I’ve been wanting to get up to the Roan Mountains for some
time now. This area, on the North Carolina/Tennessee border is reputed to be
one of the most beautiful areas in the southeastern US. Some friends at work
had been talking about going for a hike and we decided a few weeks ago that
this would be our destination. Everybody backed out of the hike except for me
and my friend Burke and so this morning I drove up to Johnson City where I met
Burke at the mall for the drive up to Roan Mountain.
The drive was non-eventful until we made our way through the
town of Roan Mountain and started to make our way up the mountain. There was a
bicycle race going on and on the narrow, winding road it was difficult to
safely pass the riders. If I were in charge of putting on the race I would
think a closed road would be a lot safer. Eventually we made our way to Carvers
Gap where we parked and hit the trail. Our trail was the Appalachian trail and
it was my first time on this section of it since my thru-hike over 13 years
ago.
The trail has been greatly improved since my thru-hike. Gone
are the deep, muddy ruts that passed for a trail. The ruts have been replaced
by a sturdy gravel footpath.
The gravel footpath wound its way into and out of
a thick stand of spruces and into the grassy bald area that the Roans are known
for. There was some rhododendron lining the trail here and there as well. The
blooming rhododendron is one of the highlights of the trail, but unfortunately
we were about 2 weeks too early for the display.
We slowly made our way up Round Bald and Jane Bald.
We took
a break on Jane Bald
and then made our way further up the trail. At a junction
we left the AT and took a well-defined user trail up to Grassy Ridge Bald.
It
was a beautiful hike on the ridge with lots of great views
and fewer people
than on the AT. We passed the summit area and followed the faint path to a
cliff with a nice overlook where we ate a snack. After our short break we
headed back to the summit area where Burke took my photo
and then we headed
back to the Appalachian Trail for the return hike to the car.
It was a great hike. It almost reminded me of hiking out
west in the some of the high alpine meadows in Colorado and northern New
Mexico. I will definitely be returning to the Roans, especially since 3 of the
summits in the range are part of the South Beyond 6,000. Grassy Ridge Bald is
one of these SB6K peaks, but the route I took today was not an approved one,
and so I will have to do it over again. That’s okay with me as it is one of the
most beautiful spots in the eastern United States and I’m looking forward to
returning soon.
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