Date: 2013-03-20
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: Roan High Knob
Miles today: 16.4

Today turned out easier going than I had expected, especially ascending roan high knob. A man from several days earlier had warned Daypack and I that the 5 mile approach up roan was steep and slow going, but when I made my way up that afternoon I found the grade to be perfect for maintaining a fast and even pace. The morning started out well, and I enjoyed relaxing in my tent a little and cooked up a delicious breakfast of bacon and scrambled eggs on a bagel. I waved goodbye to the "ultralights" who were headed out on a crazy 23 mile day, then packed up my stuff. As Arrowhead was packing up his tent he noticed an incredible arrowhead frozen into the soil only a few inches from one of his tent stakes. He called me over and showed me "in situ" how it lay in the ground before he removed it. We finished packing our belongings and I headed out while Arrowhead stay behind to brew another cup of coffee. I made my way across the terrain, which was mostly rolling in the beginning. I thought this would be a good chance to play my harp a little so I strapped my poles to my pack and worked on a few melodies. On a technical note I've got the note bending down pretty well, so right now most of what I need to work on is writing some licks. Eventually I would like to add the technical skill of overblowing, which essentially is when you force the reed inside the harp to jump upwards a half step. Once I can learn to overblow consistently I will finally be able to add the flatted fifth critical to completing the blues scale.Back on the trail, eventually the terrain got steep enough that I was forced to lay my harp aside. After about 5 miles I stopped for some lunch atop a rock pillar and was soon approached by Arrowhead. In the confusion of packing up his stuff back at Uncle Johnny's in Erwin he somehow managed to lose his headlamp. Last night I lent him my reserve headlamp, and today he was hoping to find one at the Greasy Creek hostel a few miles down trail. He only stopped to chat for a few seconds and said he'd probably see me on the trail...(haven't seen him since).I pushed on through the day and eventually reached Hughes Gap, the start of the 4 mile 2200' climb up Roan which I had been dreading. The trail slowly worked its way up the side of the mountain, marked by consistent and lengthy switchbacks. This allowed for a consistent grading for the majority of the trail, and I kept a surprisingly fast pace until the last half mile or so before the summit. As I neared the top and the foliage transitioned to spruce as I saw on Unaka, so did the trail conditions. Some southbound section hikers I ran into earlier indicated the trail was pretty icy at the top, so I at least knew what to expect. Most likely remains of the snowstorms I ran into in the smokies, the remaining snow on the trail had become so compacted by foot travel and refrozen so many times that it was pure ice in spots. Luckily there were plenty of protruding rocks and roots for me to set my footing on, and although the pace was slow going I found the change in scenery worth taking my time. Eventually I reached the top of the knob to find a large clearing with a sign explaining how it was the site of the former 'cloudland' hotel. I enjoyed the sun rays then headed down the backside of the mountain to the Roan High Knob shelter, the highest on the AT. Once there I encountered a gentleman and his wife who had set up a tent nearby, and two section hikers out on a 7 day southbound hike. I made my dinner then crawled into bed, not knowing about the conditions I would awake to..