Roan Mountain

“I just posted a trip to Roan Mountain near the TN/NC border. I have never been there but I believe the AT goes by or near there. We could include an AT hike with the trip. This trip is timed for the peak of the Rhododendron blooming. If any one has any info on the area please send it to me.”

“I may be up for this trip. Roan is high on my list.”

“Dayhiker has been in this area before.”

“Roan Mountain is a great place. You can start at Carvers Gap and head up the hill to a great 360 degree bald view, the head out to the Stan Murray shelter in 3 or 4 miles or go about 9 or 10 miles to the Overmountain shelter. The Overmountain shelter holds about 30 people, with a huge upstairs loft area.

Beware, there has been lots of trailhead vandalism in this area. When we had a TT outing a few years ago, we parked vehicles about 1.5 miles up the hill at the Rhododendrun Gardens. You pay a small admission fee and park your vehicles in parking lots behind a locked gate at night. It's an easy hike right down to the parking lot at Carvers Gap. We took two vehicles up and dropped of everyone and gear down in the Carvers Gap parking lot and then hiked back down without packs. We did the same at hike's end and hiked up to the vehicles without packs. We stayed at a TN State campground the night before we went in at a group campsite and registered as a TT trail maintenance group.

There are also shuttles in the area that will take you up and arrange for return transportation.”

“Thanks for the info skiracer. I will do a search later in the day for some links on the net. I just wanted to find out the type of info you just sent because personal experience always works best.”

“I have done this trip karo.. clal me on my ceel if u want.. be glad to give u anything u wanna know.. plus its posted on my website.”

“Thanks I will check it out.”

“i want to go back. i sprained my ankle coming out of the bull field a couple years ago and i still need some revenge on Big Bald.
i'll be in cancun the week before though, so i'll have to work it to go, but im really gonna try. i bet that's a perfect time of year for that area.”

“Keep me in mind too Karo.. Would luv to go back and do that area again.”

“It's a great area. I've hiked it twice. The biggest concern for vandalism is where the AT crosses HWY 19E. A shuttle from here to Carvers is maybe a 45 minute drive. The roads are CURVY!!!

Great camping spots are little hump mountain and the north downslope side of big hump mtn. Big hump mtn itself isn't too good since cattle graze here. Lots of poop. If you hike on another 1/2 mile you'll be greeted with a large field that just begs for a nerf football.”

“I love this area of the AT,I dont' know when is the best time to go in the springs when the flowers are in bloom or in the fall when all the trees look like bowls of cranberries rangeing from yellows to deep burgendies...
Wish I could come along that weekend...but will be at the beach.
rox”

“I have a real temptation to take a week off work, and just go in at Hughes Gap, and hike all the way to Hwy 321.

I absolutely love that area.. and I need another long hike. There is something about doing 35-50 miles that really clears your soul.”

“I have wanted to see Roan Mt. at peak blooming season for a long time now.Sounds like at great trip.Also it's me birthday weekend.What better way to celebrate.
TD if you do decide to do the long trek and want some company maybe I could get a few extra days off. That would be cool. : )”

“Well, since Karo posted it.. I'd like to synch my days somehow, so I pass them along the way.. (He's taking some newbies, so I know they will be slow.)

but ya.. I want to go in back at Hughes Gap.. and go all the way to Hwy 321 -- that's at least 40 miles -- but I bet I could do it in 3 days.. but might take four, if I can take the time off.. (bad knee and all.. plus I'm getting old.. )..

I have been to Hughes before.. but it was my terminus. East from Hughes is the shelter that is the HIGHEST anywhere on the AT. It's a #&%!$in climb tho.. 3000' in 2 miles I think.”

“Always a great place to go any time of year... wish I wasn't working...but then if I wasn't I couldnt' hike...hmmm which is worse...”

“If none of the TTA members want to do this trip, I will try to go with ya'll. I think my surgery has greatly improved my breathing. And I have lost even more weight! I quess being on a liquid diet had some advantages, LOL. I will try to get out this week for a dayhike if you and trekkinggirl are interested. Maybe Wednesday or Thursday?”

“Glad you are doing well Karo..Man I haven't seen you in a long time.I have to work M,T,W..off Thursday but my lawnmower in broken &%$&%$..hope to be able to hike but I'll have to play it by ear.Broken things just drive me up a wall. lol : )”

“karo, how DID your surger go? I was thinking about you the other day...”

“The surgery went fine, it is the recovery I am having trouble with. Just now eating soft food. I probably lost some more weight! Really tho, I am getting better every day. Just still some blood and congestion at night and in the mornings. Not ready for a trip just yet, I will give it a couple of weeks. Thanks for asking, I could feel the prayers and good vibes!”

“I am checking with a friend I know in that area to get the guys name who does shuttles.. (Bob somebody.. and he runs a llama ranch or a hostel.. that starts with a K).. there is also a new B&B there on Hwy 19E.. so that might help us parking wise..


Anyways.. I'm thinking of adding two days to Karo's trip, and hiking all the way from Hwy 321 do Hughes gap.. taking 4 days or so to do it.

There's a state park over on the 321 side.. might work out for a place to meet.”

“I thought I would bump this trip up. I am thinking about doing it on my quest to bag the Appalachian sixers, plus it is a great mountain. I am thinking about doing Sodsfest which is the weekend after this one and then there is the Black Mtn trip which is the weekend of July 4th. That would be 3 long distance trips 3 weeks in a row. Plus I have to see if I'm not on call that weekend. Right now I'm a maybe.”

“as no one has done a follow up here the mans name is in fact Bob Peoples and he and his wife run the Kinkora hiking hostel near Hampton TN. PH (423) 725-4409 which is not far from the Roans. The last I heard he still did shuttles. I have been through this area on several occasions and have yet to have any problem leaving my vehicle at Carvers Gap. Also I have completed the sixer program but would like to join in for another project i am working on. Is this still going? solid gameplan yet? Let me know...thanks”

“wow, you did all the sixers? way cool!!! How long did it take?

Which was your favorate?
What is your new project?”

“I put this thread up, but I have never been there myself. Towndawg has some info on the area that I hoped to read up on. Plans are not concrete but I had hoped we could hike some of the AT thru the area around Roan. If anyone has any ideas Please post them here.”

“all total it took me 4 years...however much of that was redoing most of it because i kept my data on computer and it crashed. enjoyed it so much i redid those areas by different routes so was pretty much able to hit all the peaks by all the routes. most fav. i guess would be all of them but the best part was in the planning..anyway i have all the time in the world and i know others may not...limiting there time available...i need to get to roan, roan high bluff, grassy ridge, and hump....fig. if i base out of carvers i can at worst use the cabin shelter on roan and the barn out towards roan and day hike it to those that i need from either of those...but its not my trip so ill leave it to whomever to solidify the plan and if it goes where i need maybe i can join along....bottom line is fig. what you want to see , the time available and plan around that....2 "dirty" socks”

“correction to my last.....the barn out towards Hump....proof read idiot......lol”

“How much mileage, elevation gain/loss would that be, I am open to any suggestions. I know Towndawg wants to do some pretty big miles hisself. Maybe we can get together on a great trip. It really doesn't mattter to me, I just want to go!”

“I like miles and elevation gain. I get off on the hikes with big climbs.

My favorate sixer so far is LeConte. I like the blacks a whole lot too.”

“Karo are you working on bagging the southern sixers? You should come with us to Mt Mitchell in July. It's only an hour further for you than the smokies. It's a great hike.”

“and check out the Plott Balsam Sixers in Sept to karo.”

“yeah, Roam and I are putting together trips to nail all of the sixers.”

“A great storyteller once told me an unbelievable tale about a group of people who set out to conquer Roan mountain…..the journey left them forever changed. Hell, I’ve been intrigued every since.”

“care to share the tale”

“I kinda breezed through this....so am I understanding that the peak for the Rhododendran are around the 19th? I was planning on going up to see them next month but was unsure of the date to visit.”

“the longhorns on top of hump were AWESOME! that was a cool experience walking right by them, and hump mt has been one of my favorite parts of the bottom quarter of the AT, along with grayson. btw, in case no one mentioned it, the AT goes straight to the summit of roan. theres a shelter about .7 (i believe) north of the summit on the AT. it was a chilly rainy day the day i went over, and i did not enjoy it despite the beautiful and rugged scenery. i fell down 7 times from jane bald to stan murray shelter, once more on the way to overmountain, and got leg cramps in my sleeping bag at overmountain. but the view and the spacious shelter made it all better. you can see little hump in the distance and half-mile views of the valley below. its majorly breath-taking”

“Several years ago I met a group of hikers at LeConte shelter, and in that group was a hiker who went by the trail name “TownDawg”.”

“I want to go visit Roan Mtn. in July. I have a partner who can show me where some stuff a whole lot more rare than rhododendron blooms. I am psyched! It is gonna be awesome! Think I'll start looking now for where I'll camp. I want to get me a warming filter for photography before I go.”

“OH boy stix..I can tell just from the intro that the tale will be a good one...continue...”

“Roan Mountain.. looks like it is definitely a GO for me... will be in Yellow Mt Shelter Saturday night.. Roan high Shelter Friday night.. will push out trip a couple extra days.. try to get in a 4 day 50 miler.

Base camp for me will by campground at Hwy 321. Opening day will be shuttling back as far as I can go, and still make Roan High Shelter by Friday night.”

“I'll do the Roan High shelter on fri. nite also....wing it from there. Prob. get there fri am and do what i need to at the bluff.”

“stix: hehe... I am trying to figure out who this is... WE met at LeConte?..”

“If anyone has some plans already.. as to where you are going to basecamp.. who you are using to shuttle.. what days you are planning to hike.. let's talk.. I am thinking that I will hike Hughes Gap to Hwy 321... but I might back out farther than Hughes.. go in even farther South..

Evergreen/Trekkingirl/Karo: What days are you planning on being there? How many miles?”

“Hey Deezy... you should ride up with this 2socks guy.. y'all are both in NC.”

“Hey TownDawg..I can be there Thursday thru Monday.I would like to do as many miles as I can..Sounds like a great trip. : )”

“koo, Trekkingirl.. if Chil36 goes.. maybe we can all carpool.. my friend John from Georgia called me.. he is definitely going.. and is taking thursday thru Monday off.. so I am thinking right now.. that I need to plan a good fifty miler..

:)..

Glad to hear you are going. I will need a good nurse when I pass out trying to climb the Roan Mastiff. Do you give sore muscle massages?”

“If I remember TownDawg, at LeConte you and the group you were with made some ridiculous claim about climbing up the side of a mountain. Yeaaaaaaaaa! Anyway, since you all are thinking a fifty miler, I thought I’d throw this out for group consumption.

Thursday- Put in at USFS 320 @ Deep Gap
Thursday Night- Cherry Gap Shelter 3.5 mi.

Friday night- Roan Mountain Shelter 13.0 mi.

Saturday Night- Apple House Shelter 13.5 mi.

Sunday Night- Moreland Gap Shelter 13.5

Monday Morning- out @ Dennis Cove Rd. 6.0 mi.
Shuttle Back to Deep Gap

Total = 49.5 mi.”

“Stix: You met us when we did Porters Creek Manway??..”

“Let me look over my maps, Stix.. I will get back to you.. the 13.5 up and over Big Hump.. all the way to Apple House.. (not to mention it is RIGHT by the road).. sounds like too much.”

“I am a nurse TownDawg..I don't give massages.. but I do give bedbaths.. ; ) lol”

“it appears that the trip to roan is coming together and that the Roan Mtn shelter is the gathering point on fri nite. For those that are after sixers i plan on getting to all of them and if you could be at carvers gap parking on say fri am that would be great. from there on sat i'm headed towards grassy ridge then on to the barn for a trip sun am up to hump and return to carvers say sun afternoon....thats if all works out....lol”