Date: 2012-05-13
From: Roan High Knob Shelter

To: Route 19E
Miles today: 15.8

This was the hike from hell! It was as if, after having given me the most perfect day for hiking three days ago, the Trail Gods were now going to show me what the worse kind of day can be like before I leave their domain in less than a week. They certainly made their point (but they didn't break me in the process!)¢Manfred¢ and ¢Poncho¢ left before me but ¢Moss¢ was still asleep in the loft when I returned to the Trail around 8:30. Today's hike was across an area known as the Roan Highlands is made up of 16 miles across the tops of four lovely, grassy ¢Balds¢ -- lovely, that is, if the weather is sunny and clear so you can take in the reportedly breathtaking panoramas from each of their summits. My experience of the balds was one of cold, raw rain, 20-30 yards of visibility, chilling fog and whipping winds of 30 to 40 miles per hour!While hiking between each of the exposed peaks, trees afforded some protection from the elements, but on the ¢Balds¢ the wind drove the rain horizontally with such force that it was a challenge to keep your balance. Most of the time I had to walk sideways, and at times on all fours (practically crawling), partially facing into the wind to keep my footing. It reminded me of pictures my daughter, Kim, showed me of a hike she was on in Patagonia several years ago, where several members in her party had to get down on their hands and knees to keep from getting blown over as they crossed a pass where, like here, the wind was rolling over the ridgeline with exceptional force.To make matters worse, the Trail on the ¢Balds¢ usually go straight up the face of them without any switchbacks. Consequently, they have become eroded troughs, as wide as a hiker's foot and lined with mud and rocks. In some places the troughs are ankle deep and in others they're more like slit trenches 6-8" wide and as deep as the middle of my calf. Being constantly buffeted by the wind and rain, you can imagine how unstable each step felt with no way to broaden your base underneath you and your pack acting like a big weathervane on your back for the wind to push against you.Just before I reached the last (and biggest) of the four ¢Balds¢ (Hump Mountain) I stopped to make and eat my lunch (always a treat in the rain!), take on some water, add another layer of clothing to stay warm (no hypothermia for me, thank you!) and get ready for whatever was in store ahead. I realized as I began the one hour upward trudge that as crappy as the conditions were for being out of doors, completely exposed to these severe conditions, that I was still enjoying it! For the first time in my years of hiking, I realized that I am hiking with a destination in mind, not thinking of this section as just another leg of a seemingly unending journey. Recognizing that when today's hike ended I would only have 75 miles to go to have finished walking from Georgia to Maine, my mindset was not one of "getting through this misery" but rather, "Come on, Mountain -- give me your best shot because, you're not going to deter me from getting to Damascus at this point!" Consequently, the challenging conditions made it rather fun, in a strange (perverted?) way.It took an hour to get to the top and you're not going to believe what happened when I got there! Just as I reached the summit, the wind abated, it stopped raining and the clouds lifted revealing a perfect rainbow, while bluebirds circled merrily around my head and Julie Andrews came spinning out of nowhere singing, "The Hills Are Alive with the Sound of Music" accompanied by the New York Philharmonic! Well, not exactly; but I would have bet that the chances of that occurring were better than what actually did occur. What happened was that things actually got worse! The Trail turned 90 degrees so now the wind, which picked up force as I reached the top, was right in my face. The temperature dropped and as if I weren't already wet and cold enough, at least a quart of water that must have collected at the bottom of my pack cover, let loose and dumped itself down the back of my shorts --- AAAGH! Now I was walking bowlegged with my feet in a narrow, mud-filled slit trench getting pelted in the face with freezing rain and occasional white things (Snow? Sleet? Hail? -- Certainly not Manna from Heaven, that's for sure!) After 15 minutes of this, I reached the trees where I found refuge from the wind and blowing rain, but had to reconnoiter some of the worse Trail conditions I've ever seen! For another hour I picked my way over wet roots, wet rocks and mud (only once doing a semi-One-Legged-Eagle, I'm pleased to say -- a great save with my pole kept it from being something potentially very bad!) So, as tough as it was, I knew this would all end at some point which, indeed, it did. I knew that I would make it to tonight's destination: the Mountain Harbor B&B where I now have pampered myself with a hot shower, a healthy dinner, clean clothes and a cigar in a rocking chair on the porch. I am about to get into my Jacuzzi tub and then go to bed, knowing that I took the worse the AT could throw at me today and persevered. (But who knows what tomorrow will bring?)