#63 Grayson Highlands Backpacking, October 2019: Day One

Crap! My tent is set up over one of a million small dips in the ground. I didn’t notice it when I tested it earlier. I’m lying in a part-diagonal, part-twisted, part-contortionist’s position..........

Grayson Highlands Backpack Trip, October 2019: Day One

There is no quick or easy way to get to Virginia’s Grayson Highlands State Park from where I began this morning on the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP), so I just settled in and follow the winding mountainous road from the BRP, through Damascus, up to the park’s entrance, with the cool air blowing through the windows on yet another sunny fifty-degree day.

The lady at the front gate hands me the group’s permits for two nights of backpacking and the paperwork for our campground reservation on the third nights.

With a few hours to kill before my friends arrive, I take the opportunity to drive around the park, buy another map of the area, as I loaned my previous to someone a couple years ago and haven’t seen it since

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I need to reorganize my truck and gear. This hike is the third part of a four-part journey, and my truck is a mess. The first part was the Appalachian Trail (AT) section hike with three friends, followed by a few days of solo exploring on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Now I need to finish separating the backpacking gear from car camping gear and get my backpack ready for three more days on the trail.