Date: 2010-04-17
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: Roan High Knob Shelter
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Survival on Roan Mountain (or I Thought We Were Done With the Snow and Ice Already!)Although I went to sleep under starry, clear, albeit windy skies, I awoke around 4:00 AM to the sound of something sprinkling on my tent fly. "Must be tree debris dislodged by the wind", I thought in my drowsy half-sleep. When the patter became more regular and insistent, I accepted the reality of the rain and put the rain cover on my pack. Bummer, I hate to pack up a wet tent! I turned off my watch alarm set for 0600 and gave up all hope on an early start to my conquest of 6275 ft Roan Mountain. I awoke at 7:00 AM, again to the steady patter of rain. Thankfully, the rain petered out by the time I finished breakfast. I dragged my gear and wet tent to the shelter and packed up. There were no shelter occupants, so Raffi C. (of Puerto Rico) and I had unfettered use of the shelter space for this purpose.I headed down the traIl at 9:30AM, a very late start for a long day that included a huge climb at the end. This would not be the first time this day that Josh Saint's immortal words would resound in my brain: "poor decision-making is the basis for better stories".I headed down the trail in a hurry, through the fog and gloom. I covered the 3.5 miles to Iron Mountain Gap in just over an hour.The winds blew strong and the sky was clear blue as I began the penultimate climb over Little Rock Knob with its dramatic rocky summit with a great southward vista. I was a bit worn down by the time I hit 4040 ft Hughes Gap at the base of "the climb that shall not be named". The sun seemed to go down considerably as I strained, sweated, cursed, and clawed my way up over 2200 feet of mountain. Near the summit, the deciduous woods gave way to spruce and fir forest. The scent of balsam signaled that the end of the ascent was at hand.As I crested the lower summit and crossed into the saddle toward the true summit, I encountered an unwelcome adversary--snow! First there were a few scattered patches here and there, but as the trail ascended on the north side, these patches coalesced into 1-2 foot deep stuff mixed with slush, mud, and even worse--ice. I slipped and slided until I hit the steep upward side trail to the highest shelter on the entire A.T.--the Roan High Knob Shelter, situated at 6275 ft. I used trees to pull myself up this ski slope of a trail. The sun was setting as I reached the shelter at long and dear last. The structure was a battered cabin with a door and a loft reached by a ladder rather than the usual lean-to configuration. Bags full of trash were suspended from the ceiling by considerate former residents. With the winds howling outside and the stark isolation of the present situation, it was the perfect setting for the next Wes Craven flick. I went out into the cold gale to pitch my tent amongst the evergreens and prepared supper in the finger-numbing cold. Ugh, when I was in Erwin, I had just mailed my gloves, wool cap, and fleece shirt home. At the least, this had the making of a more interesting story!Wealth is the ability to fully experience life. -Henry David Thoreau