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Roan Mountain, over five thousand feet,
A strenuous hike, but oh so neat.
Views from northbound thruhikers:
3/31/02 - The trail went over Roan Mountain today. It was a climb to rival the �Devil�s Path.� Roan Mountain has amazing views from the summit, or so I�m told. The mountain was pretty heavily fogged in today. Fortunately though, the rain held off until toward the end of my hike. Coming down off of Roan were some very impressive balds that I got views of before the clouds moved in, and I again found myself in the fog.
4/24/02 - I was very reluctant to start the 6 mile long climb to the top of Roan Mountain if there was a chance I�d get soaked. It was a very hard climb, but fortunately the rain held off. So tonight I am at the Roan Mountain Shelter, the highest shelter on the AT and this is the last time I�ll climb over 6,000 feet until New Hampshire. This is also known as the coldest spot on the southern half of the AT. No doubt, you should hear the winds howling outside this old fire warden�s cabin. I�ve got all my clothes on again, like last night. But tonight I�ll try to stay a little warmer by wrapping my tent around my sleeping bag. Even a few degrees of warmth will help.
4/25/02 - Everyone here at the shelter agrees Roan Mountain's 6265 feet was a ass-kicker. All the hikers are tired. It was cold and rainy most of the day.
4/27 - Well, I made it over Roan mountain, last major mountain until the whites, over the balds in gale force winds to the shelter I really wanted to stay at, Overmountain shelter which is actually an old barn.
5/4/02 - Roan High Knob Shelter is cold after a rainy night and rainy day, packing up a wet tent and no chance to dry it. 15.1 miles up, up, up and wet, wet, wet. Pray for clear sky tomorrow.
5/22/02 �Once again the weather has worked out for us as we are at the top of Roan Mountain in Tennessee. The sky is a deep blue, and I feel myself burning up under the sun at a little above 6000 feet. I really like these grassy balds/bluffs so I can take an extra long lunch and admire the beauty of this great land.
The climb to the top of Roan was actually pretty difficult and, to the contrary of what I have heard, definitely not a gradual incline. I imagine it gets rather cold here, as there is still ice on some of the rocks in the shade.
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