Date: 2019-05-08
From: Campsite after Greasy Creek

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: broken clouds

Today was going to be long. We knew that starting out because 25-Mile and I wanted to make it to this converted barn shelter called Overmountain shelter. It was 16.7 miles away. I got out earlier than the past few days, but still not that early. 25-Mile headed out before me, but I caught up to her at this overlook. It was a pretty view. I had felt good so far and was enjoying the hike. 25-Mile and I walked together for a bit and saw some beautiful scenery. It was a wonderful walk today. A lot of it was uphill because today we climbed Roan Mountain, and that beast was a 5-mile climb. But it was wonderful with the pine trees and dense forest. And there were spots with meadows that were equally beautiful. The climb took us a while and we stopped halfway for a lunch break. Speedy Queen was there. She headed out and then we did. We finally got to the top of Roan Mountain. There used to be a hotel there, so there were ruins and a sign about it all. There was no view because it had started to get overcast. It sprinkled rain, but nothing else really happened. I had put my pack cover on, but it didn¢t get worse than the sprinkling. It looked bad though. There had been ominous clouds all day and the sun was completely hidden now. We kept walking til we got to the highest shelter on the AT, Roan High Knob. I had wanted to stay there when I originally left Erwin and didn¢t plan on that low mileage, but at this point I didn¢t want to stay there. It was really chilly and kind of creepy actually. It was stormy and the dense forest made it darker and I just didn¢t like the vibe. We ran into Wes and he ended up staying there. I told 25-mile she didn¢t need to press on if she didn¢t want to, but she wanted to, so we kept going. I was anxious because it was again 4pm and we still had 7 miles to go. It was downhill for a bit, which was great, and then we had three little climbs to do. We came to Carver¢s Gap, which had a lot of cars parked and going through and a restroom. The three little climbs were going to be balds, so wonderful views like Max Patch, and that¢s why this gap was popular; you could go up the balds or Roan Mountain. I wasn¢t sure what kind of view we¢d get with the stormy weather, but I really wanted to get to Overmountain Shelter today. It would set me up well to get to Roan Mountain (the town) in a day, and I thought I might see Prometheus and I was missing him. I was getting really anxious because I didn¢t want to get there in the dark. I am afraid of a lot of things, but the dark is definitely one of them. If I can avoid nighthiking, I¢m going to. Plus, you can¢t even see views at night. I hiked ahead of 25-Mile a bit because I was so anxious. You do need to hike your own hike out here and I needed to hike ahead to settle my fears and get where I wanted to be. I made sure to stop a few times to check for 25-Mile, but I was moving. It was gorgeous on the balds. We didn¢t get the amazing view we might¢ve gotten another day, but we did get a view. I loved it all. It was an incredible day of views and variety. We had pine trees and forest and then beautiful balds and meadows with stunning views. It was an awesome day of hiking. I actually thought to myself, ¢I need to come back here someday¢. We arrived at another shelter and hobo had stopped to set up camp. He was tired and didn¢t know if we were still carrying on to the barn, so he just set up here. It was a beautiful spot in a meadow, with little white flowers everywhere. I told him I was still going to the barn and 25-Mile came up behind me, also down to push on to the barn. I walked the next 2 miles faster than my normal pace and got there in 45 minutes. I was wiped, but so anxious to get there. It was so worth it. The barn was awesome. It had two floors and a ton of space, and a great view of the valley below. And there was a privy!! The past two days there were no privies, so I was digging catholes. We also didn¢t have to hang our food because the bears weren¢t likely to come into the barn, and we just hung our food up high in the rafters of the barn. I saw that entire clan that I ran into yesterday, with Fish and Hercules and all of them. I also saw Red Line. I met him at Laughing Heart Hostel a while ago. He was kind of annoying about space because I was trying to save a spot for 25-Mile, but there were plenty of spots around that weren¢t next to me, so I didn¢t fight him on it and knew she¢d have a spot regardless. Prometheus was not there. I had no service, but I wanted to check in and see where he was. He had originally planned on staying at Roan High Knob the day before and then staying at the barn, because both were cool shelters. But I guess he skipped the barn. I hung out with Unicorn, NAB, and 25-Mile. It was cold. It wasn¢t raining anymore, but it was chilly. In the distance you could see the mansion of the people who owned the area all lit up. I slept well and was so happy to have made those miles up. I loved the barn and was glad I made it there. It was a long day and I was pretty sore, but tomorrow would be a short 9 miles to town, so I was feeling good about where I was at. Little Debbie