Bud and Vicki Hogan's 1996 Appalachian Trail Journey
June 24
Clyde Smith Shelter to Overmountain Shelter .......................................11.5 miles
We spent the morning climbing Roan Mountain. What a climb. And it got harder the closer we got to the top. As we stopped for a water break, Vicki discovered that she had lost one of her water bottles. How far back, we didn't have a clue. Vicki insisted that she go back and look for it. About 10 minutes later she reappears with the bottle.
Reached the top close to noon. Roan Mountain has a huge rhododendron garden on top, and we were there just when it was supposed to be in full bloom. And another blessing. There are restrooms on top. It had been a warm day of hiking, and I felt grungy. So I used the sink to rinse out my hiking shirt, wash my hair and take a quick sponge bath, without the sponge. I felt much better now. Vicki thought it was funny that the ladies in the restroom were complaining about not having any hot water and there were no paper towels to dry off with, when Vicki was grateful just to see plumbing.
We spread out our emergency blanket and our portable feast and proceeded to dine, al fresco. Our motto had become "EVERY DAY A BEAUTIFUL HIKE, EVERYDAY A PICNIC." As we ate, we were engaged in conversation by several different groups of people. It was impossible to imagine that we were anything but hikers. And when we told them that we had hiked there from Georgia, everyone was duly impressed. Even me.
Going downhill was a lot easier than going up. A little rocky. We crossed the highway and started up Jane Bald. It was covered with beautiful rhododendron and flame azalea all over the place. All these beautiful flowers against a backdrop of the mountains made this the most spectacular view of the trip, in our opinion. Of course, just then, it started to rain.
I don't handle getting wet very well. I really got testy on this part of the trek. We pulled out the brand new cheap ponchos that we had bought in Hot Springs and tried to make them work. They were not working very well. If the wind had not been blowing like crazy, maybe the ponchos would have been adequate. But the wind kept blowing the ponchos up and we were getting soaked.
We finally got to Overmountain Shelter, an old barn that had been fixed up to be used as a hiking shelter. Two guys were already camped there. They told us that Ray had passed them the day before and had sent word to us that if we kept up a good pace that we might catch up with him. He had been leaving messages to us in every camp register. Vicki made an effort to try to read each one of them.
Tonight there was just the four of us in this great big barn loft. The other two hikers had already gotten the choice spot, by the large opening, to set up their sleeping bags. The opening provided a cool breeze, and it had been really warm. Vicki and I decided to set up our tent inside, for a little privacy. We had the other end of the loft all to ourselves. We were fortunate to not have gotten the choice spot, by the window. Later that night a thunderstorm developed so fast that it had almost soaked the other two hikers before they could get out of their sleeping bags. It was an incredable thunder and lighting storm. The wind blew so hard that half of the loft got wet. Anything that wasn't tied down got blown away. We felt very lucky to have been inside that night and on the far side of the loft, the side that stayed dry.
The view from Overmountain Shelter is incredible. It is the most magnificent view from any shelter so far.
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