Zero Sick Day

May 22, 2013
0 miles

Upon waking this morning, we did feel a little better.  We went to Roan Mountain for breakfast at Bob’s Dairyland. Then we rode around investigating the towns around us.  We drove down the road one way to Elk Park, then down the road the other way through Roan Mountain and on to Elizabethton.  We found a Walmart there where we bought a few things to resupply our packs.  Then we ventured to the Longhorn Steakhouse for lunch because we were beginning to feel like we could eat and a steak sounded really good.  Luckily, we kept it down. 

As the day progressed we decided that we would try hiking tomorrow.  But instead of going south to Carver’s Gap and risking the Roan Mountain highlands, we will go north to Walnut Mountain Road and come south back to the hostel which is a shorter distance and seems to be much easier.  If we can do that, then we will continue with our regular schedule the following day. 

This evening we met two traveling nurses who were close to finishing up a thru-hike, going south.  They had started their thru-hike in the fall and were interrupted by Hurricane Sandy.  They would still be able to meet their goal of completing the trail within a year. They had given their dog the trail name “Bear” cause he did kinda look like one.

Beatnik from New Jersey was finishing up his hike even sooner; he had been working on it for 27 years in sections.  When he got to Damascus in a few days he will have done the entire trail.  Yay for him! He started cleaning out his pack of things that he would no longer need and gave Wait-up a pair of his sock liners.  We have never used sock liners but he told us they made a world of difference in the comfort of your feet and helping not get blisters, which found out later was true.  Thanks, Beatnik!

Another couple of ladies we met, Cheryl and Shenna, were hiking for a cause; raising money to stamp out bullying.  They also had their little 11 month old doggie with them.  She was doing fine as a trail dog. 

After we were all finished with our night meals and about to settle in for the night, the door opened and Harry came in. We had met Harry earlier on the trail going into Erwin. He is an 87-year-old German. He said he had hiked 18 miles today and was expecting to get a bed in the hostel and a good meal. They had told him at the house that they were out of beds, and he could come to the hostel to make some food. He was really disappointed and looked so defeated. He said he needed food; any food that he could get, and a beer. We tried to explain to him how he could take what he needed from the store in the hostel and pay for it tomorrow; but he didn’t understand English as well as he could speak it. Wait-up fixed a can of our beef vegetable soup and crackers for him. He also offered him a bagel from a bag that Beatnik had donated to the kitchen.  He ate like he was famished. Another hiker looked in the fridge and found a beer that someone had left in there. Harry really enjoyed that beer. He said it would make him sleep better. He was not looking forward to going out in the rain to set up his tent. We would have offered him our bed, but we had been sick and didn’t want to risk him getting it. 

The goats at Mountain Harbour

The hostel at Mountain Harbour

Mountain Harbour Bed and Breakfast

A view of the property from the porch of the hostel.

A view of the creek from the porch of the hostel.

A view of the house from the porch of the hostel.

Greasy Creek Gap to Carver’s Gap

 

May 20, 2013
10.4 miles
10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

 

 Mr. Terry from Mountain Harbour drove us down to Greasy Creek Gap to go north this time.  We had an opportunity to meet Connie, the owner of Greasy Creek Friendly.  Seemed like a nice lady, and folks we met who stayed there said it was a very friendly place. 

Oh my gosh! Tough day today.  The climb up Roan Mountain I thought was going to kill me.  We went from an elevation of 4034 at the gap to a high of 6275. The first half was not too bad since it had lots of switchbacks; but the second half was steeper and very hard.  We saw markers that looked like they are planning to make more switchbacks in that section, which is a very good idea.   



 

 

A view from Roan Mountain



A view from Roan Mountain



On Roan Mountain

 

Our Thru-Hiker's Companion told us that this is the last time the AT climbs above 6,000 feet until Mt. Washington in New Hampshire, and it is arguably the coldest spot, year-round on the southern AT.  It was not cold today.  It also said that at the top is a parking area with restroom and running water (May – October).   As we approached the top we saw signs telling us that there would be no water or facilities at Cloudland until May 23.  Too bad for us. 

We entered a clearing with a monument telling us that this is the site of the former Cloudland Hotel.  The Tennessee-North Carolina state line ran through the center of the hotel when Cloudland was a thriving resort in the late 1800s and early 1900s.  This allowed the sale of alcohol on the Tennessee side and the comical tale of North Carolina police officers patrolling the other side. It was demolished in 1915 after loggers harvested the fir and spruce on the mountaintop. 

The site of the former Cloudland Hotel on top of Roan Mountain

Rhododendron bushes flourish on the top of the mountain and there is a popular garden on the top of Roan when they are in bloom around June 20.  We did see a few bushes just starting to pop out into bloom all along the trail, but missed the peak season.

 When we got to the top of the mountain, I was feeling so bad and was so tired I could hardly walk, and could not eat a thing.  We made it to Roan High Knob Shelter. Another young man caught up with us there and was in total agreement that it was a hard climb up the mountain.  Unfortunately for us, the water source was downhill from the shelter and Wait-up had more climbing to do to get to it. 



Roan High Knob Shelter

Roan High Knob Shelter is the highest on the Appalachian Trail and was originally an old firewarden’s cabin.  This explains the four walls and the door, unusual for shelters.  The young man was staying at the shelter, but we had to push on so that our hike tomorrow would not be too long. 



 

We had heard so many good things about the Roan Mountain area being so beautiful that we were looking forward to it; so far we have been disappointed.  I had not seen any beauty yet.  The trail down from Roan Mountain was an old railroad bed with lots of rocks.  We trudged along.  We met a man with a large camera coming toward us who told us that we were about to come to the balds and they were beautiful.  We reached Carver’s Gap without seeing them yet, finding out later that they were on the other side of the gap.   

We crossed Carver’s Gap and sat beside a fence on the other side for Wait-up to eat supper.  I again could not make myself eat anything, my stomach was really feeling bad by this time.  He suggested us calling for a ride to go back to Mountain Harbour, but I thought if I could just get to a campsite and go to bed I would be fine.  So we proceeded up the hill to try to get to the campsite 2 miles down the trail. 

The good news is, we finally found the beautiful bluffs, I just couldn’t enjoy them because I was feeling so bad.  So bad, in fact, that I got to the point I could not walk another step.  I had to stop.  We were on top of the first bluff called Round Knob.  We began to look for a place to pitch the tent.  We wandered around for awhile trying to find a level spot and finally gave up. We pitched the tent off the trail on top of briars and roots and on a slant.  It was the best we could do. 

Not long after we got into the tent, Wait-up had to throw up.  Huh?  I was the one that was sick.  Now he was too.  He threw up 3 times during the night.  I finally threw up too and felt a little better after having done so.  But we didn’t sleep much that night and knew that we would not be hiking the next day.

Carver's Gap

 

At Carver's Gap

 

A road from Carver's Gap goes up to the gardens.