Hungry Mother/Grayson Highlands, Easter 2014

After winning a two night cabin stay in the “Love is in the Air” contest, I was very excited to plan a long weekend at Hungry Mother for Spring break. I booked a two bedroom cabin and invited Jordan and Matt to come with us. I anticipated long hikes with the kids, Ollie, and Matt’s Sierra. Sadly, it didn’t work out that way. The day before we were to leave for Hungry Mother, dear Ollie let us know that it was time for us to take him to the vet and say goodbye.

Dave and I headed out alone on Thursday, as Jordan had school and Matt needed to work. They would join us on Friday. The back seat of the car was empty except for the cooler and some groceries, and it seemed so odd to pack food there for a trip. I cried off and on most of the way down to Marion. Dave was more stoic than me but occasionally lost his battle. I felt terrible—I really wanted to be able to hold my emotions together to be strong for him, but it’s just not in my nature.

We arrived in Marion to find soft, spring like weather. The forecast was for cloudy skies and a slight chance of rain all weekend. We never did get full sun but we never got wet either, so I call that a success!

Cabin 6 was a frame cabin with a deck that didn’t quite go far enough around to get the view of the lake, but I found that if I pulled the rocking chair over to the deck rail I could look at the water. Inside, the cabin was more rustic than Natural Tunnel but more modern than Fairystone or Douthat, being newer.

We had a quiet evening punctuated by sighs and headed to bed anticipating the arrival of the kids the next day. After breakfast on Friday, Dave convinced me to hike up the Molly’s Knob trail, one that he had been wanting to do since our first visit here last summer. I was not looking forward to it because it’s a black diamond, but I went along because there was nothing else to do and I can’t turn down a challenge, as he well knows!

 Molly’s Knob is a bitch. I hated the whole hike. It was ridiculously steep, all uphill with no breaks. I had to stop very often to gasp and catch my breath. The crying didn’t help, either. I was having a really hard time without my faithful hiking buddy.

 

 

 

Molly (the wh@re) is “only” 2.3 miles each way, but it Kicked. My. Butt. I declared I was quitting several times. I whined, a lot. But eventually we got to the top. The view was lovely. I allowed as how it was maybe worth it. Maybe.

 

 While we ate our bagels on the benches conveniently placed at the top of the Knob (I always feel badly for the poor park staff who have to haul the lumber and tools up to these places, by the way) we discussed cutting a path through our woods in front of the house for walking and naming it in honor of Ollie. We would blaze it yellow, of course.

 We headed back down the mountain, my knee screaming all the way, and went out to the Food Lion in Marion to grab a few things we wanted and to meet the kids. Yay! It was good to have them there, and my mood immediately improved. We took them on a tour of the Hungry Mother facilities and walked a ways up the Lake trail so they could get a feel for the size of the lake.

Then it was back to the cabin for chili and a rousing game of Cards Against Humanity. I should note here that I was less than impressed with the kitchen in this cabin. First, there were ants—the little tiny ones that get in everything and are impossible to keep up with—and second, there was a dire shortage of decent cookware. The biggest pot they had was the size I’d cook frozen vegetables in. It was not up to VSP cabin standards at all.

 Saturday morning came and brought pancakes, eggs, bacon, and sausage. After breakfast, we packed up and drove to Grayson Highlands.

We headed up the Rhododendron Trail to see some wild ponies, and they did not disappoint. The herd was at the lower pasture where we first saw them last year—and this time there were no long horn cattle mixed in, to Dave’s relief! We must have spent an hour wandering around the ponies letting Jordan feed them carrots and pet them and take photos. Matt and Sierra were very patient, although Matt wanted absolutely nothing to do with the ponies. It was funny to see my big tall son move away from a tiny Shetland sized pony!

 

We dragged Jordan away from the ponies and headed up the trail. We went through the second gate and up onto the AT.

 

 

 

We stopped at the first campsite, the one with the log seating, to eat lunch, and then continued up the rocks for awhile until Jordan and I decided we’d gone far enough. We knew we weren’t going all the way to Mt. Rogers this trip—even if we’d wanted to, we had started way too late in the day—so there was no need to keep climbing rocks. Matt and Dave wanted to go a little farther, so Jo and I sat on the rocks and talked while the boys proved their manliness.

 

On the way back down, we ran into a few of the ponies again and took some more photos. Then we headed back to Marion to fix dinner. I had nothing big enough to boil my corn on the cob, so I resorted to wrapping it in foil and putting it in the oven with the potatoes. I also had to buy charcoal and cook the steaks on the crappy grill outside, because there was no broiler pan. Grrr.

Easter morning dawned beautiful and still cool. We packed everything up and went over to the restaurant for brunch, which was AMAZING. I enjoyed the beautiful view and the company as well as the eggs Benedict! Then it was time to head out. Dave and I said goodbye to the kids—Jo opted to ride back with Matt, too, and pick her car up at school—and drove home.

We miss you, Big Dog.