Day 31, Ash Gap to U.S. 19E

Near the top, I passed the site of the Cloudland Hotel. The foggy conditions made it difficult to see much of the area. I stopped to look around anyway, but I already knew there wasn't much left of the hotel to see.

That's too was disappointing because the hotel must have been a grand site in such a remote location.

When I caught up to Haze's friend, Dave, I hiked with him for a bit until we reached Carver's Gap. Haze had hiked ahead of us and was waiting for Dave at the road when we arrived.

After crossing the road, the section of trail was very familiar to me. I had already walked this part of the AT at least ten times, making it the section I've hiked more often than any other on the AT.

Just beyond the road at Carver's Gap, the trail entered a stand of trees. I've heard these trees was planted by a researcher who wanted to test if trees could grow on balds. Some biologists thought they could not grow here, and that’s why so many mountaintops in the southeast are bald.

Obviously, the trees grew just fine, proving that theory was wrong. Nowadays, goats are sometimes brought up here in the summer to keep encroaching trees and shrubs from overtaking the mountaintop. This is part of an effort to maintain the balds in their current condition.

On the other side of the stand of the trees, the trail took me up Round Bald. This was the first in a string of peaks with 360-degree views.

The clouds were gradually lifting and the view was improving, which was perfect timing for me. There would be distant views continuously for the next two miles.

I never get tired of hiking over these balds. The experience is always different, largely because the weather is never the same. I've been here in warm, sunny weather and in snow that is blowing sideways at 40 miles an hour.

Apparently I am not the only person who likes this spot. Besides the thru-hikers, there were several day hikers out today.

The trail next led me to Jane Bald, which stood at an elevation of 5,820 feet. This bald has an unusual story – or rather, more than one story – behind its name.

One story says a woman named Jane died here of milk sickness. That's the same disease that killed Abraham Lincoln's mother.

Milk sickness was common in the early 1800s. It was the result of drinking poisoned milk. The bad milk came from cows that had eaten white snakeroot found in their grazing fields.

Another story says a woman survived a night on this bald without any protection from the weather.

Pick whichever story you find more interesting.

Their teacher was Mrs. Katie Sword, who told me she brought the students here for a lesson on the Appalachian Trail. Coming here gave the children a chance to experience a little of the trail, meet thru-hikers, and hand out trail magic.

Mrs. Sword explained that she participated in a program taught by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy called "Trail to Every Classroom," which included a two-week workshop at Harpers Ferry, W.Va.

The trail made a short descent from Jane Bald, then took a left turn instead of going over Grassy Ridge Bald. That bald was the highest of the three in this chain.

As the trail headed down the other side I noticed a lot of trees were cut off at the top. I didn't remember seeing them this way in February. I guessed the area had been hit by a bad storm this spring, which snapped off the tops of the trees.

Winters up on these balds are longer and harsher because of the elevation. That's why trees are slower to green up in the spring. Right now, the trees were still mostly bare, but I saw a few flowering viburnum that lent some color to the scenery.

After circling part of the way around Grassy Ridge Bald, the trail dropped toward Stan Murray Shelter. I stopped there for lunch.

The shelter honors Murray, who was active in the movement to get the National Trails System Act passed by Congress and signed into law. He was also instrumental in efforts to move the trail across the Roan Highlands.

It's remarkable to me that for many years, the trail didn't pass over these balds. It is certainly a much more rich experience because of the route it now takes.

I have only hiked this section once before in the month of May, and it might be my favorite time of year to be here. Though the trees haven't leafed out, there is a lot of color. The understory in the forest turns green before the trees do. Wildflowers are abundant, thanks to the added sunshine.

After leaving the shelter, the trail went through thick woods and followed a route without much elevation change. It was a pleasant walk.

Trail maintainers have made several major trail reroutes of this section in the last few years. The changes were largely intended to reduce problems with erosion.

Despite taking time out to talk to the students and later stopping for lunch, I felt I was keeping the pace I needed to reach Mountain Harbour for dinner. I arrived at Yellow Mountain Gap at about 1 p.m. This was the junction of another trail, the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, which commemorates an important event in this area’s history.

A patriot militia made of several hundred frontiersmen passed this way in late September 1780 as they headed to the Battle of Kings Mountain, S.C. They had gathered in northeastern Tennessee and southwestern Virginia, then crossed the mountains at this gap before joining more patriots from North Carolina.

The members of the militia were known as the Overmountain Men because they came from Overmountain settlements, the name given to land they leased or purchased from Cherokee Indians.

The Overmountain Men were already antagonistic to the British before the Revolutionary War started because the Crown had ordered them to leave this area. No government would support them or protect them against Indians who disputed the land purchases.

Among the citizen soldiers of the Overmountain Men were two founding fathers who went on to become the first governors of their states, John Sevier of Tennessee and Isaac Shelby of Kentucky. Also in the group was John Crockett, father of Davy Crockett.

The contingent of patriots battled the British, who were aided by about 1000 loyalists, on October 7, 1780.

The battle was hard-fought on difficult terrain. At the end of the 65-minute battle, the Overmountain Men gained a decisive victory.

The fight was important to the struggle for independence and today is considered one of the turning points of the American Revolution. Following their defeat, the British pulled back from the area and never again attempted to mount a significant incursion into the western frontier.

When I arrived at the gap, I turned to follow a short side trail to Overmountain Shelter, which was originally a barn. It was converted for hiker use in the early 1980s.

A number of blog posts about this shelter mention that it was used as a location set for the 1989 movie "Winter People," starring Kirk Russell and Kelly McGinnis.

None of my research could prove that to be true. It appears the filmmakers intended to shoot here but then moved to a different location.

I've never seen the film, but a trailer for it shows no scenes at the barn, just a lot of dreadful acting.

Roger Ebert gave "Winter People" one star, saying it was "the kind of movie where you sit there asking yourself questions that apparently never occurred to the filmmakers."

The view from Overmountain Shelter is considered to be one of the best of any from a shelter on the AT. It's hard for me to dispute that without hiking the rest of the trail and visiting all of the other shelters. Still, I knew from experience this view was definitely a spot to enjoy the view across a lovely valley.

As soon as I left the shelter and Yellow Mountain Gap, the trail began a long climb up Little Hump, the first of two magnificent mountains.

There were many open views along this route. I stopped to turn around often to look behind me. I could see the shelter, plus the entirety of Roan Mountain and the route I had crossed today. The three balds were on the left. Roan High Knob appeared as a darker peak in my view.

By now, the damp and gloomy morning had finally yielded to a much more pleasant afternoon. Though clouds remained, they didn't block the sun as before. That helped the temperature climb to the low-70s.

A wind was blowing, but it wasn't strong enough to impede my ascent up the mountain. That has sometimes been the case when I've hiked here before.

After cresting the summit of Little Hump, the trail made a turn toward some trees. As I started the turn, I got my best look so far of Big Hump, the next mountain in my path.

The trail then dropped down into a saddle between the two mountains. I stopped there at a spring to get water before beginning the approach to Big Hump.

The next time I saw Big Hump was when I arrived at Bradley Gap. And what a view it was. As many times as I had seen the mountain from this vantage point, it had never looked as gorgeous as this.

People sometimes comment they expect to hear Julie Andrews singing the “Sound of Music” as they walk across these mountains. The weather conditions would have to be good for them to think that. I was grateful today was a good weather day. I've been here when the conditions were miserable.

The climb up the 5.550-foot mountain was a long and steady test of endurance. My knees began to complain, but I pushed on.

There were a couple spots that can fool a hiker into thinking the summit is near, but from experience I knew to ignore those and not slow down.

The top of the mountain was completely exposed. There was nothing here to stop the wind, but that made the experience more invigorating.

I remained at the top for several minutes to enjoy the views from all around me.

Before long, though, I decided I needed get moving again if I hoped to reach the Mountain Harbour food truck before it closed. I wasn't sure what time it closed and worried it could be 6 p.m.

The descent on the other side of the mountain was easy, gradual, and open, allowing for more views of distant mountains.

Along the way I walked by what I thought was a copperhead snake. It was lying motionless in the open, just off the trail, and seemingly unaware of my presence. I didn't make any effort to change that.

(Note: After this trail report was first published, a thru-hiker from the Class of 1994 named Derek Porter pointed out to me the snake I saw was not a copperhead. He identified it as a non-venomous corn snake, which is also known as a red rat snake. The coloring of these snakes is often similar.)

Once the trail returned to trees on the backside of Big Hump, it became rocky for a long stretch. Some of the rocks were loose and wobbly. Though I was familiar with this section and expected the rocks, they were an annoyance. I didn't want anything to slow me down.

The time was now 4:15 p.m., and I still had nearly five miles to go to reach Mountain Harbour. I was still counting on getting to that food truck before it closed, but I feared the trail was reducing my chances of that.

Just before reaching an open meadow called Doll Flats, the trail finally became less rocky. I turned on my afterburners through this section because I knew another section of rocks would be a short distance ahead. I wanted to make up time wherever I could in my desperate dash down the mountain to the food truck.

A sign marking the state line stood at the edge of the meadow. After zig-zagging between Tennessee and North Carolina since the Smokies, the trail was now leaving North Carolina for good. The next 75 miles would all be in Tennessee.

The trail now began a steeper descent and made several switchbacks, again along a rocky section of the trail. There were several ledges and massive boulders here as the trail continued its long descent.

The distance from the top of Big Hump to U.S. 19E was nearly 5.5 miles, with a descent of 2,700 feet.

Where the trail bottomed out in a cove, it passed through a place with a historical connection to the top of Roan Mountain. The connection is John T. Wilder, who built Cloudland Hotel.

This area was another of the tycoon’s many enterprises. Though today there is no clear evidence here of the iron ore mine he owned here, it’s obvious this flat area has been modified. Unnatural mounds appeared in several places, and the slopes of the mountain looked like they had been dug. Nature was taking over the cove, but hadn't yet obscured all of the remnants of the mine.

Other enterprises had operated here in later years, and signs of those were also mostly covered by trees and other vegetation. Among the activities here were a rock quarry and an apple orchard, but Wilder's name remains attached to the area. It is still called Wilder Mine Hollow.