McAfee Hikes

Date Written: 11/21/2024 | AT Mile 1823.2 | Day Total: 20.8 miles | Gain: 5807 ft

No rain last night but it was pretty windy. Slept well and warm during the 30 degree night. Made breakfast and packed up with my quilt draped over me.

Got a huge 2700ft climb this morning. I’ll be hiking over Roan Mountain today! The climb got my blood flowing and warmed me up real quick. I managed my body temperature by shedding layers. This also helps to prevent sweat from soaking my clothing.

Clear blue sky’s this morning! It’s hard to imagine that it was going to snow later today. Walked around some really neat boulders near steep drop offs.

I eventually made it to Doll Flats after a large chunk of my climb. The trail opened up to a vast view through a bald. I could see houses on the mountain sides far away. That would be a wonderful place to live. Especially with this kind of view.

As I got higher up it became clearer that it had been below freezing longer at this elevation. There were some really cool ice formations the dirt that were super satisfying to step on.

I reentered the woods before I emerged again into another bald. This time I would be walking along the bald for the next 1.5 miles over Hump Mountain. The views were the best I’ve had since leaving the Whites. I could see for miles and miles 360 degrees.

The bald was extremely windy and gusty, I would estimate, to be around 50mph. It was wicking the warmth from my body but I compensated by moving up faster. On top of Hump Mountain I was able to see Little Hump Mountain as well as Roan Mountain.

I continued down Hump Mountain through the grassy bald with tremendous views. I eventually re-entered the woods as I approached little Hump Mountain.

I descended down into the valley where Overmountain Shelter used to lay. It’s the former site of a large red barn that was converted into a shelter long ago. It was closed in 2021 when it was in danger of collapsing and was removed soon after.

There’s still a small six person shelter, not far from where Overmountain used to lay. It’s called Stan Murray Shelter and has a good picnic table that I ate lunch at.

After lunch I had a descent 800 ft ascent to Jane Bald. I saw my first snowflake right after lunch! The ascent was in the trees but it eventually opened up to the bald. There was a very tame deer right on the trail. It didn’t seem one bit startled even whenever I walked within 5 feet of it. Once again tremendous views all around.

I made my way along to Round Bald. The trail in this area is right next to Carver’s Gap so there was a nice gravel path. I crossed paths with two younger gentleman on my way down.

After Carver’s Gap I began hiking up to Roan Mountain. This is when the snow started to pick up a bit! Made the forest very pretty.

At the top there’s ruins of the giant resort hotel that used to be at the top. I passed a chimney and fireplace here.

My beard had began to collect some snow and ice from breath. It kept my face insulated from the wind quite well.

I had a long descent, 2300ft, to where I was going to camp tonight. There was a noticeable difference in the snow accumulation as I dropped on elevation. I passed by a spring and filed up my bladder up for later.

Soon after, I made it down to Hughes Gap Road. The sun peaked out for just a minute while the snow stopped for a moment. Just past the road in a small site I pitched my tent for the night.

In my tent I got bundled up and cozy for the night. I made some mac and cheese for dinner and journaled. It’s going to be the coldest night yet. The low is forecasted to be around 23 degrees! I’ll probably also have a descent amount of snow on the ground in the morning as well.

Today, because of the elevation, I had clear trail all day. There were a couple of blowdowns and a few that had been cleared towards the end of the day. The shrubbery and trees up here are used to high winds so they were better able to handle Helene.