Date: 2003-05-05
From: Clyde Smith Shelter

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: light rain

It rained briefly this morning around 5am and I thought I mighthave to pack up in the rain.It stopped after about 10 minutes and it was windy enough that thetent dried out by the time I got out of bed andpacked up around 6:30.I was about to start walking around 7:15 when I started hearingthunder in the distance. Since the trail was about toclimb up almost 750' and then again 2000' to the top ofRoan Mountain I decided to wait at the shelter and let thestorm pass.The rain was soon pounding on the metal roof of the shelterwhere I waited until around 8:30 when the rain let up a bit.The climb up Roan Mountain was a bit of work in the rain andstrong wind gusts.About halfway up the mountain at Ash Gap, the wind washowling through the trees and it was difficult to keep myfeet on the trail.Gaps are mixed blessings. They usually have flat groundfor camping or resting but they also act as a funneland amplify any windy conditions.By the time I reached the summit of Roan I had donned allmy rain gear.The trail crosses a few open areas near the summit wherethe wind-driven rain stung as it pelted my face.I moved quickly to get back into the trees and eventuallyto the shelter near the top of the mountain.Hiking generates a lot of heat and while I was warm enoughwhile walking despite the cold rain and strong winds, whenI stopped at the cabin I quickly cooled down.A quick switch to warm, dry clothes and a hot lunchkept me comfortable while I took my lunch break.I started packing up and putting on my cold wet clothesto continue hiking just as the other hikers from the previous shelter started to arrive.Moving on, I found more wet, foggy, and very windyconditions at Carvers Gap.I continued over Round Bald where I had a hard timestaying on the trail or even staying up on two feet dueto the strong wind.As I started down the backside of Round Bald, the rainstopped and within a half hour I was hiking inshorts and a tee shirt again. Every now and then the clouds would clear and I couldsee down into the valleys surrounding the series of baldsthat the trail traversed.I made it to Overmountain shelter around 4:30 and found over20 hikers holed up there due to the tough weather conditions.The trail north of here crosses the Humpback balds and isexposed to the elements for many miles. Theweather reports for the day were for severe storms,high winds, and possible tornados somany hikers had decided to take a zero day here at the shelter.The upper loft of this barn-turned-shelter looked like arefugee camp.To pass the time, Crazy Talk and Play were using a tent rainfly as a kite.I met a lot of new faces at the shelter tonight and found outthat I had just missed Hepcat. He wasn't feeling very well,but had pushed on over the Humpbacks to make it to theroad and hopefully a warm hotel room to rest up.Around 5:30, Kodiak & Sassy showed up. I thought theywere ahead, but they had jumped off the trail at the topof Roan Mountain to spend a day with a friend in nearbyBoone. They had returned to the trail this afternoon andwere just behind me all afternoon.As usual, K&S had brought goodies for everyone to enjoy.They hadn't expected so many hikers, but I think everyonemanaged to get something.It rained on and off all night with a constant strong windso it was great to be snug and dry in the shelter tonight.