The Station at 19E 1799 to Roan High Knob Shelter 1815.3 (16.3 miles, 1815.3 total miles)
Prednisone had turned me into an insomniac, mood swinging, emotional mess. I tossed and turned at 19E, trying desperately to fall asleep, but the cumulative effects of the steroid were too much.
In the morning, I felt truly terrible. I woke up with my alarm at 7, but kept dozing until 8, knowing I needed whatever scant rest I could get. I felt completely out of it, and when I went into the kitchen where everyone else was gathered I felt as if I was a bundle of social anxiety and sleep deprivation.
Twigs and Mountain Goat were making pancakes for everyone with supplied mix from the hostel, and I couldn’t have been more awkward as I accepted a few pancakes and hot coffee.
After breakfast, I began packing, so grateful to have my own room in that moment. I knew prednisone came with a bevy of side effects, but thought only five days wouldn’t be enough to feel them, and I was very wrong about that.
I’d planned on hiking 16 miles today to the highest shelter on the Appalachian Trail, but as the morning grew later, told myself it was okay if I only did 11 to the first one, because the 16 miles included 6,000 feet of elevation gain.
Either way, I was going to be meeting Miss Janet at a gap 31 miles from The Station tomorrow afternoon, so I could do a bigger second day if I needed. Miss Janet is a well known trail angel, and someone I became very close with in 2015 and 2016. She is based out of Erwin, TN and I’d been looking forward to seeing her again this whole hike.
I finally got out of the hostel at 10:23, when Heat Lightning accompanied me on the half mile downhill walk along 19E back to the trailhead. Everyone else except Bears had hiked out ahead, and I chatted with Heat Lightning about the medications I was taking, happy to have someone to talk to right then.
As we reached the trailhead, he stopped to get something from his bag and I continued on up the start of a 5 mile continuous climb of 3,000 feet. I was covered in sunblock for the warm, sunny day ahead, knowing I would be very exposed on the numerous balds we were hiking over today.
A mile into the day, I stopped and backtracked a minute until I saw Heat Lightning climbing toward me, asking him if he’d seen an 1800 mile marker. He hadn’t, so we made one out of sticks. It wasn’t the best marker I’d seen or made, but it got the point across. I was so sleep deprived I asked him where the second “8” was supposed to go, before we both laughed at how out of it I was.
I let him continue on, and stopped to chat with a trail angel making her way down the mountain. Her name was Charlie, and she told me about a big group coming down from Doll Flats ahead.
The grading was very gentle, and I was able to make quick work of the climb, plus my new insoles felt amazing on my feet. I did have to keep stopping repeatedly as people kept making their way down going north. It was Sunday and one of the most popular hiking sections of Tennessee, so I wasn’t too surprised.
My mental state was suffering greatly and, though I knew it was caused by medication, that didn’t make it any easier to deal with the cloud of depression and anxiety that had descended upon me. I spent a lot of time in my head, trying to work things out and get my mind right, but it was an all day process.
I was now stopping every 80 minutes to apply more sunblock, as I had bought a new can of aerosol spray at The Station. It was only SPF30, but was much quicker to apply than the SPF50 lotion I’d been using.
I reached the Doll Flats, a large group campsite, just before noon, 3 miles into the day. The trail opened up into an exposed meadow, before ducking under trees again, views beginning to appear to my left.
I climbed many rock stairs, admiring moss growing along the trail under leafless trees, before crossing a livestock fence back into fully exposed terrain as I approached Hump Mountain.
I was low on water, and the sun was very hot as I climbed, the doxycycline I was taking making me more prone to both sunburn and heat exhaustion. A couple people were nice enough to give me a sip or two of water from their bottle, and I made it to the top alright, looking into a vast landscape below and around me from the enormous grassy bald.
Heat Lightning was taking a short break up top, and I said hi before hiking a mile down to Bradley Gap. Another mile up took me to Little Hump, but on the way I stopped at a piped spring for water. I talked with Bears for a while when she came by, then answered many questions about my hike to a very interested couple who passed going north.
As I kept moving, I noticed when hiking on exposed ridge line the miles always seem to go by faster, and today was no exception. The trail dipped under trees from time to time, providing a nice respite from the sun, but the views made everything feel easier.
I descended down to Yellow Mountain Gap, before climbing a couple easy miles to Stan Murray Shelter. There was a couple there as well with a beautiful all black German Shephard. I sat to eat lunch, and Heat Lightning passed by, as we’d leapfrogged each other a couple times now. Bears was a mile or two back, and I’d last seen her as I’d hiked on while she ate lunch on the ridge.
I had tuna and cheese on tortillas while I talked with the couple from Florida about my thru hike and their weekend out with the dog. It was only 3:30, and I knew I could make another 5.4 miles by 6:00, even though there were still two more long climbs, and two small ones to get to the next shelter.
I’d been listening to music, podcasts and Order of the Phoenix all day, needing the mental boosts, and switched on a new podcast for the 2 mile climb up to the next ridge.
I saw ice on the ground trailside, though the day was warm, because I was rapidly approaching 6,000 feet, into the Roan Highlands. At the top of the climb, I was back out of the trees on exposed ridge line again for the next couple miles.
I skipped hiking an extra .6 blue blaze up to Grassy Ridge, the highest bald in the Roans, due to to the time it would take, but the AT took me up and down the smaller climbs of Jane Bald and Round Bald with lovely views.
These balds were both very popular for weekend and day hikers, as they were located right next to Carver’s Gap, according to the guide a major trailhead parking area right on the TN/NC state line.
I passed many people going in both directions, as I hiked through with decent speed and momentum. I had only been hiking 2.4 mph on average now that I’d started incorporating sunblock breaks into my days, but that was enough for what I was trying to do.
I dropped down into a beautiful pine forest before the gap, which was fortunate as I had been in the sun all day, and was surprised I hadn’t burned. A family of four stopped to ask me about my hike for several minutes, then I also passed a couple taking their wedding photos, and a group of teenagers having a Halloween ritual.
Across the road, I had a 1.6 mile final climb to Roan High Knob Shelter. It was an easy, switchbacked climb completely under tree cover, though the trail was covered in small rocks. I didn’t mind, as my feet were still doing great in my new insoles. The last pair had taken me 1,300 miles, but I’d need them after the last couple hundred especially.
I got to the .1 side trail leading to the shelter just before 6PM, and climbed up to the smell of campfire and the Mob circled around it. They were all very friendly with me, even though I’d been so out of it this morning.
I set up my tent in a vast space that resembled a miniature tent city next to the shelter, changed into warm clothes, and collected a few liters of water. Darkness fell as I was eating my Knorr side around the fire with the others.
Being around the Mob was triggering a lot of feelings for my already emotional brain. There were several layers, but I did envy them in a lot of ways. They were all young, just graduated college, and had a lot of opportunity ahead of them. It also made me miss the Cult and having that close trail family experience.
I was happy for them, though, and glad of their friendliness. Heat Lightning and Bears had arrived not long after me, and a hiker named Sasquatch, a fellow flip flopper, who was apparently part of a trio called the Georgia Boys.
As I was chatting with Sasquatch about our flip flop adventures, Beans, Pleaidian, Podcast, and Tang hiked up with headlamps on. I was very happy to see them, and was glad we were all staying at such a large shelter to accommodate everyone. They’d hiked a couple 25 mile days, and were in great spirits.
Everyone I talked with in the evening said how beautiful and easy the day had been. We’d gotten extremely lucky to have such a gorgeous weather day in the Roan Highlands, and to have a warm night of 40 degrees at 6,200 feet.
It had been a hard morning and early afternoon to get through. The emotional low of the prednisone caused a lot of thoughts I didn’t want to have but, just like when I hike, when I keep moving forward the emotional landscape shifts for the better as well.