Date: 2013-04-22
From: Overmountain Barn Shelter

To: Roan Mtn, TN
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: clear sky

A little more history and then I promise I'll quit. Near this barn is the trail the Overmountain men took in 1780 to the battle of Kings Mtn, NC where they defeated the British loyalists. Nearly a 1,000 men gathered from Virginia, North Carolina, and what would become Tennessee to make the 173 mile trek through the mountains. They provided their own wagons, horses, rifles, and ammunition. The weather turned brutally harsh with deep snow but they persevered. I certainly did not endure the conditions with the type of equipment (or lack of equipment) that they had but sleeping in the barn made me feel a kinship with the people who risked their lives for our freedom. OK, enough dorky stuff!The morning was bitter cold and some people had ice in their water bottles. I realized I had left my hiking shirts hanging from a nail and I didn't want to put them on cold. I hopped up quickly and grabbed my shirts and dove back into my mummy bag. I slept for another hour and woke up occasionally to the sound of other people packing up. I wasn't in a hurry because I knew we had less than 9 miles to go, only two major climbs, and we would be at a hiker's hostel. It was foggy around the barn but I could tell it was going to burn off and be another beautiful hiking day. I started off with long trousers, a jacket, and mittens. Within an hour and a half I was down to shorts and a T-shirt. We immediately started climbing Little Hump Mtn (5,459 ft) with views of our little barn as it faded into the distance. The guidebook showed a gradual, rounded climb but it was not gradual nor was it little. The bald was beautiful and Melkie had a great time rolling in the grass and driving Trouble crazy because his pack would always flop to one side. We leapfrogged with Bahalla Na all day. It was clear that Hump Mtn (5,587 ft) had many false summits that can demoralize you if you're not aware of them. We decided we would hold off eating lunch until we summited and then we would only have a 4.9 mile downhill walk to the hostel. I am excited about staying in this hostel because I have heard about their amazing breakfast for weeks. Hikers say it is the best breakfast along the entire AT. It was a long hard climb but well worth it as we could see a town below us and the surrounding valleys dotted with Christmas tree farms. After lunch Trouble and Melkie fell asleep while I tried to get text messages out. On the way down we left North Carolina for the last time. We will be in Tennessee for about 5 days before reaching Damascus, Virginia. The descent turned out not to be as easy as anticipated. The trail was rocky and difficult to get an even stride. It was a lot of work for going down hill. My feet were hurting by the time we came out on the state highway and walked down the road to the Mountain Harbour B&B and Hiker Hostel. The hostel is above a barn so this will be the second night in a row that I've slept in a barn. This one is a little classier than the last one. After getting settled in we took the shuttle into town for resupply and dinner. There were only two options for dinner, Subway or a BBQ place. I wasn't in the mood for BBQ but thankfully they had hamburgers. I ate a huge hamburger, a loaded baked potato and a banana split. After returning to the hostel I was sitting on a soft couch that you sink way down into. When I started to stand up, Henry (left thigh) and Harry (right thigh) went into full tilt attack mode. Usually when I get one of these it will be one or two muscles, but this one was front, back, and sides in both legs. This was the worst I have ever had in my life. I was surprised because I thought I was past all of that. There were other hikers in the room watching a movie and making suggestions to fix it as I tried to walk, stretch, and message the agony way. It took me nearly 20 minutes to calm down. I drank a powerade and went to bed. I think this was just a warning sign of what was to come as my electrolytes were shifting . . . dum, da, dum, dum