Date: 2015-06-18
From: Clyde Smith Shelter

To: Stan Murray Shelter
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: clear sky

Stick stayed up at the fire until around midnight and came into the shelter with his headlamp blazing. Charles had warned us that he was a heavy snorer and he was true to his word all night long. I didn't get much sleep and was ready to get up about 5:45. We packed up and got on the trail in record time. After a steep uphill mile to the top of Little Rock Knob and two downhill miles, we stopped for breakfast in Hughes Gap. Mike caught up to us and ate with us. He left before us and we never saw him again.After rationing water on a seemingly never ending three mile uphill stretch, we stopped at a campsite at Ash Gap for lunch and water. Water was supposedly only .1 east of the trail downhill. It seemed much longer than .1 going downhill to the water, and even longer coming back uphill. The couple who had tented near us the last two nights caught up with us while we ate lunch and rested there. They are Soul Food and Jumpstart from New Jersey. They have hiked the trail in their home area and now are hiking north from Springer back toward their home. Then they plan to get to Katahdin and finish the trail southbound. My 2014 guidebook said it was only 1.3 to the top of Roan Mountain, but we saw that the trail had recently been rerouted. This made the AT less steep but also added more mileage to the day's hike. I'm not sure which would be wore, the steeper uphill section or the more mileage?? Regardless, we hiked through dense red spruce forest with cedar club moss. It was cool and smelled like Christmas. I have been very thankful for the temperatures being cooler than yesterday.The top of Roan Mountain has road access. It is always strange seeing cars and dozens of people in one place after being on the trail. The noise seems so much louder too. It was a real treat to use the restrooms, wash our hands with soap, look in a mirror, and get water from a fountain. Jumpstart and Soul Food were there too. Someone had given them a ride to the nearby Rhododendron Gardens which they really enjoyed.There were lots of rocks to step on and climb over on the way up and down, which made things tricky at times. After passing Carver Gap, there were two long exposed climbs up Round Bald and Jane Bald. There was parking at Carver Gap and so there were many day hikers on the trail there. We got to see the gorgeous Gray's red lilies in bloom on this section; we were told they only bloom one week each year and we just happened to be there at just the right time.Susan twisted her ankle on this stretch. We rested at the summit of Grassy Bald and had our supper there. We had spotty cell service and were able to talk to our husbands briefly. While we ate, Soul Food and Jumpstart caught up to us again. We have enjoyed talking with them and hearing their story.We got water shortly after the summit and had a generally downhill hike toward the shelters. We had considered hiking to Overmountain Shelter, which is a converted barn which sleeps 20. We decided to stop at the Stan Murray Shelter instead. It is much smaller and older, but also nearer. Jumpstart and Soul Food and stopped to tent before the shelter. This was the first time on this entire hike that we had been at a shelter by ourselves.   We got our food bags hung and I had time to gather wood for a campfire. We were in bed for the night by 9:00, watching the fire as it died out. Then hundreds of fireflies put on a show for us. We were wakened in the night by terrific thunder, lightning, and rain. We were very thankful to be in the shelter.