Start: Hughes Gap Road (374.1). Stop: Mountain Harbour B&B (AT mi 395.3). Today’s miles: 21.2 miles. Total AT mileage: 1819 miles.
Today was incredible in all ways it could be. Incredibly gorgeous views, incredibly long climbs in the morning, incredibly tired body at the end of it. I loved every moment of it though.
I didn’t sleep well, I’m blaming the Mountain Dew I drank yesterday when I got here.. but I was wide awake for a large portion of the night. Try as I might to sleep, I lay there with my eyes closed and mind going a mile a minute. I even made a “rough” plan for the rest of the hike, which is absolutely unrealistic-but it gives me something to plan better off of. I finally dosed off sometime after 1am, after my 3rd or 4th bathroom break. Sheesh.
7:20am came real fast and I forced myself to get up and pack for the slack pack. I didn’t have to pack up my sleep stuff or tent, since I’d be back here tonight, but I had to make sure I did pack everything I’d need for the day: water, filter, jacket, food and snacks.. earphones and the Garmin Inreach. Before I knew it, it was almost 8am and I walked up the hill to the main house where they serve breakfast.
Now I know what all the fuss is about. Holy macaroni-these people made a SPREAD! Biscuits and gravy, 5 cheese and egg casserole, French toast with several homemade jams to go on top, including one with honey and pecans, tomato pie, some other kind of casserole I can’t remember, bagels with chive cream cheese, a lemon strudel (homemade that morning), yogurt with granola, muffins, potatoes, and more things I can’t recall at the moment.. along with coffee and an entire bar of different creamers, sweeteners, syrups to put in it.. orange and apple juice.
After eating enough to feed a small country, we all reconvened down at the other building to get ready for the shuttle. There were tons of other people here, going for section hikes, day hikes, trail maintenance.. eventually the 4 of us loaded into an SUV and began the journey to Hugh’s Gap. Once out and on our way, we had a 4+ mile uphill climb to the top of Roan Mountain. From there it would be steady ups and downs from one mountain bald to the next with stunning views of the Roan Highlands.
I saw Bones, Zebra, and Smash early in the climb, they were all headed the opposite direction, staying a day ahead of me. Maybe I’ll catch them before Lauren’s bachelorette weekend, but probably not. I even saw Wobby at a campsite half way up Roan Mountain, it was good to see her again, it’s been since Waynesboro! The rest of the way up transformed from regular woods to moss covered ground and some rocky spots. It felt like I was transported back to Vermont at times. I was loving the switchbacks, too. They made what was still a difficult climb more bearable.
I ended up going up and over Roan Mountain, Round Bald, Grassy Ridge Bald, Jane Bald, Little Hump Mountain, and finally, Hump Mountain. The last two lacked switchbacks and were steep, calf crushing climbs. The views from all of these climbs were just breathtaking though. Miles and miles of mountains and vistas off in the distance and right in front of you. The pops of color demanding your eye’s attention. It was almost as majestic as the Grayson Highlands form me.. with both of these locations being in my top 5 for the whole trail. I was mesmerized.
I ate lunch around 3, sitting on a rock on one of the balds. It took this long to get hungry after that huge breakfast! It was quick, knowing the longer I sat the more likely I’d be getting back after sunset. From here, the trail got very muddy on its descent, right up until the climb of the next bald. So muddy that I almost gave up attempting to keep the tops of my shoes from being submerged. Thankfully, they never quite went all the way under the muck. They did come very close though.
All day today the trail wound across the border of Tennessee and North Carolina. I never knew when I was in which state. The trail will continue to zig zag over the border for about 95 more miles, before staying in North Carolina for good. I think it’s pretty neat that the trail is able to ride the border line as long as it does. There was a sign while hiking down Hump Mountain that confirmed I was back in Tennessee for the night.
Once I got to the hostel, sometime just after 6pm, I quickly took my stuff to my tent, reattached my hiking pole to the tent so it would be standing again, and not the dilapidated mess I left this morning, used the bathroom, put my crocs on, and then got 3 beers from the general store at the hostel. I walked back up to the trail crossing and sat on a rock to wait for Lizard and Finch. I knew today was hard on me, I figured it was hard on them, too.. and, honestly, I didn’t want Lizard walking down a busy highway in the dark alone. Two headlamps stand to be seen better by drivers compared to one.. in my opinion anyway.
Finch came up first, after only 5-10 minutes of me sitting there sipping my beer. He sat to rest a minute and sip his. Within only a couple minutes, Lizard came walking up the trail! They were so close for a good bit of the afternoon and didn’t even know it! Lizard happily took her beer, too.
Once they caught their breath, we all three headed back to the hostel. They each did their required “chores” before we all met at the food truck and general store to order dinner. I went with a bacon cheeseburger and fries today. Even better than the philly, if you can believe it. Roundhouse joined us, too. He’s also from Georgia and works at a garden nursery, I think after all of this is done, me and aunt Kathy may go visit him.. she has a green thumb and always keeps her yard beautiful, and mine, too.
We hung out, chatted, and slowly one by one we peeled away to retreat to our tents, hammock, or bunk. I laid in bed only a short while before passing out attempting to write this.. apparently not sleeping well the night before plus a 21 mile day really takes it out of ya! Lol whoops!