Mt Rogers Official Planning forum

[Doctari]

With "Near" being a relative term, yes, there are some bouldering opportunities near the wise shelter. I saw some decent routes around/on "fat man's misery" about 3 - 5 miles south on the AT. Nothing very high, but good bouldering I think. I did not take the time to play there, just looked. There may be others closer, I had to stop looking or I would have given in & done some routes &,,,,,,,,,,,,

I'm hoping that we'll be able to make it, but it depends on the weather - if it's too warm, we will be out climbing, not driving six hours to VA. If it's nice and cold, then we'll be in more of a camping mood.


Unless anyone can point out some good boulders near the shelter. We could bring crash pads and get our climb on

[tonejones]

im planing on being there

[slowhike]

im planing on being there

Great! We'll look forward to seeing you there!

[bonsaihiker]

I'm hoping to go, but it's very up in the air at this point on whether I can or not. Major considerations include work schedule and whether I can accumulate sufficiently winter-worthy gear. I'm following the threads with interest, especially the tips...

[tonejones]

hey i ll be coming for my first time ill need directions or a map.
i have a hand held gps as well as on in my car.
any info will be helpfull

[MedicineMan]

Where does everyone park for the walk in?

[slowhike]

For starters, here's a copy of an earlier description of what to expect after getting to the Greyson Highlands State Park entrance gate.
We'll post more info on getting there soon.

Originally Posted by slowhike
i will lay out some basic info on getting to wise shelter.
hwy 58 in VA. will take you to the entrance to greyson highlands state park.http://www.dcr.state.va.us/parks/graysonh.htm
GHSP phone#... (276) 579-7092
area ranger... (276) 783-5196

when you enter the park, it's all up hill & for a good ways.
1st you will come to the check-in booth which will be un-attended this time of year.
there's a fee for overnight parking & you'll find envelopes there to put your cash or check in. it has a tear-off to put on your mirror or dash w/ a number that matches the number on your payment envelope.
this just lets the rangers know that you paid the parking fee for that vehicle. you don't have to put the info about arrival/departure date, & destination if you don't want.
the cost is $8.00 for a two night stay (per vehicle).
as you continue up the park road you will pass the entrance to the picnic area on the right. keep going.
a little ways farther, you will turn into the paved road leading to the camp ground. these are easy to see because of the normal, brown park signs.
as soon as you turn onto the campground road, you will see the gravel parking area for overnight backpacking on the left, but unless you plan to hike in by a longer route, keep going on the camp ground road.
as you begin to enter the campground, you will see a small building (divided by a breezeway) on the right, w/ a sign that says "country store".
strait across, on the left, is the parking area that will get you closest to wise shelter.
last time i was there, they had a port-a-john in that little parking area, but i don't know if they leave those out all year or not.

at the back-side of the parking lot, you'll see a wide, multi-use trail (like a forest service road) that you'll follow by foot.
there are a couple trails that go off of that trail, but the main trail is obvious & you just stay on that.
you will cross two creeks that are not deep but just wide enough that they could make it a challenge to keep your feet dry... depends on the water flow & if there is snow or ice on the rocks.
after 20-30 minutes, the AT will cross the trail/road that you have been walking.
take a left on the AT. you'll soon cross a creek on a wooden foot bridge (w/ hand rails) & a couple minutes later be at wise shelter.
the whole walk took me about 40 minutes.

extra note...HOI told us last year about a short cut on the trails that saved us from having to make that last creek crossing.
when you see the 2nd wide creek just down the trail in front of you, there will be a zig-zag pony gate up on the bank to your left.
if you go through the gate & continue up the hill, you will come to the AT near wise shelter in about 5 minutes.
there may not be much of a trail to see, but just go strait up hill away from the road through an area that's mostly open w/ grass & a few shrubs.
if there's any snow on the ground & others have already used that path, it will be easy to follow their tracks.

[slowhike]

Here is a simplified drawing of the roads that surround the immediate area for those that may be coming in from different directions.


And a topo of the area from parking to Wise Shelter...

[slowhike]

This wasn't taken in winter, but one of my favorite Mt Rogers Area pictures<G>.

[angrysparrow]

This wasn't taken in winter, but one of my favorite Mt Rogers Area pictures<G>.

That's a good one.

I think my favorite is one from the last winter hangout, of JD playing with a pony..