The climb up Roan Mountain was a steep and sweaty 2,000-feet that reminded me of Katahdin with its small boulders and cool spots under the evergreens. At the top, the chill in the air immediately struck me when I stopped moving.
At the shelter I saw a fresh sign, made from a notebook page, saying that the majority of the hikers who had planned to stay there had pushed on to Overmountain Shelter. But since it was 6:30 p.m. and I'd done 15 miles, and Overmountain was a further 6 miles, I set up my tent. The only two hikers there were Megladon, a 19-year-old from Pennsylvania, and Beans, a seasoned hiker from Oregon. I knew that a group just behind me, Chewy, Thin Mint, Double Dribble and Whistle [brothers], would stay there, too.
Inside the shelter, an old fire warden's cabin with two floors, I saw a sad scene: Trash in the corners and on the floors from day and weekend hikers coming in from a nearby road. Not that I could see very well. It was dark as hell in there.
The next morning I woke at 8 a.m. and was on the trail at 8:30. That's not a normal wake-to-hike time period for me, let me tell you. I completed my morning as I hiked further down the trail: Privy stop here, water there, coffee and breakfast at the Stan Murray Shelter five miles on. While at the shelter, I browsed through the register. To my surprise I found a shout-out :)
In the afternoon I hit the Roan Highlands after passing the Overmountain Shelter by. The highlands were a welcoming sight.
[Roan highlands, NC, April 20.]
It started sprinkling. I threw on my shell and pack cover and made my way down the mountain and to US 19. A sign directed me to Mountain Harbor B & B and Hostel, .3 to the west. There I got a spot on the couch for the night. I was keen to stay at the hostel because it was due to rain. Also, I'd seen it listed as a couple hikers' favorite hostel in the 2,000-miler awards in Maine.
That night the husband and co-owner shuttled us in his pickup truck to Roan Mountain, Tennessee to resupply and pick up pizzas and sixers. For some reason, MC [Major Chafage], a hiker in his twenties from Brooklyn, decided to go shirtless in the back of the truck on the way back:
[MC and P-Nut, and we're heading back to Mountain Harbor with our Dollar General resupply, April 20.]
That night we put in Top Gun and sat back and enjoyed the company and Maverick and Iceman and a few cold ones. Until Hightower, a 6'8" hiker, broke his chair.
"You're still dangerous. But you can be my wingman anytime."
The next day we had an amazing home-cooked breakfast of French Toast, hot links, fruit etc. I hiked out at 11 a.m. just after Jurassic Park II ended and I finished my day at the Moreland Gap Shelter, 18.4 miles later. I would roll out of bed and mosey down to Kincora.
Can't wait to see you!
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