This edition of AT Day Hikes is at one of the more renowned
sections of the
Appalachian Trail (AT),
the
Roan Highlands. If you have ever
picked up a book on the
AT or most photo books of the southern Appalachians and
you will find at least one photo of some part of this hike. June is the most popular month for this part
of the
AT because the
Catawba Rhododendron comes into bloom, but cool summers,
fall leaves and cross-country skiing it is a popular spot year round.
The funny thing about hiking at the
Roan Highlands it wasn’t
my first time. Back in the early 90’s Matt Aloisio, Glen Yelton & I hiked
up to
Round Bald. Best that can be said and I am only speaking for myself, I
might have been slightly under the influence and not totally in control of my faculties.
Anyway, when I got to
Carvers Gap and later
Round Bald, as I would later tell
both Matt and Glen, I didn’t remember any of it from back in the day.
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| Entrance to the state park. |
So with that said lets back and speak about the 12 mile
route up to
Carvers Gap.
To get to the
Roan Highlands, from Tennessee, one first has to reach the Town of
Roan Mountain.
The small mountain town of just over 1,000 is the hometown of my friend Glen
(whom I mentioned above). I have been up there a number of times, I usually go
to Glen’s families Fourth of July picnic most years (it is a lot of fun).
Before getting to the mountain one first passes through
Roan Mountain State Park. It has a lot of enmities including a visitor center (which
I was going to stop at on the way back, but it closed five minutes before I got
there). Since I have already mentioned this in my blog on
Stone Mountain I like
Grist Mills (future blog?) and there is one here.
Continuing on Tennessee Highway 143 one
motors up
Roan Mountain. There are a number of small overlooks on the way up
and as can be seen by some of these pictures are worth a quick or long look,
because they are worth it.
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| Vista from overlook. |
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| Looking toward Unaka Mountain. |
One of the many things that stands out about
Carvers Gap,
unlike some other gaps, is you can’t miss it. First, there is a huge sign,
which tells you that one is pretty high-up at 5,512 feet. Second,
Carvers
like a lot of the
AT in this area straddles the NC/TN state line, making it
part of the
Cherokee and
Pisgah National Forest. I do think it is interesting
that the
North Carolina sign is much bigger than the one for
Tennessee. Another
thing one will find here is plenty of parking. There is parking right off the
road with room for about 8-10 cars (
Appalachian Trail Parking). Then on the first right is a
lot with ample parking for 15 or more cars. Also at this lot is a vaulted
toilet, however on the day I was there, it was closed for the Government
Shut-down that happened in October. Another victim of the shutdown was the road
up to the
Rhododendron Gardens it was also closed, that was a seasonal closure.
A small sign and steps point the way to the
AT that heads up
toward
Round Bald. An interesting thing about this small sign that adorns a post
at the start of the trail is it gives distances to certain spots on
the trail,
but one, while still visible, has been scratched out and it is for the Apple House
Shelter. For those who don’t know this shelter was just a half-mile from U.S.
19 at the end of this
AT section. The shelter had seemed to have become a party
place for local youths, so in 2012 it was removed.
 |
| Some of the ancient boulders. |
At the start of this hike another thing one notices is the
AT itself. In most places (that I have been on) it is a well maintained dirt
path. Now there are spots that are rock (like
Blood Mountain) and it does
occupy sidewalk in
Hot Springs, NC, but mostly a dirt path. Here on the other
hand it is a wide gravel path that winds through a grove of pine trees on the
northwestern slope. These trees have as I heard give this spot an “other worldly”
feel. This part of the
AT is called the Woodland Path and even more interesting
than the pine trees are a group of rocks and boulders with an extraordinary
history. The rock from here back to the summit of
Roan High
Knob is dated at
1.8 billion years old. The Appalachian Mountains date back to 1.1 billion
years. The going theory for the discrepancy in age is that this strata of rock
is that it was originally part of Amazonia (what is now of Brazil) collided
with ancient North America and this part was left behind and was shoved on top
of younger rock.
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| Clouds start rolling in. |
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| Some of Dr. Brown's trees. |
When the
AT exits the pine trees on the final approach to
Round Bald you will find another relic of the past, this time man made. In the
1930’s Dr. D.M. Brown of Tennessee State Teachers College (now known as
East Tennessee State University, ETSU for short) went to study the rapidly
disappearing forest on Roan Mountain. He also, like many, was intrigued by the
natural balds. The stretch of
grassy balds that this hike covers, called the
Grassy Ridge, is the longest stretch in the Appalachian Range. What fascinated
Brown and many others is the origin of
So, it is easy to see why
these natural occurring balds are of interest to many. All one has to do is
look at Roan High Knob and it is covered in fir trees and then see the mostly
treeless summit of
Round Bald, which is at a lower elevation (by 459 feet).
these
grassy balds remains a mystery.
None of the
balds in the Southern Appalachian Range are of
the alpine variety,
like
Mount Washington in
New Hampshire and they seem to pre-date human
habitation.
Anyway, to solve the mystery, Brown planted a group of fur
trees on
Round Bald and fenced them in to see how they would grow. While the
seedlings grew to maturity, none ever produced viable seedlings. They are still
there, but the trees are slowly dying off. Another feature of the
Roan Highlands became evident as I approached the summit of
Round Bald, the weather.
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| Mount Mitchell in the distance. |
The forecast for the day was mostly sunny (with 10% chance
of rain) and that was the case all the way too
Carvers Gap, the sun was shining
when I parked the car. However, when I exited the trees onto the open area of
Round Bald a layer of clouds started rolling in. By the time I got to the
summit of
Round Bald, the top of
Roan High Knob was like the
Pink Floyd album
“
Obscured by Clouds.” Still at this time one can easily spot the Highest
Mountain East of the Mississippi,
Mount Mitchell.
You know when you have reached the summit of
Round Bald
because there is an old sign marking the 5,826 foot high point. There is
another interesting marker on the spacious summit, it is a memorial marker for
Pierce “Batman” Templeton, I don’t know the story, but it is a cool
tribute…peace “Batman.”
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| "Batman" Memorial. |
Well, I still had more hiking to do and one of the good
things about the
Roan Highlands is that one’s next destination is visible in
the distance, the peaks of
Jane Bald and
Grassy Ridge Bald. Like the trip up to
Round Bald the decent was pleasant and flattens out at Engine Gap. It got its
name from train engine that transported lumber from here to lumber mills in
North Carolina, a name from the dark past of the mountain.
Another name that comes from a tragedy is the name of the
next peak…
Jane Bald. It is said that the mountain is named for Jane Cook who cared
for her sister Harriett, who fell ill to milk sickness, on the bald. Jane would
get help for her sister, but it was all in vein because she would pass away
days later. Remembering this, the hike up is a pleasant climb and when the
summit is reached it is a much small area than
Round Bald, with more
vegetation.
 |
| The AT-Grassy Ridge junction. |
That brings up an interesting program that’s currently
underway on the balds. The
Roan Highlands are under assault for evasive
non-native vegetation, including Canadian Blackberries. In an effort to keep
down these destructive plants a cool program has been introduced to the balds
and that is
Baatany Goat Project. These angora goats, donated in 2008 as a “retirement
plan” inhabit the stretch from
Jane Bald to
Grassy Ridge Bald. According to
their website and the information I have seen it
seems to be working. Unfortunately
for me since I was there in October the goats were not on the mountain they
summer on the balds from June to September.
As one continues on the
AT about half-mile one comes to a
fork. The
AT continues to the left toward Yellow Mountain Gap,
Hump &
Little Hump Mountains before ending this section at U.S. 19E. My path took me
right toward the summit of
Grassy Ridge Bald. This section was probably the
most difficult. The trail is a 500 foot climb through rhododendron and
alder
brush. But, once through this you come out on a large grassy bald with scattered
rhododendron and spruce trees, but very spacious. It is said that the view is spectacular
from here and one can see
Grandfather Mountain,
Linville Gorge and the
Black Mountains.
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| Some of the cool clouds. |
However, as I mentioned earlier the clouds had stated to
roll in when I was
Round Bald, but by this point they had gotten noticeable
thicker. The
Roan High Knob was total engulfed, and while
Grassy Ridge was
above 6,000 feet (6,165 to be exact) the clouds seemed to float right over the
top and splashing into the valley. While I didn’t get to experience the full
beauty of the vista, the clouds eerie quality was really cool. At the summit
there is a plaque dedicated to local farmer Cornelius Rex Peake, oh and for
fans of this blog (LOL) everyone knows I love U.S. Geological Markers and there
was one here for me to enjoy.
 |
| Cornelius Rex Peake plaque. |
 |
| U.S. Geological Marker. |
As I made my way down to a rocky outcrop, there were four
others already at the spot. Two were
AT hikers and the older couple was out on
a day hike. I ask about the outcrop on a ridge at the edge of the bald. I was
told it was about a mile there and back to where we were, so I headed
southeast toward this spot, which is called Big Roan Ridge.
It was like
the hike up to
Grassy Ridge Bald, one had to pass through more rhododendron and
alder brush, but when I got out to the end of the ridge, it got me a little out
of the clouds and I got a good look southeast into
North Carolina, it was worth the
45 minute side trip.
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| Big Roan Ridge is to the right, I hike the half-mile to it. |
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| Some of the rhododendron & alder brush. |
 |
| N.C. mountains. |
When I got back to
Grassy Ridge Bald, the celling had
dropped and I was now having fog floated across the summit. It never got too
thick, so it was at this time that I thought I better head back. Just like the
journey up, the one back was just as enjoyable. The clouds were still drifting
above when I reached
Jane Bald. However, when I started up
Round Bald from
Engine Gap I could see the clouds had dipped onto my next destination. By the
time I got to the summit of
Round Bald I ran into that 10% chance of rain that
was forecast.
After a few pictures I headed for the tree line and when I
came out of the pines the weather took another turn. Just 15 minutes before I
entered the Woodland Path,
Roan High Knob was covered, but when I came out the
clouds were starting to dissipate and by the time I got to
Carvers Gap the sun
was out, just like how I started to day.
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| Yellow Mountain. |
I have been to a number of the best spots on the
AT in the
Southern Appalachians and there is no place, including non-AT spots like
Mount Mitchell,
which are any more beautiful than the
Roan Highlands. There is not many day
hikes on the
AT or anywhere I would rank any higher, so if you haven’t been
what are you waiting for!
It was a
wonderful day. I am looking forward to doing a three-day here in June, when the
rhododendrons are in bloom and maybe I will even get to see the goats.
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