Day 31 – Roan Highlands Hike

I woke up to a sunny and windy morning. Today is going to be hot! My back was still sore and stiff this morning, but after moving around a bit, it loosened up a bit. I still have a cough too, but it seems to be slowly getting better. Anyway, today should be a good day, since I will be walking in the Roan Highlands today.

to the clouds

Climbing among the pines

I started the trail shortly after 8am this morning and immediately encountered a steep climb. The strong sun, combined with the climb, made for a quick morning sweat. The climbing continued for most of the first three miles. Towards the top of the climb Hurricane Helene suffered quite a bit of damage, but in some areas there was still plenty of forest. I even passed the site of a former hotel, Cloudland Hotel, now in ruins, far from its 19th century heyday.

Fireplace from the old Cloudland Hotel?

Roan Highlands

View from the round bald

After that it was a long descent towards Carver’s Gap. Just before the gap, I filled up on water from a spring and headed to the trailhead, very popular with day hikers. I saw a good handful of hikers for the rest of the morning and early afternoon. Then I headed towards Round Bald and Jane Bald. It was very pleasant to walk through the grassy bald spots, with spectacular views of the surrounding mountains. It was also nice to be able to clearly see where I would be walking, through the bald spots.

See through bald heads

The only drawback to the bald guys today was the relentless sun and heat. However, in the end I bald and ended up at a low point and stopped at the Stan Murray Hut for lunch. While eating lunch, I even ran into a SAWS (Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards) team that stopped for a break and I talked to them. They were helping to keep the trail clean and accessible, among other things. Interesting and much appreciated work you do!

Little mountain of hump and hump

Climbing Little Hump Mountain

After lunch there was a long moderate descent of a couple of miles before another steep and tough climb up Little Hump Mountain and Hump Mountain. Again, once the climb was over, I was greeted with great 360 degree views of the surrounding area.

me admiring the view

Are you done with North Carolina?

After spending some time at the top, I began the descent and left the bald patch of grass. The trail quickly became rocky and a bit technical on the descent. At the end of the day, it was slow!

Rocky descent = Slow!

However, I soon arrived at my destination for the day, Doll Flats. Right on the road in Doll Flats that said «Leaving North Carolina.» Which I think means I’m officially done with the North Carolina portion of the AT?! 2 states down, 12 to go!

Done with North Carolina

At Doll Flats there were numerous campsites, many of which were quite flat. When I arrived there were only two other people there so I had a pretty good selection to choose from. I found a good spot off to the side and set up camp. After dark, as I was going to bed but before I fell asleep, I heard a rustling outside my tent. I turned on my headlamp and, as I suspected, there were several mice running around the outside of my tent. I yelled at them, but they kept coming back. In the end I put on earplugs and fell asleep thinking about the stories I had heard about mice eating holes in tents to get in for food…

Statistics for the 31st:

17.2 miles

4,150′ ascent, 4,252′ descent

Stealth site for doll flats

0 DSLC…

Stove use times: 6

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