Date: 2013-04-21
From: Little Rock Knob - campsite

To: Overmountain Barn Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: clear sky

I woke up happy that the patch on my sleeping pad worked and I had a comfortable night's sleep. Pete offered us a mixture of hot chocolate and coffee for breakfast. It was nice to have a hot drink on a chilly morning. He also shared his remaining water with us which would save us a water stop down the trail. We gave many thanks to Pete and began our descent to Hugh Gap. It was another beautiful hiking day - chilly and sunny. When we arrived in Hugh's Gap we couldn't believe our eyes when we came upon trail magic again. Dan from Atlanta was offering sodas and an assortment of snacks. The only draw back was that he had Georgia Tech chairs. After some good natured ribbing (I used to live in Athens, GA), I sat in his chairs and enjoyed my second trail magic in a short period of time. Dan is planning a thru hike in 2014. We were joined by Bahalla Na which in the native language of New Guinea means "come what may." Tracy McG also joined us. The next climb would be over 6,200 ft to the top of Cloudland Mtn so it was nice to have a break before the big climb. We leapfrogged with Tracy McG throughout the climb. It was noticeably colder and we began to see more and more ice, including a huge set of icicles hanging from a large rock outcropping. The forrest was similar to the Smokies - lots of dark pines and much of the trail was soft from pine needles. I was surprised that that the climb did not seem that difficult. At the summit we sat on some of the remains of a hotel built about 1884. The luxury hotel straddled the Tennessee and North Carolina border and to emphasis the point the hotel painted a white line down the center of the dining room and the banquet table. The importance of this line is that in Tennessee it was legal to consume alcohol but it was illegal in North Carolina. Legend has it that a North Carolina sheriff would linger around the hotel waiting to nab anyone who stepped over the line with their alcoholic beverage. We were in no such danger as we consumed our trail mix and beef jerky. We met and chatted with several day hikers on our descent. At Carvers Gap we unexpectedly came across a large parking lot and a very nice privy. It is such a luxury to have unlimited toilet paper!As we rested before tackling our next climbs about 5 curious people gathered around us and peppered us with questions about thru hiking. I felt like quite the celebrity. Leaving the parking area we headed up Round Bald (5,818 ft). There we met a family of four and to my surprise they were from Montpelier, Ohio, my birthplace. They even knew where the small farming town of West Unity was - where I livde for the first 5 years of my life. They were as surprised as I was. Next, we climbed Jane Bald (5,900 ft). I love hiking across these large grassy balds after spending all day in the forrest. It would mean hiking late, but we decided to push to make it to the Overmoutain Shelter which is an old barn converted into a shelter. As we came off the balds we entered a forrest of straggly trees that had a harsh appearance. There would be no gnomes here but I could easily see a few witches living here. During the last mile I stopped to pull up some ramps to add to my freeze dried spaghetti and meat sauce. We arrived at the barn at dusk and it was windy and cold. Trouble hung her hammock between two posts in the barn and went to bed without cooking. I was determined to use my ramps but shivered all the way thru dinner. I slept in my down jacket with my 15 degree mummy bag zipped all the way up . . .