Appalachian Trail - Yellow Mountain Gap - October 3, 2003 - Member Trip Report
| Hike Name: | Appalachian Trail - Yellow Mountain Gap |
|---|---|
| Country: | United States |
| State: | Tennessee |
| Trip Rating: |  |
| Trip Date: | October 3, 2003 |
| Duration: | 3 days |
| Trail Conditions: | Excellent |
| Trail Traffic: | Moderate |
| Trip Weather: | Sunny, Partly Sunny, Partly Cloudy, Cloudy, Fog |
| Trip Winds: | Light to Moderate |
| Trip Precipitation: | Rain |
| Trip Temperature: | High: 61-70, Low: 31-40 degrees Fahrenheit |
| Trip Report: | 10/03/03 (Friday) - Drove down to the AT&T building at Century Blvd to meet The Helmet and Doughgirl this afternoon for the road trip to Roan Mt. Hit the road around 3:45pm from the AT&T lot and didn’t have nearly the traffic I expected on I-85. It still took us until 9pm to reach Roan Mountain State Park with only a brief stops for gas and a drive-thru visit to Wendy’s. The Camel left Charlotte around 2pm and was up there before dark to scope out, pay for, and reserve a campsite. He had a killer fire underway when we pulled into the campsite. Hung out until after midnight and was glad to have the folding chairs tonight. The campground was packed with both RV and tent campers and it got down into the 30’s late this evening. 10/04/03 (Saturday) – It was cloudy and cool when we woke this morning and The Camel was nursing a hangover. Boiled up some water for hot chocolate, tore down camp, then headed for some breakfast at Bob’s Dairyland in Roan Mountain. They serve up some solid grub. After breakfast we dropped The Camel’s truck off at a small car lot about a mile from the Trail and paid a neighbor $10 to park for the weekend (since 19E gets a lot of vandalism). The lady didn’t seem to own the lot but promised to give the money to Elmer, the proprietor. In the future, there is a Bed and Breakfast that is nearby and it is probably a better place to park (866-772-9494). Unfortunately, no one was home during our stop. From 19E, we drove back to Roan Mountain in heavy fog and eventually hit the trail at 1pm. There’s been some trail relocations in the area and the trail map was quite confusing. So we ended up hiking South on the A.T. when we should have hiked North and went 1.3 miles before realizing our mistake. The steep ascent/descent had us worn out by the time we returned to the truck at Roan Mountain, so we drove down to Carver’s Gap and jumped back on the A.T. heading northbound. There are 2.6 miles of trail between Roan Mountain and Carver’s Gap, so we ended up hiking the same distance regardless. Around 3pm, we were back on the trail and headed to Overmountain Shelter, an old barn that was remodeled in 1983 and turned into a unique structure with spectacular views into the valley. We hiked over Round Bald and Jane Bald in transit and passed a lot of day hikers on both balds. We were all pretty beat by the time we hit the Stan Murray shelter about two miles from our destination for the night. The profile map showed a descent to Overmountain Shelter, but there were a few ascents in this section which made it tougher. Regardless, we made it to Overmountain Shelter around 6pm with about an hour to collect firewood and unload our gear. We decided to stay on the lower level since the view was so nice and the wind had died down. The Helmet and Doughgirl cooked up some Chili Mac and I tinkered with my stove which was not working right. The Camel stoked up a nice fire and we had enough wood to last us through the night and to make some Dougboy’s around 11pm. Hung out until midnight and watched the clouds fly by in front of a bright half moon. There was another couple here tonight but they pitched their tent up the hill and didn’t come down to the shelter. An ATV was also in the area around 11pm and drove up to the barn, but they didn’t come down either and split almost immediately. 10/05/03 (Sunday) – I woke up at dawn and tried to catch the sunrise, but fell back asleep before the sun came up. It was bright this morning when it finally cleared the Hump mountains and everyone was up within fifteen minutes. Made some hot chocolate and oatmeal for breakfast, then we discussed the nine mile hike to 19E. It was a perfect day to climb the Hump mountains, but none of us wanted a nine mile hike today and a five hour drive this evening. As a result, we decided to backtrack to my truck at Carver’s Gap to cut the distance in half. The hike out was tough until we hit Jane Bald. We took a fifteen minute break at the Stan Murray shelter, then made it across Jane and Round Bald and down to Carver’s Gap by 2pm. It was nice to relax, take our time, and not rush the day. Headed back toward 19E and found The Camel’s truck in good shape at Elmer’s. We thought about hitting the Subway in Roan Mountain but decided to head for home and drove a couple hours before we hit a Taco Bell for dinner. The Helmet, Doughgirl, and I didn’t get back to Atlanta tonight until 8pm. If we would have hiked the longer route to 19E, it would have been more like 11pm. |
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