It felt good being in Virginia. Archangel and I had made it through the southernmost states and were starting to hit our stride as we entered the second quarter of the Appalachian Trail. I was fully recovered from the Norovirus I had contracted in Damascus and was thankful to have my strength back after days of lingering weakness.

It was late in the afternoon. We had put in 24 miles for the day and were ready to find a place to camp. After ascending a hill, off to the right was an opening through the trees and another opening through the barbed wire fence that separated the trail from the clearing beyond. Wide, rolling hills stretched out above the surrounding forest. The scene invited us to wander out from our dark, green tunnel of canopy and into the open air.

As we approached the fence, we saw dots of white, brown, and black – the famous Grayson Highland ponies grazing at supper.

I couldn’t believe it! I had assumed I wouldn’t get the chance to see these animals, yet here they were. After dropping our packs, we left the forest and cautiously approached the ponies to get a better look, careful not to spook them away. We inched closer and closer. The ponies were not in the least concerned with us – it seemed like they had had their fair share of interactions with thru-hikers and visitors to the Grayson Highlands. We took pictures and basked  in the peace and beauty of the moment.

All of the sudden, some of the ponies started closing in around us. What was this? It felt a little creepy, to be honest. Even so, this was outweighed by the excitement of the ponies coming in so close that we were even able to pet their manes.

Then one pony barged in and immediately began licking my leg. Another pony began licking Archangel’s arm. All that salt from a long day of hiking and sweating was too tempting for these ponies to pass up.

It was funny at first… but it didn’t stop. They just kept licking. More ponies joined in and at that point we were starting to feel a little awkward. A pony came in to lick my leg next the one pony that started it all and they began to fight. Behind me, I heard the thumping gallop of a pony fast approaching from behind. I turn around just in time to see it pass by. It barely missed me and charged into the other ponies that were fighting over my leg salt. “Maybe we should get out of here,” I said. Archangel agreed. It was getting weird, and the last thing I wanted was our thru-hike to get cut short by getting licked to death by ponies.

We managed to get away, though a couple of the more audacious ponies followed and licked during our retreat. We made it back into the woods and didn’t speak until making it to where we camped for the night.

–Motown