Grayson Highlands backpacking feat. Chef Phillip

OVERVIEW

Amidst the week-long stoke fest of Moab, I learned that ODC bike mechanic Phillip Reeves not only also enjoys backpacking but is a self-proclaimed backcountry chef. Truly a renaissance man. So rather than grabbing a good ol’ bag of Mountain House, Phillip will be bringing plain grocery store ingredients to chef it up in the backcountry. That’s the TBD trip fee, just your share of one dinner so should be pretty low.

If Phillip cooking for us isn’t enough to convince you, Grayson Highlands is supposed to be some of the most gorgeous backpacking destinations in the Southeast. It’s known for its alpine meadows and wild ponies that roam the highlands. Also, Mt. Rogers is the VA high point.

The plan is to leave fairly early on Saturday to drive 4hrs to the state park, and hike all day Saturday. We then set camp and let Phillip do his thing with a Jetboil. We’ll get up for sunrise on Sunday and have another long day of hiking, before driving back to Charlottesville and returning hopefully at a reasonable time. But I definitely wouldn’t count on having any can’t-miss events Sunday night. We haven’t ironed out the exact route yet but plan on traveling 10-15 miles/day.

What to bring:
– Backpack
– Shelter (tent, hammock, bivy/tarp)
– Sleeping Bag
– Sleeping Pad
– Layers (possible that it’s quite cold camping at 4500′ and pack for rain as well, including pack cover)
– Mess kit/utensil
– Food – we got sat dinner, bring trail snacks as well as sat lunch/sun bfast/sun lunch
– Water bottles (2-3 liter capacity)
– Misc (headlamp, system to pack out trash, etc)
– Hiking boots/sturdy shoes

We’ll bring
– A few stoves and some fuel
– Food for dinner Saturday
– A few water filters

Tentative schedule
– Saturday 6:00 am: leave Charlottesville
– 10:00 am: arrive at trailhead
– 5:00 pm: set camp, make dinner
– Sunday 6:30 am: wake up for 7am sunrise
– 7:30 am: pack up, get hiking
– 3:00 pm: get back to trailhead
– 7:00pm: back in cville