Roan Mountain: AT Northbound

The Highlands of Roan

Grassy Ridge Bald on Roan Mountain
Can you spot Clif?

Background: 

Acting as a natural border between Tennessee and North Carolina, Roan Mountain is a beautiful "massif," a compact grouping of mountains of about 20 miles in length that hold some of the highest elevations in all of Appalachia. The mountain is the highest point on the Unaka range, reaching 6285 feet of elevation at Roan High Bluff in the state park. The name of the Unaka range derives from the Cherokee word "Unega," meaning white. The Appalachian Trail traverses the range and is considered one of the most beautiful sections of the entire trail.

This area is rich in history from Cherokee settlement, European exploration, tourism and expeditions of botanists due to the unique and ancient geology of the area (including the famous John Bartram). It is said that the Cherokees waged a great war on this mountain, leaving the rhododendrons crimson and the mountains bald. Daniel Boone is also said to have ridden into the area on his reddish/"Roan" horse, to which some accredit the origins of the name of the mountain. 

Roan Mountain State Park holds the largest natural garden of rhododendrons in the world and the longest stretch of bald mountains throughout the entire Appalachian chain. There is much speculation and little agreement over the origins and nature of the baldness of these mountains, theories speculating great ancient "megaherbivors," such as the Wooly Mammoth and the Mastadon grazed the areas and that behavior eventually were followed by more modern species such as Bison and Elk. Another theory places the origins on native american agriculture clearing. Modern experiments in planting Fir trees on the mountain tops have shown little expansion. Along with most of all of Appalachia, this area is very, very old, with oceanic rock dating back nearly 400 million years ago in the Paleozoic era.

"The Roan," the local name for the massif, is a meadow in the sky of thin air and landscapes that is often compared to a Canadian climate. You can see the name influenced in the communities surrounding this great mountain as well as the scotts-irish influence on the areas architecture. 

To hike this mountain, you must park on the border of the Pisgah/Cherokee NF and NC/TN at Carver's Gap located north of Bakersville, NC. In the warm months, you can access parking into Roan Mountain State Park on the Tennessee side. On this day, Clif & I hiked northbound on the AT to experience the grassy, bald mountains of Roan that reward panoramic 360 degree views as far as the eye can see to from the grassy plains of Tennessee to the Piedmont of North Carolina. This is absolutely on of the most breathtaking hikes I have ever experienced and cannot wait to hike into the spruce-fir forest of the State Park on my next visit. 

Hike Report:

This was one of those hikes where, immediately arriving at the trailhead, you second guess what you're doing. Not because of the perceived difficulty of the hike, but because of the gusts of wind that had to have exceeded 20-30 miles per her and the temperatures probably only reaching into the mid-50s all day. Fortunately I had prepared for less-than-ideal hiking weather with a fleece and windbreaker and Clif doesn't even know the difference with his fur so we ended up making out alright. You start moving and the body heat catches up to the frigid. 

As stated above, this section of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail is one of the most beautiful regions of the entire corridor. I ran into a few different thru-hikers throughout the day at AT shelters and talked a bit of their travels. If you are hiking the AT from Maine-Georgia and you have made it this far, you are most definitely in it for the long haul and it was a very cool experience to meet some of these characters on the trail. Here is a very cool documentary I saw recently on thru hiker culture. 

Anyways, the morning light was with us as we embarked on the trail up to the top of the grassy balds of the east side of the Roan Highlands. The trail starts off fairly manicured with stair features, and the trail made of crushed rock. To the left was a breathtaking view as well as to the right. The only other place I have hiked in southern Appalachia that can even come close to this hiking experience was hiking the Great Balsams near black balsam bald, overlooking the French Broad River Valley and the beautiful natural features of the Pisgah-Ranger including looking glass rock, shining rock, etc.

The white blaze of the AT

On top, you are rewarded with views of the northeast geological features of southern Appalachia, from the ski resorts of Sugar Mountain to the gorges of Wilson & Linville, the Catawba River Valley and the Grandfather district of the Pisgah. Also the grassy plains of Tennessee were unobscured, something I do not get to experience often on the hikes I enjoy on the North Carolina side of the Appalachian chain. 

Plumes of smoke could be seen from the South Mountain wildfire at Chestnut Knob

High Country & Grandfather Mountain to the North

Looking to the northwest into Tennessee

Cornelious Rex Peake operated the highest farm east of the Rockies on top of Grassy Ridge at this location back in his day. He was a lover of the Roan, as his memorial states "no one was better versed on the Roan and it's people." He lived from 1887-1962.

Here is a quote about the man from another plaque nearby;

"From a poem to his memory

He took his last trip

Up the mountain today

Friends softly the way...

I cannot think that he is there

My eyes will lift to find him where

The wind blows free

In grass and tree

'Bury me top of the Roan," he said

And though they tell me he is dead

There's doubt in every tone

We laid him halfway to the top,

But somehow I think he didn't stop.

He's still on his own adventurous way...

Unafraid, confident, searching, and gay."

~Sarah Cannon Spell~

~March, 1964~

Rest in peace, Rex!

Below is the first of two AT shelters that I hiked through. AT shelters are placed at most 8 miles from point to point, however on this stretch of the trail they were more prevalent. At each AT shelter, you are to log your travels for a variety of reasons, most importantly to have an accurate time and date of you're location in case anything were to happen to you on the trail.

Right?

The second shelter I hiked upon marked the turnaround point for our out-and-back hike and was very impressive by any means. It was a retrofitted barn situated in the Yellow Mountain Gap, about 7 miles from the trailhead over Roan.

Towards the end of our out-and-back hike at the end of the day near sunset, the smoky/cloudy atmosphere above

We departed this hike at around 9 and got back at around 4, and probably hiked around 14 miles total. It was well into Fall here, I even noticed ice patches on the trail. God bless those thru-hikers and their spirit, it truly is amazing what they do, it had to get well below freezing at night.

Driving down the mountain and into Bakersville, a small Appalachian town with a population of 484 and median income of just under $20,000. Of course, this is Trump country! I saw signs everywhere, as I usually do in the mountains. This is the people that the political and economic forces of globalization and the widening wealth & skills gap forgot about. The more time I spend in Appalachia, the more I understand how the election went the way it did.

Anyways, at a small restaurant in Bakersville "MiMi's," I had myself a burger and fries for just under $5. Fox News was on the TV and the amount of camouflage was impressive. Wearing my boots, blue jeans, a red wind breaker and a US National Whitewater Center hat, I went to pay for my food at the register, to which the cashier asked me rhetorically, "You aren't from around here are ya'?"

I laughed and asked her, "How could ya tell?" She just smiled at me. All these little towns are so interesting to me, the people and the culture. It's half the fun of hiking if you ask me!

The Roan Mastiff & Bakersville to the south

I wouldn't rule out a partial thru-hike for Clif & I before we make the western move to bigger mountains after I graduate school. It would be an amazing way to end my chapter here in North Carolina, perhaps where time and opportunity meet we would be able to plan such an adventure over the summer. We've probably hiked around 25 miles of the AT so far, cumulatively and it definitely keeps me coming back.

I look up at my map of the mountains most all of Southern Appalachia and it amazes me how after every mountain we climb, it seems to get smaller and smaller. I'm getting pretty good at naming off peaks from afar and while there are still many mountains to climb, I don't get same feeling I used to get when I was younger, thinking the mountains seemed to go on forever with endless gorges and untouched areas of vast wilderness. It's a similar feeling of being new to a city or university, what seems so big and endless and confusing to navigate eventually turns out to be not so big and fairly manageable to get to know. And before you know it you might want a new adventure.