A couple of years ago, I had an idea to use Labor Day weekend to knock out the Southern Sixpack.  Thanks to some really bad planning and some ugly weather, the goal did not happen, and instead, it became something I would accomplish in steps.  Looking back, I am glad it happened that way because it turned out that hiking to the top of Mt. Rogers became an awesome father-son trip instead.

Unlike most of the highpoints east of the Mississippi River, the summit of Mt. Rogers can only be reached by hiking.  There are no roads to get you close for a quick jaunt to the top.  While my son and I have hiked various lengths to our highpoints—except Flordia, Ohio, and Indiana because really, why?—none of them had shaped up to be as long as Mt. Rogers.  A year ago, I decided to cut it out of a trip we were making because I did not know if his four-year old self could handle it. A year later, I had some doubts about his five-year old self, but after asking around, I decided we would give the eight-plus mile roundtrip trek a go.  If we made it all the way to the top, it would be great. If we had to turn around, we would.  I should have known we would not have to turnaround after seeing his reaction to finding out I had some doubts if we would make it to the top while we were staying in Blowing Rock after a visit to Grandfather Mountain—two places I recommend.

Knowing that it would be an all day affair, we camped the night before at Grayson Highlands State Park. While it is touch more expensive than some other campgrounds, the facilities are top-notch, and being within five minutes of the Massie Gap trail heads makes for an added bonus.  They have attendants who come by the sites selling ice and firewood, and many forgotten items can be snagged in the camp store.  The view of the sky from the open areas are great as well, an added bonus for those who like stars.  After calling it a night, a storm rolled through, making sleeping even easier, and the next morning, it was time for quick showers, packing up, breakfast and hitting the trail.

Most everyone warns that expecting the unexpected in terms of weather makes heading to the summit of Mt. Rogers easier.  The morning of our hike, grey clouds looming in the sky and cool winds blowing through made me think we would get hammered with rain.  In the back of my mind, I did not know if we would complete it in a downpour, so at the very least, I wanted us to find wild ponies.  Doing that would make the trip exciting to Ben, and it would make it even easier to schedule a return.

It did not take long to find our first wild pony.  We had not even made it to the Appalachian Trail before one appeared.  With the prospect of more ponies to be found, Ben became even more excited, and for the first time, I felt we had a really good chance at reaching the top.

After just a bit further of a walk, we reached the Appalachian Trail and headed south. Something about hitting the famous trail just feels great. I love the fact that my story will just be one of so many that revolve around the trail.  After a little bit of a trip, we hit the boundary of Grayson Highlands State Park and moved into the Jefferson National Forest.

After entering the national forest, the trail changed to something that I did not expect in Virginia.  It became much more rocky with great views from all sides.  This is also when I expected the challenge to really begin for Ben, but instead of wanting to stop or complaining, he embraced climbing up and down rocks as we continued the path.  He also enjoyed having the job of finding blazes to make sure we were on the right trail.   One of my favorite views was that of what I think was the Rhododendron Gap.

This part of the hike proved to be the slowest for us as we only made it about one mile in two hours.  The best advice I had received was to accept a slow pace with Ben and break when he needed one.  Doing that kept us both happily going down the trail.  We were not going to set any records, not that we we would have anyway, but we were going to make to the highpoint.

After getting through and past the Rhododendron Gap, we were well on our way to making it to the top of Mt. Rogers.  It was at this point that Ben asked about heading back.  I told him that we could, but we were not too far away from the top now.  After hearing that, he decided that we were going to make it.

Once you make it to the Lewis Fork Wilderness, the rest of the trail is pretty easy.  There is a bit of a gain on the spur route, but the more difficult part of the trip is over.  The wilderness area offers some great views of the mountain, so take the time to enjoy them if you can. I’m glad that I had to slow down a bit more than normal because it forced me to do so.

After a some time in the Lewis Fork Wilderness, you will get to the sign that points to the summit trail.  I loved this part of the trail. It felt like an enchanted forest with the dark soil and different mosses growing on trees.   Once here, only about half of a mile remains on the quest.

While this highpoint will jump out at me because of the enjoyable hike and the great views, I think I will remember it more for the great time I had with my son.  I don’t know if we ever had ten hours of time with nothing to interrupt us. It’s amazing the conversations you can have with a five year old during that time.  We talked about which ponies were happy and what God might have been thinking when he made mountains.  We did silly dancing games and at times just stopped to enjoy the moment.

I also enjoyed getting to see my son be pushed and challenged a bit by the hike and watching him answer the challenge.  It was not a sure thing that we would make it up there, and had Ben wanted to turn around, we would have.  I could not have blamed him or have been upset.  He’s five, and it is not the easiest hike, especially for someone who lives on the flat land of the Gulf Coast.  However, he wanted to push through and make it happen.

I’ve always read where going outdoors and doing things teaches children many lessons. I became a believer on this hike.  I know that he would not be able to explain it, and he may never do so, but I believe that taking on such a challenge and being successful instills something in a person, no matter the age. I hope that knowing he could tackle this will help him with new challenges as he starts school this fall or in his next sporting event or at a time when life feels like it just has him down.   I hope he keeps his sense of amazement with the world in which we live.

I have a feeling he will remember this trip, but I know I will. It was not long after we made it back to the truck and left the park that Ben fell flat asleep.  As he fell asleep, he talked about the ponies, climbing rocks, and how fun the hike was. As I drove through the mountains to our next stop, I knew I had another moment that I would always cherish.