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Ascent of Mount Rogers on 2011-03-07

Climber: Richard Oestreicher

Date:

Monday, March 7, 2011

Ascent Type:

Successful Summit Attained

Peak:

Mount Rogers

Location:

USA-Virginia

Elevation:

5729 ft / 1746 m

Ascent Trip Report

Started at Massie's Gap the day after heavy snow and freezing rain. The terrain looked beautiful in its coating of snow and ice, but that had left footing treacherous in many places and frequently obscured the trail. I more or less took the standard route up, although frequently unsure whether I was still on trail; used a combination of footprints and GPS to find my way up, but did an extra ridge or two (partly for the hell of it and partly because that's where GPS pointed me). Talked to some amazingly tame ponies who seemed totally unimpressed that Richard, the Geezer Mountaineer, had arrived. Although the terrain slopes relatively gently, the hike reminded me of western hikes. The Grayson State Park and adjacent wilderness area leaves the mountain in a large undeveloped territory, and the slopes have far fewer trees than typical in the Southern Appalachians leaving panoramic views in all directions with one exception. A dense tree cover on top completely surrounds the the mountain top.

On the way down I lost the trail and bush whacked cross country with GPS. This resulted in a slightly shorter distance but an extra steep ascent down and back up from Cabin Creek.

The best hike on a 6 day 22 county high points expedition. !

Summary Total Data

Elevation Gain:

1608 ft / 490 m

Distance:

8.3 mi / 13.4 km

Route Conditions: