TravelGuides

(TGA) - Travel - Whats up!
Did you know the appalachian trail goes through 14 states? Virginia is
the longest and west Virginia is the shortest. If I start to repeat
these " interesting facts" then yell at me, or maybe you dont want to
hear these little tidbits, you can yell at me for that too.
So today was an awesome day. Started a bit chilly up on roan mtn but
after my delicious breakfast of peaches and cream oatmeal I was all
warmed up. The first couple of miles were downhill on the old road
from carvers gap. They used this to ferry people up to the luxury
resort that was up on roan mtn back in the 1800s. All that is left now
is the foundation.
After roan the trail goes up a series of balds, on top of one of these
we call up a hostel to make breakfast reservations for tomorrow... We
are going to bed very excited :)
The balds are spectacular, 360 views of tn and nc and of course roan
mtn and the future trail path are clearly visible. A bit smoggy beyond
that tho.
After the balds we have a nasty descent through lots of blowdowns and
stuff. Lunch is our reward, we eat at a shelter that used to be a
barn... Really cool. It must be the biggest shelter on the trail and
definitely the coolest so far. Its also the only privy for a 50 mile
stretch so we take advantage. The Shelter is also right off the "
overmountain victory trail" which traces the route of the
"overmountain men" a group of militia that hiked 170 miles to join the
battle at kings mtn during the revolutionary war. Lots of history down
this way!
After lunch we tackle the humps.. Little hump mtn is great, good
views, and Frankie the sleeper had an encounter with 3 bears: a mommy
and two cubs. This all happened just behind me and I never noticed a
thing tho I must have walked right by the bears.
After little hump the trail takes an AWFUL route back south through
one of the nastiest sections of blowdowns and pointless switchbacks
ever. Turns out that I was the only one to see this little detour ( it
was poorly marked) and so Ive used the opportunity to call my fellow
hikers "cheaters" and "blue blazers" and all that other fun stuff. We
give each other a hard time and joke around a lot out here... Gotta
keep the sense of humor and laughter levels high.
The climb up hump mtn was pretty tough very steep and exposed
ridgeline ( no trees) and the wind was really gusting to the point
that hiking poles were very nice to have to keep from being blown off
the trail... Yikes! ( the one scenario where you dont mind having all
that extra ballast on your back!!)
The views from up there were really wonderful though, if it wasnt so
windy I think we would have spent much more time.
The descent down 2000 ft is hard on the knees ( dont know if the
downhills ever get easier) and the rock scrambles in a few places are
challenging. At one point though we suddenly enter spring, everything
is green along the trail and the smell of wildflowers is so amazing.
Just felt like a welcome back from our mtn climbing up over 6000 ft.
The shelter here at apple house is only .5 mi from the road so the
rumor is that the locals come mess with hikers here and trash the
place... We were thinking of trying to camp someplace else, however
when we arrive the place is really nice, theres an orchard just
across the stream that has excellent water. And best part: some locals
came up and"trashed the place" by leaving trail magic and some plastic
chairs to sit in. Oatmeal creme pies, Oreos, bananas, chips and salsa,
cokes, etc! Wow what a way to finish the day.
And to top it all off when we hit doll flats just a couple miles back
we left north Carolina for good. So, two states down and 12 to finish.
I dont feel like quitting yet, so I guess thats good.
Ill let ya know how the breakfast goes in the next entry :D
Nighty nite,
Donner