Mount Rogers
Virginia
July 2014
Leaving the hikers, the dogs, the boulders, the benchmarks and the mystery (of where the exact high point really is) behind, we retrace our steps back down the mountain. This time, when we come to Wilburn Ridge Trail, halfway back to trailhead, instead of continuing straight on the path that brought us here, we bear to the right at the junction with the A T and almost immediately begin climbing among the rocks. Working our way through and over two rocky ridges we dance our way over some tricky footing, trying not to be distracted by the hunky-dory panoramic views.
Bear and coyote have been spotted in this area but today, nothing. Not a single carnivore appears to eat the children.
Approaching the lower elevations, we soon encounter what I’m going to call The Zoo.
Families mill about, petting the ponies, taking photos, saying dumb stuff like, “Here horsey, here horsey.” There is one pony lying flat on her side, motionless. We don’t see the chest rise and fall as we would with a breathing animal. Lisa asks no one in particular, “Why are those people letting their little daughter go up to that pony?” We wondered if it might be dead, or worse, faking it.
Then it got up and walked away.