El Dorado set out early, around 5 am. He and all the other hammock campers were sharing tarp and so it left the other two guys in the middle of a field with just their sleeping bags. This set off the cascade of everyone starting to pack up but I still wasn’t on the trail until 8 am.
The first half of the day was fairly easy so I kept the pace slow to try and help my feet. Coming into Hughes Gap there was a trail magic lunch set up by Gray Ghost and Daybreak (’14 thru-hikers). I arrived around 11 am and didn’t set out again until 2 pm. I didn’t eat much, I was just procrastinating the climb up Roan High Knob.
Eventually, it had to be done and Prairie Dog, Rick Flair, Cricket, and myself set out to tackle it. Almost immediately fell behind all three of them and didn’t see them for the rest of the day.
I missed the views from the top of Roan High Knob, but the views from the other balds made up for it. This is another section that I definitely want to come back to after I finish. Just half a mile from a parking lot are some amazing sights absolutely worth stopping for.
Tonight’s shelter is a fantastic old barn, I rolled in around 730 pm. The weather still fascinates me, yesterday I was miserably freezing while it snowed while today I was rubbing the unmelted chunks of ice on my face and neck to cool off.
There were some great scenery changes today, the trail climbed high enough to get back into the alpine moss forests. Roan High Knob is the last peak over 6,000 ft until New Hampshire. I’d forgotten how much the elevation increases the effort level, above 5,000 ft the feet and legs don’t hurt but the lungs just don’t work.
It’s after 9 pm and the 3 lost souls I had lunch with just wandered into camp. Not sure when I passed them but apparently they all stayed up on the last bald to watch the sunset, I’m sure it was a lovely view. Tomorrow we’ll all head in to Roan Mountain TN for a night at the hostel where we can shower, do laundry, and sample the craft brewery situated under the hostel (I’m starting to sense a theme).
Day 39 Mileage: 20.4 mi [Dispersed Campsite -> Overmountain Shelter]
Total Mileage: 394.1 mi
Total Mileage: 394.1 mi