Mount Rogers Backpack, VA

Photos by Michael Juskelis, 2009/06/27-29.

After climbing 1800 feet over 5 miles we get our first taste of the Highlands.

Wilburn Ridge, where we hiked 2 weeks before.

Talk about your panoramas!

Campsite with a view.

Chuck does a Yoga "Box" on what we initially thought was the Mount Rogers Summit. It had a USGS marker.

My GPS altimeter says this one also marked by the USGS is five feet higher than the other - 5,729 feet.

Looking at the western flank of Wilburn Ridge.

Too many pretty ponies to count.

More panoramas along the Crest Trail.

Looking way up at Wilburn Ridge as we descend.

Almost to "The Scales", a place where cattle was herded in the past prior to sale.

Looking across a meadow from the Fairview Valley Trail with blue skies and the mountains we spent three days exploring as a backdrop.

Old Orchard Shelter.

Flora:

Oxeye Daisy (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum).

Roundleaf Ragwort (Packera obovata).

Common Yarrow (Achillea millefolium).

Wild Madder (Galium mollugo), an alien bedstraw.

Common Wood Sorrel (Oxalis montana) was just starting to bloom in the deep woods.

Common Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) likes damp places and can be found near streams and seeps.

Horse Nettle (Solanum carolinense), in the Nightshade family. Watch out for the thorns!

Yellow Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria var. flavivolvata). Poisonous!

Other pictures from Mount Rogers, VA: