Date: 2012-04-08
From: 372.3 a mile past Hughes Gap

To: Overmountain Shelter 382.7
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: clear sky

Coldest morning yet! We started hiking early and started climbing up Roan Mountain. We stopped at Roan High Knob Shelter for breakfast. (Random note: Roan Mountain, at 6285 feet above sea level, is the highest we've been since Clingmans Dome, and is the last mountain we'll hike above 6000 feet until the White Mountains, in New Hampshire!) As Gary started to climb the ladder to the second floor of the shelter he saw a tent. Soon he was greeted by its thru hiker occupant, Darrell, who had zeroed there in honor if his 42ndthru birthday.We continued on, and when we arrived at Carvers Gap, were greeted by Greenman, Sargent Pepper, and ReM, thru hikers from last year performing trail magic! We gorged on delicious coldcuts, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, chips, and soda, accompanied by ReM on his banjo. Last year on his thru hike ReM carried first a violin and later a mandolin. Thanks, guys! And happy Easter to you all. As we were about to leave, Boxhead showed up to enjoy the trail magic. We continued up the next bald, kind of a two-fer, then continued down to the Stan Murray Shelter for a second lunch. Soon Boxhead came in and joined us. (Random note: We've noticed that the flowers since Irwin have been similar to the ones in the Smokies, being at higher altitude. Nice to see them again.) We continued hiking, but before we left the shelter, Tom and Mace came in. Tom was injured on day two of his hike last year. Mace had hiked clear to Pearisburg, Virginia, when he injured one of his knees, requiring surgery. Since his surgery in December 2011, he has been hiking with Tom. They plan to make it to Springer Mountain, completing Mace's southbound thru hike later this spring. (Random note: Mace will complete his thru hike withing twelve months of starting it, so it will still be a thru hike!) We wish them well. Now that's the hard way to do a thru hike! Unfortunately, Mace and Tom accidentally took one of Boxhead's trekking poles, and left theirs at the shelter. Since they were heading south, and Boxhead was a northbounder, Boxhead had to hike very quickly south to retrieve his poles from them. Eventually he caught them, turned around, and hiked north again. It's a good thing he was a fast hiker. I don't think we would have ever caught them! Two miles later we arrived at the Overmountain Shelter, a big, old, red barn, well known on the AT. This shelter is named for the Overmountain men, who fought in the Revolutionary War. There was even a privy! (Random note: There are usually not privies in Tennessee, so this was a treat!) Although we were the first to arrive, soon we had a crowd, including Good Deeds and Mellow Yellow (with a strong ankle brace), Darrell (the hiker who we'd seen at the Roan Mountain shelter), Peanut Eater, Easy Hiker, then Switchback, Whitewater and Duffer, Eagle Eye and Jack, Esther, Morgan, Philly Ben, and Video. I think there were 20 hikers in this huge old red barn. Once we were settled in, we tried to call the Mountain Harbour B and B and Hiker Hostel, to make a reservation for tomorrow, but I had no cell coverage. Since the seasonal spring was running well, getting water for dinner was easy. What a pleasant evening, spent with great companions in a beautiful setting. Life is GREAT on the Appalachian Trail, especially when you climb a beautiful mountain, and receive superb trail magic on the other side, and arrive early at a spacious shelter with many companions!