Date: 2014-04-17
From: Campsite passed Iron Mtn Gap

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 19.7
Weather: scattered clouds

In which I've had a red letter day and I'm exhausted!Let me just say that I walked farther than I intended to today! My body is reminding me of that right now, rather fiercely. It's an aleve kind of night! The trail has provided every imaginable condition in one day, more than The Smokies did. It's rather unbelievable the trail can change so much over the course of a 12 hour walk. As an experiment today I decided to take pictures of the trail conditions as I walked and I am so glad I did.It got cold last night, down into the 20s. The trail was frozen which meant crunchy mud to start on. I prefer crunchy mud to the black, thick and very slippery mud that I walked through later. I marvel at the mud because it is beautiful in it's own right! Very rich looking and the kind you'd want to play in as a kid (even as a big kid, too!). Then came brown, open trail with no signs of spring, then a few patches of green grass along the trail's edge. Eventually that gave way to a green forest bed with some plants actually emerging and of course more now slippery mud. After 8 miles in 4 hours I sat at a road crossing before the climb to Roan Mtn. and ate a pitiful excuse for a lunch. Just a bar for the moment thinking I would have a mountain top soon in which to take another break.Now comes the 2000 ft. ascent which was gentle to start. I kept getting a sneak preview of the Balds to come. They seemed too far away to be walking over them today. Then came some rock climbs, a brief walk through an alpine meadow and the real bouldering began. Towards the top of Roan Mtn. the trail was nothing but stair stepping up boulders which would not have been too bad in and of themselves. The real kicker was that the boulders and the trail were covered in a very thick sheet of ice that cascaded like the frozen waterfalls off the rocks. It was wonderfully gorgeous by the way just a bit dangerous and challenging at times. I was once again blessed with the aroma of Christmas and the songs from the birds as I tip-toed through to the top of Roan Mtn. This is where the highest shelter is on the AT and the path leading there was likewise a waterfall of ice. As I passed the shelter the trail morphed into a rock bed trail. That too was covered in a thick layer of ice. The farther down the trail I got the more the ice began to melt and eventually became a river flowing through the trail, more mud and creek stomping! That was fun I have to say!Finally, I emerged from the forest onto The Balds! Hallelujah! Round and Jane Balds. The views were breath taking (unlike the view from Roan which evaded me, as well as another snack break). Pictures and words can't describe what saw and felt on the Balds. They simply need to be experienced! I am so grateful I got to! I descended into the forest again coming off the Balds. I was going to stay in the next shelter but that was not too inviting. The terrain looked relatively flat (haha) so I pushed on to Overmountain Shelter which is another trail icon. It is an old, red barn converted for use as a shelter. It also had a great camping area with a view to the valley below and a bald above. The wind was whipping through ferociously, and it's cold, and my whole tent is shaking violently thankfully held down by stakes and the weight of my gear. It will be a great sunrise view! My feet are now tingling and sore and I am so glad to be horizontal in my tent. It's going to be a cold night but I am warm and toasty! Oh yeah, fell yet again today! Darn mud! Slipped right down the side of the trail and landed on my hip...yes, into the mud. Such grace and style!Lessons learned:I'd rather walk on crunchy, frozen mud than warm, slippery mud.Don't eat on the up hills!Tortillas with peanut butter and chocolate are wonderful for dinner when I don't feel like cooking!