Nestled in the southwestern corner of Virginia, the Appalachian Trail weaves through the Mount Rodgers National Recreation Area and the lesser known Grayson highlands State Park. Throughout the 4,500+ acres of the park, 13 hiking trails traverse mountain balds, meander through Rhododendron covered Trails and skirt the cascading waterfalls along Wilson Creek. From the park, it is also a short hike to the highest peak in Virginia Mount Rodgers. Impressive in its own right, Mount Rodgers is the second-most isolated peak in the state as well as the highest highpoint of any eastern state that does not have any roads or pavement leading to its summit and can therefore only be accessed by hiking.
But what if I told you none of those things are what brought us to the park in the first snowfall of the season this January?
Ponies....wild ponies....
Grazing the hillsides and balds, the wild horses freely roam throughout the park. Introduced in 1974 to prevent reforestation of the highland balds, the herd here is less known than the wild horses are roam the coastal regions of Virginia and Outer Banks of North Carolina. However, with the backdrop of the Virginia highlands, on a snowy 19 degree day, I could imagine no better scene and no wild mustang more spectacular...
Please, if you yourself visit the wild ponies, do your part to keep the animals wild. As advised the the park "
Visitors should not approach, feed or pet the ponies. They bite and kick when they feel threatened, and human food is bad for them"
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