Date: 2005-04-26
From: Carver's Gap

To: 19E (Mountain Harbour B&B)
Miles today: 13.7

Although clouds looked threatening last night, the rain held off. We awoke on top of Round Bald to a chilly but beautiful morning; the sunrise was unbelievable! We managed to get packed up and hit the trail by 7:30am. It stayed dry as we crossed the bald and we stopped for snacks at both Stan Murray and Overmountain Shelters. Overmountain was very picturesque. A big red barn set out in an open field made the perfect picture for someone's coffee table book. For all of you movie buffs out there, this shelter was used as the backdrop for the 1989 movie "Winter People" starring Kurt Russell and Kelly McGillis.From here, we had a nice climb up to Little Hump mountain with great views to both the east and the west. It was here that we saw our first really nice view of Grandfather Mountain. This is a really popular mountain to visit, however, the trail does not cross it. Bug and I were trucking right along down into Bradley Gap having a nice conversation about chickens, when suddenly we looked up to see this massive bald mountain ahead. You can see the trail all the way up to its 5,587' summit. The wind began to pick up. So much, so that we had to postpone our conversation for the next 2 miles!We came to the conclusion later that winds were at speeds somewhere between 60 and 80 mph. Even though temperatures were somewhere in the 50s (typically, very comfortable hiking weather), and the winds were high, I still managed to work up quite a sweat just trying to stay on the trail. At one point, Bug was even thrown off the trail by about 5 feet, and that was with Leki poles throwing all his weight against the wind (he should eat as much as I do). We ended up taking a break about 2/3 of the way up the mountain behind some rocks that shielded us from the wind, just so we could catch our breath. We made it across just fine, and as we began to descend the mountain, we discovered we had a cell signal, so we called Mountain Harbour B&B to make reservations for the night. We had heard wonderful things about this place from Uncle Kodak, the southbound hiker we met at Cherry Gap Shelter. We were a bit bummed out when we discovered they were full for the night. Rain was predicted for tonight and we really didn't want to have to pack away a wet tent in the morning. Bug continued right along, and I slugged my way down the mountain...I had really been looking forward to a real dinner. We hiked a few miles, and called the owner of the B&B back to tell her we planned to take her up on an offer of tenting on her property, when lo and behold she told us that she had an opening in the hostel. Socks and her husband had moved into the actual B&B which left room for us! To say the least, Bug was pleased and I was elated! Mary and Terry Hill were such wonderful hosts and so hospitable! For $15 each, we had a warm, dry & cozy place to sleep complete with kitchen, tv, phone and shower. $2 had our laundry cleaned, dried, and folded, and for $8 each we had a full layout for both dinner and breakfast. All of this, plus a free shuttle back to the trail. Bug and I were so grateful because soon after we arrived, the rain began to pour. We had great company here, aside from our wonderful hosts, there were goats and horses as well as our fellow hikers: Boots, Bluelight, Finn, Quiet Paul, Retro, Smilin Joe, Socks and her husband, Cuz, Brad, Train and Raindrop.