AT:Carvers Gap-Stan Murray Shelter - Member Hike
| Hike Name: | AT:Carvers Gap-Stan Murray Shelter |
|---|---|
| Country: | United States |
| State: | Tennessee |
| Nearby Town: | Roan Mountain |
| Rating: |  |
| Directions: | US 19E north. Left onto TN 143 south for about 12.7 miles. |
| Total Hike Distance: | 6.60 miles |
| Hike Difficulty: | Moderate |
| Permit Required: | No |
| Hike Type: | In & Out, Backtrack Hike |
| Hike Starts/Ends: | Carvers Gap |
| Trails Used: | Appalachian Trail |
| Backcountry Campsites: | Yes |
| Backcountry Water Sources: | Springs |
| Management: | National Park Service |
| Contact Information: | Pisgah National Forest PO Box 128 Burnsville, NC 28714 (828) 682-6146 www.fs.usda.gov/nfsnc |
| Best Season: | Summer |
| Users: | Hikers, Dogs |
| Road Conditions: | Primary Paved Roads |
| Hike Summary: | Start in the Carvers Gap parking area and cross street. There is a sign stating that you are at Carvers Gap. The AT is just beyond the gate. Walk a short distance through evergreens before coming to a grassy meadow. Climb up to the top of Round Bald and take a minute to get a 360 degree view of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains. This part of the trail is grassy meadow with some low shrubbery. There are blueberry bushes that line the trail for about a mile. Go down Round Bald and start the climb up Jane Bald at 5,807 feet. Again there is a pananramic view of the surrounding mountains. There is a little more plant life on this bald. Descend, steeply, into a forest and continue to do so for the next 2 miles. There are some springs along this area, that I would imagine are only flowing when there has been some rain. They were there this time, but they were shallow and very narrow. Get water here if you need it, since there are not much around after this. The Stan Murray Shelter has water nearby, but it the trail was over run with plants that were painful (I think Stinging Nettles) as I walked through. It is a steep trail down to the spring and straight up to get back to the shelter. I stayed in an area near the shelter, since I have heard horror stories about rodents in shelters. This one was no different. Some hikers ended up staying in the shelter and had mice crawling on them all night. The next day I backtracked to the car. This was a busy trail and there were plenty people hiking from Carvers Gap to Overmountain Shelter. |
There are no comments yet.