The encounter on Mount Rogers

I doubt that I am the only one who does it, but I never really asked to be sure. So, I am going out on a limb here, and risking being known as a big wimp by individuals across the country; when I am hiking, I have the tendency to think that most every sound I hear is one of two animals…1) a bear, or 2) a mountain lion. I say most every sound, because let’s face it; it is hard to mistake the chirp of the chickadee as a bear. I haven’t had a run in with either yet, so I am not really sure why I do this. It could be movies; it could be too many Backpacker magazine articles; who knows? There, I said it, it’s out there. If you are going to laugh at me, please do it behind my back.

My love for the outdoors still is strong though, so I often man up and go hiking anyway. On my most recent hiking trip, I found myself wandering up Mount Rogers, the highest point in Virginia. It was to be my 8th highpoint completed, and it was to involve the most walking of any highpoint climbed so far. The walk up is about 4.5 miles, so it is not hard, unless you compare it the other highpoints I have done so far. As I followed the AT up to near the summit, I was careful to watch out for the small fork that kicks off to the actual highpoint. I found the trail, started the hike up, and as I was nearing the summit, I heard a sound that had to be a mountain lion. I knew it was all over, and 7 highpoints would be all that I ever completed.

Now, if I stopped right here and made you all guess what animal I saw as I came out of the thicket, I am guessing most of you probably wouldn’t come close. It was certainly the weirdest animal I have ever seen in the wild. It was a herd of miniature ponies. That’s right, it was straight out of a Disney movie where I next expected some prince would ride in, say something cool, and the ponies would prance off into the sunset.

Of course the next thing I wanted to do was jump on one and ride it, because that would only make perfect sense, am I wrong? At the same time though, I didn’t earn my pony merit badge, and I who’s to say these things are not aggressive. I admit, all logic argues against ponies attacking hikers, but maybe they are like panda’s? I decided to keep my distance, and let them do whatever it is ponies do when they are not prancing towards sunsets. I later learned there is an association that maintains them (where do you sign up, I know!) and they are believed to have been left by the miners back in the day. So, if you are even climbing Mount Rogers, beware of the ponies. I can’t believe I just said that.