big Wilson Creek on the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail May 5, 2018 in Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
An equestrian group rides the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail at the border of Mount Rogers National Recreation Area and Grayson Highlands State Park.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
Victor "Pappy" Kubilius, 87, crosses a creek on the Appalachian Trail near Scales campground, Sunday, May 6, 2018 in Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. Kubilius is attempting his third through hike of the AT in an attempt to be the oldest person to complete the trail. A "Triple Crowner", he has also completed the Pacific Crest Trail and Continental Divide Trail.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
A tent is pitched at the base of a rock prominence at Rhododendron Gap in Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. Journal)
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
There are lots of panoramic vistas on the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail in Mount Rogers National Recreation Area thanks to wild ponies that keep the area from reforestation.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
Moss covered spruce and fir trees cover the summit of Mount Rogers, the highest peak in Virginia.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
Moss covered spruce and fir trees cover the summit of Mount Rogers, the highest peak in Virginia.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
A USGS benchmark marks the summit of Mount Rogers, the highest point in Virginia.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
Sam Pearsall , left, and Nick Lamkin check their trail map at a trail junction to ensure they are hiking the right direction in Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.
For decades my backpacking buddies have encouraged me to check out Grayson Highlands and the high country of Mount Rogers National Recreation …