Roan Mountain Trip

The weekend started late Friday night when Melissa and I drove up to the trail head and arrived around midnight.  We slept in the car with Althea and ended the short sleep at 5:30 to get ready to start hiking.  Andrew and the others arrived around 6:00 and we set off on the hike a little after 6:30.

Althea

We first summited Grassy Ridge Bald.  This hike is phenomenal.  Especially with perfectly clear skies and the sun rising over the mountains in the distance.  Almost a surreal, inspirational experience that reminded me (not that I needed it) of why I do these things.  To experience such a beautiful landscape is a feeling for me that I cannot put into words.

Sunrise on the way to Grassy Ridge Bald

The group minus Melissa (photographer)

Self Portrait

This was an out and back trail that brought us back to the cars.  After finalizing our packs for the rest of the trip, we set out in the other direction for the second peak, Roan High Knob.  This peak was 100 feet or so away from the Appalachian Trail Shelter that we were to sleep in on Saturday night.  The peak itself was somewhat disappointing with no sweeping views; not even a sign or marker to tell you of your accomplishment.  We made it a little more interesting, thanks to Melissa’s camera angle.

Me "climbing" to the summit

Andrew "climbing" to the summit

Lunch cooking!

Roan High Knob Shelter

After some lunch, we set out for the third peak, Roan High Bluff.  At this point in the day, the snow had warmed up quite a bit and very often, we would find that a foot would randomly fall about 3 feet into the snow.  This made the hiking much more difficult than we thought it would be.  Once we reached the third summit, we were all exhausted.  We made it back to the shelter and even experienced some trail magic: a timely encounter with a snow plow!

On the top at Roan High Bluff

Stuck in the snow again...

Yay for the snow plow!

Check out the massive amount of snow there!

That night, we ate dinner, sat around a warm fire and generally celebrated the day.  We hiked down the next morning and in the end, hiked 12.62 miles in 8 hours, 19 minutesand had a total elevation gain of 3,202 feet.  It leaves me with one question: when’s the next trip?

Me (with my right leg in the snow) & Althea

An awesome bench and "wall" of snow that Chris and Chad built

A very warm fire!