Tomorrow will be interesting

I awoke to the sound of other hikers rustling around, preparing for the day ahead. It was 7:20AM, and I was still tired due to the lack of sleep I received last night.

I knew I had a long climb ahead of me out of the shelter, so I treated myself to a bowl of cinnamon toast crunch for breakfast. I then packed up and hit trail by 8:20AM.

The climb up Roan Mountain was long and hard. There were many false summits, it also did not help that I was ascending into a cloud, where I would remain for the remainder of the day.

Roan High Knob Shelter struck me as a miserable place to stay, I ate lunch and moved on.

Walking in a cloud is never enjoyable. All your gears becomes soaked quite rapidly, not to mention that the wind today sent this cloud slamming into my face. It was a lovely way to spend my day.

The climb out of Carver's Gap was quite windy. I was walking along a bald, and every now and then I would be slammed by a 50MPH gust of wind. I was walking at an angle at times to help keep myself on trail.

After some random ups and downs, twists and turns, I arrived at the junction for Overmountain Shelter, my home for the night.

The shelter is currently situated in a cloud, which means it is windy and wet outside. Luckily, the loft of an old barn has four sides, protecting me from the wind. I would hate to be tenting tonight.

The shelter holds 20 people, but there are only three here thus far, some more could roll in later.

I called up a former AT thru hiker back in Portland, Maine to find out the weather for tomorrow. I was told thunder storms, rain, and I am assuming strong wind gusts, walking 18 miles in that tomorrow will be quite interesting.

It has taken me a while to write this entry because my right hand is not cooperating. I am thinking it will be a cold night here.

Time for dinner and hot chocolate.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.