Day 35: Erwin, TN to Beauty Spot Campsite
As Frosty and I started our walk back to the trailhead, an awesome local stopped us and offered us a ride. Not a bad way to start off the day. The first part of the trail was pretty flat and skirted along the river and rail road tracks. It then shot up into the mountains giving us some awesome views back into Erwin. We hiked about 12 miles to a campsite at Beauty Spot and we were able to set up our tents before we were hit by a thunderstorm. The lightning rippled horizontally across the sky and dumped pebble sized hail on us. I was so happy to be safe inside of a dry tent. Once the storm passed we crawled out of our tents and went up to the Beauty Spot bald to catch the sunset over Erwin. The sunsets out here are unreal.
Day 36: Beauty Spot Campsite to Greasy Creek Friendly
According to Frosty's altered guidebook the Greasy Creek Friendly was a must stop for a great hostel experience. It was only 12 miles from our campsite setting us up for a relatively easy day. I headed out of camp with Jersey Girl, Tric, and Yukon. Our first climb of the day was up and over Unaka Mountain which has a very dense spruce forest at the summit. It was like a flashback to the Smokies. The rest of the day we skirted summits and went up and down mountains with no views. Coming down into Iron Mountain Gap we came across Rob Bird doing some trail magic out of his van. He used to run a hostel up in Massachusetts called the Birdcage and now he drives around providing awesome trail magic to hikers. From the gap we strolled a few more miles to the hostel. Connie the owner is an eccentric lady and runs a warm and comforting hostel. She prefers to call her place a friendly instead of hostel because she has rather grumpy 80 year old hermit neighbor. In the past he would leave his lawnmower running all night at the edge of his property just to disturb the hikers. Luckily we didn't hear a peep out of him while we were there.
Day 37: Greasy Creek Hostel
The forecast called for thunderstorms so we decided to take a down day instead of climbing up to the top of the 6000 foot Roan Mountain. We planned on just staying in and watching movies all day but the power decided to go out county wide. Apparently a transformer blew up. Instead Connie loaded us up into her car for a walmart run and an all-you-can-eat. It ended up being a 6 hour trip... The power outage was larger than we had anticipated, and we ended up driving all through the North Carolina to find a place with power. Not the way that I wanted to spend my zero but it was nice to see civilization again.
Day 38: Greasy Creek Hostel to Hughes Gap
In the morning I met back up with the rest of Team Highs and Hopes. Our plan was to head up Roan Mountain, but only 5 miles into our hike we hit the most amazing trail magic of all time hosted by Apollo, Ambassador, and Clicker. They had food going over the firepit, beers, vodka, and some Jameson whiskey. Anytime a hiker came down the trail they would blow on a conch shell to draw them in. We set our tents up and settled in for a good night. Pickleback shots were had and stories were swapped. It was a fun night with new friends.
As Frosty and I started our walk back to the trailhead, an awesome local stopped us and offered us a ride. Not a bad way to start off the day. The first part of the trail was pretty flat and skirted along the river and rail road tracks. It then shot up into the mountains giving us some awesome views back into Erwin. We hiked about 12 miles to a campsite at Beauty Spot and we were able to set up our tents before we were hit by a thunderstorm. The lightning rippled horizontally across the sky and dumped pebble sized hail on us. I was so happy to be safe inside of a dry tent. Once the storm passed we crawled out of our tents and went up to the Beauty Spot bald to catch the sunset over Erwin. The sunsets out here are unreal.
Day 36: Beauty Spot Campsite to Greasy Creek Friendly
According to Frosty's altered guidebook the Greasy Creek Friendly was a must stop for a great hostel experience. It was only 12 miles from our campsite setting us up for a relatively easy day. I headed out of camp with Jersey Girl, Tric, and Yukon. Our first climb of the day was up and over Unaka Mountain which has a very dense spruce forest at the summit. It was like a flashback to the Smokies. The rest of the day we skirted summits and went up and down mountains with no views. Coming down into Iron Mountain Gap we came across Rob Bird doing some trail magic out of his van. He used to run a hostel up in Massachusetts called the Birdcage and now he drives around providing awesome trail magic to hikers. From the gap we strolled a few more miles to the hostel. Connie the owner is an eccentric lady and runs a warm and comforting hostel. She prefers to call her place a friendly instead of hostel because she has rather grumpy 80 year old hermit neighbor. In the past he would leave his lawnmower running all night at the edge of his property just to disturb the hikers. Luckily we didn't hear a peep out of him while we were there.
Day 37: Greasy Creek Hostel
The forecast called for thunderstorms so we decided to take a down day instead of climbing up to the top of the 6000 foot Roan Mountain. We planned on just staying in and watching movies all day but the power decided to go out county wide. Apparently a transformer blew up. Instead Connie loaded us up into her car for a walmart run and an all-you-can-eat. It ended up being a 6 hour trip... The power outage was larger than we had anticipated, and we ended up driving all through the North Carolina to find a place with power. Not the way that I wanted to spend my zero but it was nice to see civilization again.
Day 38: Greasy Creek Hostel to Hughes Gap
In the morning I met back up with the rest of Team Highs and Hopes. Our plan was to head up Roan Mountain, but only 5 miles into our hike we hit the most amazing trail magic of all time hosted by Apollo, Ambassador, and Clicker. They had food going over the firepit, beers, vodka, and some Jameson whiskey. Anytime a hiker came down the trail they would blow on a conch shell to draw them in. We set our tents up and settled in for a good night. Pickleback shots were had and stories were swapped. It was a fun night with new friends.
Day 39: Hughes Gap to Overmountain Shelter
It was a groggy morning heading out of Hughes Gap. Everyone was a little slow to get moving to say the least. They grilled us some steak for breakfast before we headed out which was absurdly amazing. It definitely helped with our huge climb up to the Roan Highlands. The Highlands are known for their expansive balds and we had perfect weather for the day. The climb up wasn't that bad due to the fact that they added 4 miles worth of switchbacks so it was fairly gradual. It still took us most of the morning to get to the top. Once we reached the top we had a few miles of hiking along exposed balds with views in every direction. It was absolutely breathtaking. To top the day off we made our way down to the Overmountain Shelter which is a huge red barn that is now used as an A.T. shelter. It is probably the coolest shelter along the A.T.
Day 40: Overmountain Shelter to US 19 Campsite
The rain rolled in around 9 am, and with it came the fog as well. We were supposed to have more great scenery for the day as we were going to be climbing Hump Mountain, another exposed bald. Instead everything we saw was just milky white. Foggy days are always interesting because you have to entertain yourself because you can only see 10 feet in front of you. I hiked most of the day with Trail Mom, Hobo, and Cyclops. We turned what could have been a miserable day into a day of laughing and good conversation. The rain cleared up around lunchtime just as we approached the NC/TN state line. We were finally leaving North Carolina and ending the constant border hopping. Horse and Chesepeake were taking a break at the borser so we stopped and waited for a group picture. After the border we hiked a few more miles to reach US 19 where I stuck my thumb out and hitched us a ride into Roan Mountain, TN for some Subway and a resupply. After gorging ourselves on town food I packed out an extra sandwich for dinner later and we hitched back to the trail and set up camp by a creek.
Day 41: US 19 Campsite to Vango/Abby Memorial Hostel
We were able to pack up all of our gear before the rain started, and once it started it came down hard. My pants and shoes soaked through in about two minutes. The trail was rolling and we didn't have any major climbs for the day which was a nice change of pace. A few miles in we took a blue blazed trail to check out a waterfall. It was really moving with all of the rain we had been getting lately. We reached the shelter for lunch and decided to go to the hostel for the night. Everyone was cold and wet and just wanted a dry place to sleep. The highlight of the day was walking along the Elk River. The hostel offered free camping so some of us camped and some of us went into the bunk house. I demolished a whole tombstone pizza and quickly headed to bed. (And we hit 400 miles!)
Day 42: Vango/Abby Memorial Hostel to Laurel Falls Campsite
After being soaked for a few days we finally had a day without a chance of rain. The sun was shining and we were ready to hike. We set out from the hostel in good spirits. The morning hike was along a bunch of creeks that ran to the waterfall that we would be at later in the day. It was an easy day of hiking consisting of rolling hills and a downhill descent to the falls. I hiked most of the day with Trail Mom. We reached Laurel Falls mid afternoon to find Hobo scaling a vertical side trail to the top of the falls. I was way too tired as I watched from the rocks at the bottom. The falls themselves were absolutely gorgeous and any picture I took did not do them justice. Eventually Trail Mom told me to just stop with the pictures and to appreciate the moment. After the falls we hiked another mile to a campsite that was along the creek. Another amazing day on the trail.
It was a groggy morning heading out of Hughes Gap. Everyone was a little slow to get moving to say the least. They grilled us some steak for breakfast before we headed out which was absurdly amazing. It definitely helped with our huge climb up to the Roan Highlands. The Highlands are known for their expansive balds and we had perfect weather for the day. The climb up wasn't that bad due to the fact that they added 4 miles worth of switchbacks so it was fairly gradual. It still took us most of the morning to get to the top. Once we reached the top we had a few miles of hiking along exposed balds with views in every direction. It was absolutely breathtaking. To top the day off we made our way down to the Overmountain Shelter which is a huge red barn that is now used as an A.T. shelter. It is probably the coolest shelter along the A.T.
Day 40: Overmountain Shelter to US 19 Campsite
The rain rolled in around 9 am, and with it came the fog as well. We were supposed to have more great scenery for the day as we were going to be climbing Hump Mountain, another exposed bald. Instead everything we saw was just milky white. Foggy days are always interesting because you have to entertain yourself because you can only see 10 feet in front of you. I hiked most of the day with Trail Mom, Hobo, and Cyclops. We turned what could have been a miserable day into a day of laughing and good conversation. The rain cleared up around lunchtime just as we approached the NC/TN state line. We were finally leaving North Carolina and ending the constant border hopping. Horse and Chesepeake were taking a break at the borser so we stopped and waited for a group picture. After the border we hiked a few more miles to reach US 19 where I stuck my thumb out and hitched us a ride into Roan Mountain, TN for some Subway and a resupply. After gorging ourselves on town food I packed out an extra sandwich for dinner later and we hitched back to the trail and set up camp by a creek.
Day 41: US 19 Campsite to Vango/Abby Memorial Hostel
We were able to pack up all of our gear before the rain started, and once it started it came down hard. My pants and shoes soaked through in about two minutes. The trail was rolling and we didn't have any major climbs for the day which was a nice change of pace. A few miles in we took a blue blazed trail to check out a waterfall. It was really moving with all of the rain we had been getting lately. We reached the shelter for lunch and decided to go to the hostel for the night. Everyone was cold and wet and just wanted a dry place to sleep. The highlight of the day was walking along the Elk River. The hostel offered free camping so some of us camped and some of us went into the bunk house. I demolished a whole tombstone pizza and quickly headed to bed. (And we hit 400 miles!)
Day 42: Vango/Abby Memorial Hostel to Laurel Falls Campsite
After being soaked for a few days we finally had a day without a chance of rain. The sun was shining and we were ready to hike. We set out from the hostel in good spirits. The morning hike was along a bunch of creeks that ran to the waterfall that we would be at later in the day. It was an easy day of hiking consisting of rolling hills and a downhill descent to the falls. I hiked most of the day with Trail Mom. We reached Laurel Falls mid afternoon to find Hobo scaling a vertical side trail to the top of the falls. I was way too tired as I watched from the rocks at the bottom. The falls themselves were absolutely gorgeous and any picture I took did not do them justice. Eventually Trail Mom told me to just stop with the pictures and to appreciate the moment. After the falls we hiked another mile to a campsite that was along the creek. Another amazing day on the trail.
Day 43: Laurel Falls Campsite to Vandeventer Shelter
A few people needed to go into town so Trail Mom and I headed out of camp and headed toward the decided upon camp spot. Immediately out of camp we had a 2000 foot climb which ended up being not as bad as how it looked in the guidebook. After the climb we shot back down in elevation to Watauga Lake. We got to the lake around 11:30 so we decided to stop for lunch at the Recreation Area. They had picnic tables, working plumbing, and a swimming area; in other words a hiker paradise. I immediately threw my pack down and ran into the lake for a nice hiker shower. The water was freezing. We ended up spending over an hour and a half at the lake just lounging around in the sunshine. Around 1:30 we headed out again. The trail wrapped around the lake, over the Watauga Dam, and then up a mountain. The afternoon was a ridge walk with views back down to the lake. We reached the shelter around 6:30 and had an amazing sunset as we settled into the shelter. Frosty was the only other person to show up from our group, everyone else decided to camp at the bottom of the mountain.
Day 44: Vandeventer Shelter to Iron Mountain Shelter
The weather was calling for thunderstorms around 1:00. We decided to only do 6.8 miles to the next shelter to allow for everyone to catch up and to also set us up for a full 26.2 mile marathon into Damascus, Va. We left the shelter around 9 and reached our stopping point at noon. The rest of the day we lounged around the shelter, listened to music, and took some naps. The rest of our crew showed up around dinner time, and everyone was game for the marathon.
Day 45: Iron Mountain Shelter to Damascus, Virginia
We rolled out of camp around 7:20 with our eyes on the prize. The sun was shining and we were digging in for the long haul. The terrain for the day was supposed to be gradual with no monster climbs. At one point the trail was even handicap accessible. It was a nice wide path through a cow pasture. Around noon the afternoon thunder showers started rolling in. We were able to stay ahead of them for the most part and only got a little wet for the time being. Around 3 we were 16 miles into our day at the last shelter. Only 10 more to go! We headed out from the shelter and got about 2 miles before the sky turned black and the bottom opened up on us. Lightning cracked through the sky and instead of rain we were getting hail. The trail turned white with the little pebble sized ice balls. We were instantly soaked and thrown into hypothermic conditions. Our only option was to keep moving to retain our body heat. At points we were jogging along the trail to regain some heat. The storm finally subsided when we reached the border of Virginia. We were all screaming out of excitement. Only 3.5 miles to Damascus! The rest of the hike was mostly hobbling and stumbling down the trail and into town. When we reached town we immediately went to the closest restaurant "Bobo McFarlands" hot food never tasted so good. With full stomachs and a marathon under our belt, we headed over to The Place hostel and got ourselves some hot showers and immediately fell asleep.
A few people needed to go into town so Trail Mom and I headed out of camp and headed toward the decided upon camp spot. Immediately out of camp we had a 2000 foot climb which ended up being not as bad as how it looked in the guidebook. After the climb we shot back down in elevation to Watauga Lake. We got to the lake around 11:30 so we decided to stop for lunch at the Recreation Area. They had picnic tables, working plumbing, and a swimming area; in other words a hiker paradise. I immediately threw my pack down and ran into the lake for a nice hiker shower. The water was freezing. We ended up spending over an hour and a half at the lake just lounging around in the sunshine. Around 1:30 we headed out again. The trail wrapped around the lake, over the Watauga Dam, and then up a mountain. The afternoon was a ridge walk with views back down to the lake. We reached the shelter around 6:30 and had an amazing sunset as we settled into the shelter. Frosty was the only other person to show up from our group, everyone else decided to camp at the bottom of the mountain.
Day 44: Vandeventer Shelter to Iron Mountain Shelter
The weather was calling for thunderstorms around 1:00. We decided to only do 6.8 miles to the next shelter to allow for everyone to catch up and to also set us up for a full 26.2 mile marathon into Damascus, Va. We left the shelter around 9 and reached our stopping point at noon. The rest of the day we lounged around the shelter, listened to music, and took some naps. The rest of our crew showed up around dinner time, and everyone was game for the marathon.
Day 45: Iron Mountain Shelter to Damascus, Virginia
We rolled out of camp around 7:20 with our eyes on the prize. The sun was shining and we were digging in for the long haul. The terrain for the day was supposed to be gradual with no monster climbs. At one point the trail was even handicap accessible. It was a nice wide path through a cow pasture. Around noon the afternoon thunder showers started rolling in. We were able to stay ahead of them for the most part and only got a little wet for the time being. Around 3 we were 16 miles into our day at the last shelter. Only 10 more to go! We headed out from the shelter and got about 2 miles before the sky turned black and the bottom opened up on us. Lightning cracked through the sky and instead of rain we were getting hail. The trail turned white with the little pebble sized ice balls. We were instantly soaked and thrown into hypothermic conditions. Our only option was to keep moving to retain our body heat. At points we were jogging along the trail to regain some heat. The storm finally subsided when we reached the border of Virginia. We were all screaming out of excitement. Only 3.5 miles to Damascus! The rest of the hike was mostly hobbling and stumbling down the trail and into town. When we reached town we immediately went to the closest restaurant "Bobo McFarlands" hot food never tasted so good. With full stomachs and a marathon under our belt, we headed over to The Place hostel and got ourselves some hot showers and immediately fell asleep.
Laurel Falls Campsite to Vandeventer Shelter
A few people needed to go into town so Trail Mom and I headed out of camp and headed toward the decided upon camp spot. Immediately out of camp we had a 2000 foot climb which ended up being not as bad as how it looked in the guidebook. After the climb we shot back down in elevation to Watauga Lake. We got to the lake around 11:30 so we decided to stop for lunch at the Recreation Area. They had picnic tables, working plumbing, and a swimming area; in other words a hiker paradise. I immediately threw my pack down and ran into the lake for a nice hiker shower. The water was freezing. We ended up spending over an hour and a half at the lake just lounging around in the sunshine. Around 1:30 we headed out again. The trail wrapped around the lake, over the Watauga Dam, and then up a mountain. The afternoon was a ridge walk with views back down to the lake. We reached the shelter around 6:30 and had an amazing sunset as we settled into the shelter. Frosty was the only other person to show up from our group, everyone else decided to camp at the bottom of the mountain.
Vandeventer Shelter to Iron Mountain Shelter
The weather was calling for thunderstorms around 1:00. We decided to only do 6.8 miles to the next shelter to allow for everyone to catch up and to also set us up for a full 26.2 mile marathon into Damascus, Va. We left the shelter around 9 and reached our stopping point at noon. The rest of the day we lounged around the shelter, listened to music, and took some naps. The rest of our crew showed up around dinner time, and everyone was game for the marathon.
Iron Mountain Shelter to Damascus, Virginia
We rolled out of camp around 7:20 with our eyes on the prize. The sun was shining and we were digging in for the long haul. The terrain for the day was supposed to be gradual with no monster climbs. At one point the trail was even handicap accessible. It was a nice wide path through a cow pasture. Around noon the afternoon thunder showers started rolling in. We were able to stay ahead of them for the most part and only got a little wet for the time being. Around 3 we were 16 miles into our day at the last shelter. Only 10 more to go! We headed out from the shelter and got about 2 miles before the sky turned black and the bottom opened up on us. Lightning cracked through the sky and instead of rain we were getting hail. The trail turned white with the little pebble sized ice balls. We were instantly soaked and thrown into hypothermic conditions. Our only option was to keep moving to retain our body heat. At points we were jogging along the trail to regain some heat. The storm finally subsided when we reached the border of Virginia. We were all screaming out of excitement. Only 3.5 miles to Damascus! The rest of the hike was mostly hobbling and stumbling down the trail and into town. When we reached town we immediately went to the closest restaurant "Bobo McFarlands" hot food never tasted so good. With full stomachs and a marathon under our belt, we headed over to The Place hostel and got ourselves some hot showers and immediately fell asleep.
A few people needed to go into town so Trail Mom and I headed out of camp and headed toward the decided upon camp spot. Immediately out of camp we had a 2000 foot climb which ended up being not as bad as how it looked in the guidebook. After the climb we shot back down in elevation to Watauga Lake. We got to the lake around 11:30 so we decided to stop for lunch at the Recreation Area. They had picnic tables, working plumbing, and a swimming area; in other words a hiker paradise. I immediately threw my pack down and ran into the lake for a nice hiker shower. The water was freezing. We ended up spending over an hour and a half at the lake just lounging around in the sunshine. Around 1:30 we headed out again. The trail wrapped around the lake, over the Watauga Dam, and then up a mountain. The afternoon was a ridge walk with views back down to the lake. We reached the shelter around 6:30 and had an amazing sunset as we settled into the shelter. Frosty was the only other person to show up from our group, everyone else decided to camp at the bottom of the mountain.
Vandeventer Shelter to Iron Mountain Shelter
The weather was calling for thunderstorms around 1:00. We decided to only do 6.8 miles to the next shelter to allow for everyone to catch up and to also set us up for a full 26.2 mile marathon into Damascus, Va. We left the shelter around 9 and reached our stopping point at noon. The rest of the day we lounged around the shelter, listened to music, and took some naps. The rest of our crew showed up around dinner time, and everyone was game for the marathon.
Iron Mountain Shelter to Damascus, Virginia
We rolled out of camp around 7:20 with our eyes on the prize. The sun was shining and we were digging in for the long haul. The terrain for the day was supposed to be gradual with no monster climbs. At one point the trail was even handicap accessible. It was a nice wide path through a cow pasture. Around noon the afternoon thunder showers started rolling in. We were able to stay ahead of them for the most part and only got a little wet for the time being. Around 3 we were 16 miles into our day at the last shelter. Only 10 more to go! We headed out from the shelter and got about 2 miles before the sky turned black and the bottom opened up on us. Lightning cracked through the sky and instead of rain we were getting hail. The trail turned white with the little pebble sized ice balls. We were instantly soaked and thrown into hypothermic conditions. Our only option was to keep moving to retain our body heat. At points we were jogging along the trail to regain some heat. The storm finally subsided when we reached the border of Virginia. We were all screaming out of excitement. Only 3.5 miles to Damascus! The rest of the hike was mostly hobbling and stumbling down the trail and into town. When we reached town we immediately went to the closest restaurant "Bobo McFarlands" hot food never tasted so good. With full stomachs and a marathon under our belt, we headed over to The Place hostel and got ourselves some hot showers and immediately fell asleep.
