Date: 2018-04-11
From: Greasy Creek Gal

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: broken clouds

It was one of those indescribable days. From the diverse terrain and foliage, to the change in elevation and temperatures, to the challenges and rewards, to the magnificent views, it was one to remember. It started where yesterday left off, at the Greasy Creek Friendly (as Connie likes to call it) with real grits and turkey bacon. What a wonderful beginning to our Wednesday. Which Way and I agreed that the stay here was worth the .6 mile walk down the mountain. It is certainly not the Hilton, but the love that Connie has for hikers permeates through her eccentric shack located in the foothills of the Roan Highlands.  It was 9:00 by the time we walked from the Friendly, up the rutty mountain road leading to the AT, where we commenced our stretching routine. Our first of several climbs led us to Little Rock Knob. During the hike up, the forest floor was coming to life with ramps and other vegetation, casting a green hew on the otherwise brown surface. With the old growth trees still without foliage, we often caught glimpses of the highlands that lay before us. Soon those views will be blocked by leaf-covered trees. Pausing only to get water from a spring, we made pretty good time up to Little Rock Knob, which offered an amazing vista to the north and west. Which Way went ahead as I lingered a few more seconds looking for the perfect shot of Unaka Mountain. The vista came at the top of our first climb, where the trail took a 90 degree turn. Left off the trail means left back on the trail, so I thought. Racing down the hill to catch Which Way, something didn¢t seem quite right (like the AT hiker I just passed by going the opposite direction and the fact that I had not caught up with Which Way after a few minutes). Better stop and toggle Guthook to GPS mode. Sure enough, I had gone the wrong way. Do Which Way and I need to exchange our trail names?? Racing back to catch up, I passed by Heartburn, who was taking a break. ¢Did you see Which Way come by?¢ The reply came, ¢Yep, about 10 minutes ago.¢ I thought, ¢Good, at least one of us is headed in the right direction.¢ I quickly toggled my phone off airplane mode and sent her a text saying that I was coming and to keep moving. I also paused periodically to send out a single long blast from my whistle. With my tinnitus, the ringing in my ears would get louder with each blow of the whistle, making it difficult to listen for WWs return blast. When I finally caught up, she said that she heard all of my signals and answered back every time. She added that as she was blowing her last whistle, she turned and a hiker was standing right there. She was sure he ¢enjoyed¢ her blowing it right in his face. Lol What a Whistling Wednesday.As we began our biggest ascent of the day, 2,200¢ to Roan High Knob, we stopped to filter more water. It didn¢t take long before I realized that I had left my ¢dirty¢ bag (for gathering the unfiltered water) hanging from a tree 5 miles back. I could work around it, but getting water would now be made more difficult until I could get a replacement bag. What a whacky Wednesday. As we climbed above 5,000 feet, we found ourselves hiking in and out of dense Spruce (or was it Hemlock) stands. It was also significantly cooler in the shaded areas as we gained altitude. We could see our breath as we exhaled and some spots of the trail were covered with ice. Yikes, flashbacks from the Smoky Mountains! Still, we made pretty good time to the top, where we came to the site where the luxurious Cloud Land Hotel once stood. As WW hung back, I explored a bit further and came upon a hiker about half my age getting ready to get down and knock out some push-ups with his pack on. Evidently that is how he celebrates milestones along the trail. A Soldier for life, I yelled out for him to wait, and then got down and knocked out thirty with him. Back with WW now, another AT moment happened. A hiker named Babaganoosh had retrieved a dirty bag hanging from a tree 10 miles back and was asking if anyone knew who it belonged to Thank you Babaganoosh!! What a Wednesday. After a very cold and rocky hike down the other side of Roan Mountain, we crossed a highway and there before us stood three magnificent balds¢Round, Jane and Grassy Ridge. We happily hiked up and over Round Bald and Jane¢s Bald, both offering warm sun and inspiring views. We skirted Grassy Ridge Bald and came to the last spring we would see for a while. It was after 5PM now, so I stopped to fill two extra liters of water, thinking we would be stealth camping somewhere soon. It was a downhill hike from here. By the time I caught WW, she had already passed two tent sites. I told her I was carrying four liters of water and my feet were tired, but I would go as far as she wanted. We passed by Stan Murray Shelter, where Spamtown Rick and a couple of other hikers were setting up camp. Never mind, WW was locked in, passing several other stealth sites.Finally, at 7PM we came to Yellow Mountain Gap and then down the .2 mile side trail to Overmountain Shelter. (which is a really cool barn that has been converted into a shelter). We would get to camp at the last shelter in NC with Heartburn, Spirit Man, Finn, Happy Feet, Mel, and about a dozen others that we don¢t even know...yet. Our actual mileage today was 18.2 counting the side Trails (18.5 for NS).What a Wednesday!Next StepElevation Data:                  Weather:Ascent ~ 4,530                    Day ¢ 50 degrees / SunnyDescent ~ 3,950                  Night ¢ 38 degrees / ClearOver the Horizon: Damascus, VA