Date: 2020-06-26
From: Clyde Smith Shelter

To: Route 19E
Miles today: 24.8

Last night was possibly the best sleeping weather so far. Not too warm, not too cold, not too humid. I likely would have slept straight through, except for antics of the resident mouse (mice?). It ran and leaped from pack to pack, hanging as they were at the front of the sleeping platform. At one point it scurried up and rested on the foot of my sleeping bag. A swift kick made sure it wouldn't try that again. In the morning there seemed to be no damage to the packs. The trick, aside from removing food, empty wrappers, and that Snickers bar you forgot about at the bottom of your pack, is to leave all pockets and zippers open so the mouse can explore and satisfy its curiosity. Lock the door, and it'll chew its own window.After a late wake up, the hammockers eventually appeared. An older couple, they have been bouncing around on the southern AT, but are getting off in ten miles at Carver's Gap.Wesley decided he's taking it easy today after chasing us yesterday for 26 miles. He's going to find a nice grassy bald to lie down in for awhile.I lost Sunshine early in the day after expending too much energy in the first several miles. I took it easy climbing up Roan Mountain. The dayhikers were out in force. I stopped at Cloudland, site of a nineteenth century resort long since removed, to lunch at a picnic table. I watched tourists drive in to the lot, get out and go over to the information board to judge whether they wanted to walk up any of the trails, then as often as not get back in their cars after just using the restrooms. From that point on the dayhiker traffic went from "nice weekend" to "Elvis sighting" level. For the next ten miles I politely passed groups of all ages and abilities making their way around Roan High Knob, Carver's Gap, Round Bald, Jane Bald, and Grassy Bald. One of the visitors clued me in on the attraction: the rhododendron bloom is at its height. The rhododendrons were indeed nice, though not much in evidence on most of the balds. The views, however, were spectacular. White puffy clouds drifting over endless blue mountains in every direction. The trail was tougher today, a combination of many steep ups and downs, a lot of rocky, stony, muddy, and rooty sections, and some very narrow and deep track in the grassy areas that made it difficult to stride normally. Then, of course, there was the necessity of stopping every minute or even more frequently to let a train of people pass from the other direction.Finally, once past Grassy Bald the trail dove back into the green tunnel and I saw almost no one. Until, that is, I reached Overmountain Shelter. It's an old barn whose hayloft can hold 30 hikers. I know because I was with that many last year when a tropical depression dumped many inches of cold rain on the area. But the barn is now condemned for structural issues. Tenters were there, to take advantage of the beautiful western views. I continued over the balds of Little Hump and Hump Mountain, areas I fled through last year as lightning struck around me. This time I was able to take in the sweeping hillsides, winding trail, and glorious horizon.My feet had been feeling the pounding from the first few miles today, and they squawked as I descended steeply for the last six miles to the gap through which US 19E crosses. Some 2500 feet of constant downhill with knees and feet taking much of the shock. After a very long day, the second in a row, I reached the road at 7:30 and found Mountain Harbour B&B a few minutes west. Sunshine was there, surrounded by a pile of chicken wing bones. I ordered a burger from the food truck run by the hostel owners and let my dogs out to bark. Thanks to the rhododendrons the bunkhouse is full, the B&B is full, and a number of folks are tenting. But we had reserved yesterday, specifically to be here for the trail-famous breakfast tomorrow. Among the mostly weekend hikers and sightseers was a retired Lubbock "farm boy" named Helo, who flew helicopters for thirty years. He left Springer May 3rd and is taking his good old time up the trail until he goes home to help with the cotton harvest in October.