Date: 2022-10-06
From: Mountain Harbor B&B (Exit at US 19E) Mile 395.3

To: Roan High Knob Shelter Mile 379
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: clear sky

Unfortunately the hostel was not serving breakfast today. Bit of a bummer as the comments indicated that it had the best breakfast on trail. This was the only thing that wasn¢t great about today. Orchid, Coach and I ate breakfast and then took off to start the 6000 feet of climbing for the day. First up was the 2700 ft climb to the top of Hump Mt. About halfway up the climb we entered North Carolina. We¢ll be hopping back and forth between Tennessee and North Carolina for a long while. It¢s a bit hard to tell which state you are currently in on trail and I¢m not sure when we¢ll leave Tennessee for good. Tennessee has about three times the miles as North Carolina so there¢s still a way to go. We had some views on the climb into the valley which is starting to really turn colors. Eventually we came out of the woods into the first of many long meadow walks. We had views into TN and NC and the mountains are popping with color. There¢s some trees that haven¢t started turning yet, and then there¢s some that have lost most of their leaves already. But in general the mountains are looking more and more spectacular as the days go on. We stopped for a snack at the top of Hump Mt. The sun is shining and the weather is the warmest it¢s been all week and it¢s just a perfect fall day. We descended through meadows into the gap and then started climbing Little Hump Mt where we eventually entered the woods again before coming back out onto the bald at the top with continued great views. We¢re starting to see a lot of northbound overnight hiker¢s that are doing this section. Back into the woods for the ling descent to Overmountain shelter, an old red barn, where we were stopping for lunch. As we got close we had great views of the barn in a little clearing. The shelter is off trail and closed for structural damage so we opted to stop for lunch at the trail crossing instead. The three section hikers from yesterday came up from the shelter and we spent a while chatting with them. Eventually both groups continued our separate ways. Less than a half mile later we ran into our trail angels Robert and Lyndsey and their dogs. They are having a good time so far and things are going well. Update: We would get a picture later that night of Robert proposing in front of the setting sun¢¦ so congratulations to the two of you! While we were chatting, Strider of all people hiked up. He lives about an hour away and had decided to see the Roan Highlands in a different season. We first met him by the original Washington Monument trail magic with Capital and Cornfed and last saw him with Roadie at The Notch Hostel. They finished a couple days after we summited. It¢s hard to believe that you would just randomly bump into someone you know from trail. After another lengthy chit chat with Robert, Lyndsey and Strider we parted ways and continued on. We continued the climb up to Grassy Ridge Bald where I dropped off the pace and eventually had to stop and get water. I was so far behind Orchid and Coach stopped to wait and were getting close to sending out the rescue party. Jane and Round balds followed with continued great views to the surrounding mountains which continue to pop with color. These two balds are also popular day hike destinations and were quite busy even on a weekday. While on top of Round Bald we saw three bald eagles flying overhead and being harassed by crows. First eagles I have seen. A short descent into Carter Gap and we started the climb up to Roan High Knob Shelter. This is the highest shelter on the AT at 6270. The peak of the mountain is 6285 feet which is just 3 feet shy of Mt Washington, which remains our tallest peak for now. Tented by the shelter in a nice pine grove. It¢s a bit chilly as we ate dinner and finished camp chores and the wind started picking up overnight as well. However the temperature is not as cold as in previous nights. We had debated going another half mile to a bald peak just over 6200 feet but decided against it. Lamented that decision a bit as we looked through the dense trees at the sunset colors, but we would have been very exposed to the wind up there. Steps 30200Weather Forecast: 68/45