Knowing we had a late start, Warthog and I took our time getting ready. Then GQ texted us asking if we’d be okay to leave early. We had the room packed up in 20 minutes. GQ and Arthur were just getting to the lobby.
After a 30 or so minute ride, we were at the hostel that would shuttle us to the trailhead. It was 12:30p before we were hitting the trail. Our goal was 12 miles for today. We had Roan Mountain to conquer. It actually wasn’t too bad. It took us a couple of hours to get to the top. Apparently there used to be a hotel there. The dining room of the hotel was right on the Tennessee/North Carolina border. One state allowed alcohol and the other didn’t. Because the dining room was on the border, the bar had to be on the side that allowed alcohol and drinks couldn’t cross the line. We had lunch there (sans alcohol). Although, I’m not sure what side of the state line we were on, so it probably doesn’t matter.
The rest of the day was beautiful hiking. For me, this section of the trail was one of the better maintained ones we’ve been on in a while. The trail itself was nice and level, it wasn’t half crumbling and falling off of the side of the mountain like we’ve seen at other spots.
We hit a section of balds and it was incredibly windy. I ended having to put on my jacket it was so cold. It only lasted for a two miles or so. I was glad when it was over. After that, it was only a couple more miles until we got to our shelter for the night. We tried to hurry – as much as our bodies would allow anyway. The rain was coming and we wanted to get camp set up before it did. Finally, we limped towards the shelter. We had been excited for this all day. It was an old barn. You could sleep in the bottom of the shelter exposed to the wind or up on top where you would be protected from the rain. The slats still had gaps in between them, but it was promising for protection. There was lots of space for us and with the storms tonight, the idea of sleeping inside is highly appealing. It means our tent will be dry for tomorrow and we can pack up and leave camp faster. We decided to stay in the shelter, it would be our first time yet this trip.
We ate dinner in the breezeway part of the barn. Another couple had music playing and I realized again just how much I miss listening to it. At home, I always have music on. Out here, I won’t and often can’t stream anything. Plus, I want to be able to stay aware of my surroundings while walking. So music is rare for us on the trail. I savored every song that came on.
After dinner, we climbed up and settled in. Luckily the shelter was pretty empty. There are maybe 15 of us in total on top, but it is so big, we had plenty of room to spread out. There is probably five feet between me and the guy next to me. All is good, so long as no mice decide to dance on me at night, I think I’ll be happy we stayed here. Now if only the people chatting would go to sleep, then the rest of us could as well. Ah… shelter life.
– ansel