Christy, Saucony, and I hiked solo this weekend. Everyone else was doing their duty on Mother's day, and we couldn't talk anyone into joining us. But hey, we did at least call our mothers when we got home.
We made great time driving up, and for once didn't miss the turn to the trailhead. By 10:30 we were on our way, hiking up the Overmountain Victory Trail. In the past, I've always started up the old road to Big Yellow Gap. This time though, we took the official trail. We were glad we did, as it was more pleasant walking off the road. We were also treated to a lovely display of wildflowers in the woods and meadows along the way.
It was an easy climb to the gap, where we joined the AT heading south toward Roan Mountain. As we climbed out of the gap, we passed through an outstanding stretch of forest. Wildflowers were everywhere, and the undergrowth was so lush it looked like a rainforest. The red trillium and white fringed phacelia were past their peak, but violets, buttercups, and white violets were everywhere. We were also surrounded by mayapples. I had never seen one in bloom, but many of them had flowers today.
After one of several steep climbs, we reached a meadow with a nice view of our ultimate goal - Grassy Ridge. Grassy Ridge reaches 6200' in elevation, and we were still looking up at most of it. A short descent brought us to Low Gap and the AT shelter. We stopped here for lunch, and I went to water the dog. After one false start (on the wrong side of the gap), I found the spring. Despite some recent rain, the spring was no more than a mud puddle.
After a quick bite to eat, we were climbing again. Soon we were hiking the steepest part of the trail that day. Eventually, we were rewarded with an excellent view to the north. We could see the balds of Little and Big Hump and Big Yellow Mountain. Mt. Rogers was also clearly visible, all the way up in Virginia. We had been blessed with outstanding weather, and our views were almost unlimited.
A little more climbing brought us to the side trail up to Grassy Ridge. We left the AT, and headed up a gully toward the summit. We reached the grassy peak, with sweeping views in every direction. To the south, we could see the dark, Balsam covered bulk of Roan Mountain. To the east were a series of ridges and valleys leading to Mt. Mitchell and the rest of the Black Mountain crest. Ahead of us, Hawksbill and Table Rock stood guard over Linville Gorge. The sharp, rocky ridge of Grandfather Mountain created an image more appropriate for the Rockies. To the north, we identified Sugar Mountain, Beech Mountain, and Mt. Rogers. To the west we could see most of Tennessee.
It was an outstanding view, and we spent an hour there enjoying it, the sunshine, and the cool breeze. On Saturday, it had been 95 degrees in Charlotte. It was 30 degrees cooler on Grassy Ridge, and we were in no hurry to leave.
Eventually we did. The 5 mile hike up had taken almost 3 hours, but the return hike was done in 2. Despite this, we were still nearly overtaken by some thru-hikers along the way. It was a great hike, and we're both looking forward to our next chance to hike there.
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