VA/NC > Mt. Rogers Winter Hang: January 21-24, 2016 @ Grayson Highlands SP/Hot Springs, NC

[dimjim]

Well, the 10th Annual Mt. Rogers Winter Hang at Grayson Highlands State Park in VA took a turn towards Hot Springs, NC as GHSP closed in a state of emergency declared by the governor of VA and dutifully enforced by the park rangers.



The 10th Annual Mt. Rogers Winter Hang / 1st (and only) Hot Springs spa & Resort Winter hang was a success! I was reunited with some of the most friendly and hardy folks I know, and met several new ones.

I believe there were 10 of us: Homerun, gray jay, lowcountry, mississippi, crawldaddy, poppins, allhansondeck, maztrain, visionarylion, and myself.

Thurs: We left GHSP after learning that they were closing the park, and arrived at the Hot Springs, NC campground about 5:30p - wintery mix started about 8-9p and continued overnight, and the winds picked up a fair bit. No fire as we had to get our rigs setup. Maztrain brought his hot tent w/propane heater, which was a great place to stay out of the wind and warm up.

Friday: A few of us ventured out to hike northbound on the AT up to lover's leap and loop back. We cooked up a big dinner down at a covered pavilion at about 4:30, LOTS of good food thanks to everyone's contributions. Much kerosene was poured on un-seasoned wood, but eventually Maztrain spearheaded a successful campfire back towards our campsites. A few inches of wet snow over the course of the day. Overnight low around 25? Drones were flown, banana cream cheese bars were eaten, friendships were made.

Sat: Breakfast was labored over by others. Poppins and I hiked southbound on the AT for an adventure in calm conditions with light snow falling all day and a few inches (4?) on the ground. We rounded a bend and BAM, plenty of wind and mid-calf high drifts, so we turned around. Really pretty up there. We said goodbye to a couple really nice guys in the morning. Visited the outfitters. Maztrain busted out the gopro and all of us took a group hike back along the river and the railroad tracks as far as we could go. Momo was delighted! We tied a tarp to a Subaru. Coffee and hot cocoa was consumed. Delicious leftovers for dinner and another roaring fire. And for some inexplicable reason, we loitered in the bathrooms instead of the mineral springs. Overnight low was 10F on my thermometer, but we all stayed toasty warm.

We packed up and took off Sunday morning.

Despite the venue change, what a great way to spend the winter weekend!

Please add any comments and photos/video you'd like to! And a big thanks to everyone who helped organize the hang, especially slowhike, homerun, and HappyCamper. Please add comments, photos, and videos.

I didn't take many photos, but here's a few that were on my phone:

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[mistone]

Glad you guys keep it going sounds like you guys had a blast!!

[slowhike]

Thanks for starting the planning thread. Glad it turned out good there!
And thanks to Home Run, Hickery & others for taking the lead in planning this trip, as well as Happy Camper for a great introduction thread!

The closing of VA state parks was very unexpected.
My impression was that even the GHSP Rangers were not planning on it. The head Ranger at GHSP still intended to let our hammockers use the group campsite site but his boss said "Absolutely not".

In addition to those that went to Hot Springs, NC, there were some who went to Linville Gorge, NC.
Hopefully they will add to the report when they can.

[carolinasbackpacker]

Was with mark when the accident happened at the gorge. I will not add anything to what is already known as I'm am not a doctor and I would just be speculating. I will say he was conscious, and alert the entire time. Called grace hospital in morgonton nc today but they would give me no information. Hoping for a seedy recovery for Mark

[PappyAmos]

Was with mark when the accident happened at the gorge. I will not add anything to what is already known as I'm am not a doctor and I would just be speculating. I will say he was conscious, and alert the entire time. Called grace hospital in morgonton nc today but they would give me no information. Hoping for a seedy recovery for Mark

I couldn't get them to acknowledge he was ever even there! Hopefully, all is well and he will pop up and post.

[carolinasbackpacker]

I couldn't get them to acknowledge he was ever even there! Hopefully, all is well and he will pop up and post.

Me neither. Even though I was the one who called 911

[Hickery]

I couldn't get them to acknowledge he was ever even there! Hopefully, all is well and he will pop up and post.

It would have been a HIPAA violation to release any information. It is a law that protects a patients privacy.

[bonsaihiker]

Yep. If they had told you anything that person and the hospital would each have been liable for fines to 100K.

[TimeOutdoors]

Good morning everyone. Well I made it back home without any issues and the roads were considerably better than I anticipated.

This was my first hang and was somewhat hesitant due to the fact that I didn't know anyone and because of the weather forecast. I just wanted to say I was very impressed with the way everyone handled the closure of Mt. Rogers and the willingness to travel 3+ hours down to Hot Springs. I had a great time, learned a considerable amount, and meet some great people (and a very cool dog). I fully expect to see everyone again somewhere down the road. Thank you.

[PappyAmos]

It would have been a HIPAA violation to release any information. It is a law that protects a patients privacy.

Yep. If they had told you anything that person and the hospital would each have been liable for fines to 100K.

Yep! Know all about HIPAA. First time It has prevented me from checking up on a friend.
Anyway, back to hoping he or someone who knows him will let us know something.