FIRST SNOW
Ray’s Weather was calling
for a big snowstorm on Saturday, and that could only mean one thing. It meant that I’d want to go hiking in
it. Surprisingly, I couldn’t talk
anyone into joining me, except our dog, Saucony. Of course, she didn’t know what she was in for.
The most snow was expected
to fall at the highest elevations, so I decided to hike at Roan Mountain on
Sunday. My only real concern was
getting there. Toyota Corrola’s aren’t
really designed for driving through snow and ice. Originally, I had planned on starting at the Roaring Fork
trailhead, near Minneapolis, NC, and hiking up past the old barn shelter to
Little Hump. By the time I reached
Little Switzerland, I was having second thoughts. The trailhead is at 4200’, and is reached by a narrow, steep, one
lane dirt road. It certainly wouldn’t
be plowed, and getting stuck or sliding off the road seemed all too
likely. At the last minute, I switched plans
and drove up to Carver’s Gap. This
meant driving to a higher elevation (5500’), but I figured there was a better
chance that route 261 would be plowed.
I was partially correct, but
I still found the road snow-covered several miles below the gap. I drove slowly, and only slid around a
little on the winding mountain road. At
one point, I decided that I had made a mistake. However, I couldn’t find a place to turn around where I wouldn’t
get stuck. I had no choice but to drive
on.
I eventually broke out of
the low fog hanging in the valley at Carver’s Gap. I was surprised to see 8 or 10 vehicles at the parking area. Two vans were picking up a group of
teenagers that had backpacked up Roan Mountain the previous day. They had hiked through the storm, but had
stayed in a shelter that night. They
didn’t seem too scarred from the experience.
Saucony and I hiked north on
the Appalachian Trail towards Round Bald.
Shortly after leaving the gap, we hiked through a beautiful forest of
spruce and fir trees draped in snow. I
adopted all of them as my personal Christmas trees for the day.
I emerged in a meadow and
was nearly flattened by the wind.
Temperatures were in the low 30’s, but the wind chill was brutal. I put on a layer of gore-tex, and reflected
on how quickly things can change. Seven
days earlier, I had worn shorts and a t-shirt while hiking in the
Uwharries. Today, I was sporting a
thermax t-shirt, a long-sleeved nylon shirt, a fleece vest, and my gore-tex
shell.
I was actually feeling
pretty good as I climbed the rest of the way to the summit. The view that greeted me reminded me of why
I go hiking. Getting up before dawn,
driving through the snow, and hiking in the wind and cold was all worth it for
a moment like this. I gazed out past
the snow drifts and rime ice on the bald to a pocket of low clouds hiding the valley. Beyond, the peaks of the Black Mountain
Range floated above the clouds. Back to
the south, Roan Mountain was cloaked in spruce and fir trees turned silver by
the snow. I stopped and enjoyed the
view for several minutes, despite the punishing wind.
From Round Bald, I hiked on
towards my ultimate destination at Grassy Ridge. This part of the hike was short-lived. I started down the trail on the north side of the Bald, and
plunged thigh-deep into the snow. I
post-holed a few more steps before having second thoughts. Apparently the wind had blown the snow off
the summit and down the north side of the mountain. Continuing almost another 2 miles would be exhausting, and
probably a little hazardous. I reasoned
that hiking up through the woods to Roan Mountain would be more sheltered. I decided to retreat.
From the parking area, I
continued south on the AT. The trail
has been re-routed at Carver’s Gap. It
now follows the road briefly into Tennessee before heading into the woods to
cross a series of small streams. Then I
began to climb, heading up through another beautiful forest of Christmas
trees. An hour later, I passed a solo
hiker on snowshoes. He greeted me and
asked how I was able to keep my hands warm.
I was only wearing thin glove liners, while he was sporting heavy ski
mittens. My hands were fine until he
mentioned it. After that, I became all
too aware of my hands. The rest of the
day I struggled to keep them warm.
I was beginning to get cold
from head to toe as I slogged through the snow towards the summit of Roan
Mountain. At 1pm, I reached the trail
shelter. I was pleasantly surprised to
discover that the shelter sports 4 walls and a door, as well as a loft and
windows that provided some light. I
went inside and closed the door tight against the wind and the cold. Then I enjoyed one of life’s great,
underrated pleasures. It’s hard to beat
a thermos full of hot soup after 3 hours of hiking in the snow. I was more than content to sit on the wooden
floor with a cup of steaming beef and vegetable soup in my hands.
Despite the cozy shelter, I
didn’t linger very long. I still wanted
to hike out to Roan High Bluff, the southernmost peak of the Roan
Highlands. I left the security of the
shelter behind and followed a less-traveled section of the trail into deeper
snow. A few minutes later, I emerged
from the woods into a beautiful meadow at the site of the historic Cloudland
Hotel. This may have been the most
scenic part of the hike. The
snow-covered meadow was surrounded by frosty fir trees, while an endless
succession of white mountains extended to the horizon.
From the meadow, I left the
Appalachian Trail and hiked across the snow-covered parking lot at the
Rhododendron Gardens. There I picked up
the Cloudland Trail. I followed this
path through even deeper snow along the crest of Roan Mountain. Hiking through the snow was tiring, and I
was running out of energy when I finally reached the cliff at Roan High Bluff. Here was another spectacular view to the
south, east, and west. The low clouds
were gone, and the white mountains rose above a series of green valleys. To the south, I could just make out the long
line of cliffs guarding the Nolichucky River Gorge.
I headed back towards the
car at 3pm. Normally I wouldn’t have
been concerned about covering 3 miles in 2 hours, but hiking in the snow was
slow and I wanted to be well on my way home before dark. To make better time, I followed the unplowed
road back to Carver’s Gap. On the
return hike I passed several groups of cross-country skiers. Despite the conditions, I ended up seeing at
least a dozen people. Clearly I wasn’t
the only person crazy enough to be out on a day like that. I ended up having my best hike in recent
memory, so I guess sometimes it’s good to be a little crazy.
I returned to the car at
4:30 after a total of 8 miles of hiking in over 6 hours. I was relieved to find that the road had
been plowed, making for a less stressful drive back down the mountain. In fact, the drive provided one last highlight
– a fiery red sunset over the Black Mountains as I descended from Little
Switzerland. It was a fitting end to a
spectacular day in the mountains.
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