This past weekend my daughter, BonePile & I enjoyed some beautiful scenery along the A.T. at Carvers Gap near the Roan Highlands.
This was originally going to be a 14 mile one-way trip from Carvers Gap to 19E via the Harbour Mountain B&B shuttle, but the forecast was iffy (20's & possible snow), so we played it safe by having our bail out option a little closer.
Day 1 was overcast & windy but at least we were dry - it rained the whole drive there.
The views on this trail are tremendous & start out right away, with a climb up Round & then Jane bald. We continued on to Overmountain shelter, also referred to as the "Barn".
We setup our hammocks near the spring, which was a bit quieter than the shelter which was at full capacity with a church group & a one southbound thru hiker.
A couple of first time hammockers continued on to Little Hump - we thought of them that night as they didn't know about insulation below the hammock - it hit 34* that night with 30mph wind gusts.
I had to spend a bit of time oggling BonePile's new ZPack Arc Blast backpack. I think he dropped 2 lbs weight (but made up for it in extra food he carried).
Day 2 started with some hot apple cinnamon cider and hot chocolate at the Barn, then up the trail to Stan Murray shelter for a break. We continued on the trail gaining elevation until we topped out on Grassy Ridge - a nice side trail with 360* views. This day was sunny and the views grand. The leaves were just past peak, but looked great down in the valleys from our high vantage point.
Definitely a trip I would recommend to others. I'm envious this is MedicineMan's backyard !
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