View Full Version : forest rd to overmountain shelter?
jodestick
01-15-2009, 08:57
does anyone know the name of the forest rd. that leads to the over mountain shelter? i am taking some friends on a day hike this weekend and i was thinking of taking the forest rd. and then heading up to hump mt.
as i look at google maps, it looks like rt. 1166. so i would take 19E from elizabethton, tn, and then turn right on rt. 1166? can anyone confirm?
Cabin Fever
01-15-2009, 09:24
Take 19E from Elizabethton through the town of Roan Mountain across the state line. Then hang a right on 19E towards the town of Minneapolis. Go through the town (very small) of Minneapolis until you get to Roaring Creek Road (NC 1132). There is a big Roaring Creek sign (I think). Follow that all the way to the small gravel area by the gate on the forest road. Easy walk up to Overmountain Shelter on the road. Just before the shelter, turn right up the hill to go to the AT. At the AT (Yellow Mountain Gap), make a right and that will take you up Little Hump and Hump.
Second piece of advice....hiking on the Humps this weekend is probably not a good idea. It is suppose to be in the teens and 20s in the valleys this weekend in northeast Tennessee. It will be in the single digits or below on the Humps. Chances of having a view up there are slim to none. When the weather is bad, there is no visibility on the open areas of the Roan Highlands.
jodestick
01-15-2009, 10:17
oh, man, you just bursted my bubble! do you really think there will be no visibility? i've only ever been up there in summer and fall, not winter.
thanks for the driving directions. i've always wondered how to access that road...whether i do it this weekend or not.
It will be very cold. Dress right and you will be alright. If the skys are clear, you will see for ever, The best views are in the winter. Check the radar before you go.
Tennessee Viking
01-16-2009, 00:02
Diddo on Cabin Fevers directions. I think there is one little awkward fork in the road while driving up Roaring Fork Road. Just keep to the right, and you will be at the gravel road soon. Park at the gate and follow the road up.
I would not recommend hiking the humps during this cold burst. The winds around Yellow Mountain and the Humps will be cruel especially with no tree coverage. There was a death recently on Roan when a local guy tried to camp out during the last snow storm on Grassy Ridge.
If you want to get out this weekend, stay lower elevations to stay out of the higher altitude winds, layer up, and carry a thermos of hot water.
What is distance from gate to onermountain shelter?
Tennessee Viking
01-16-2009, 13:10
0.6-0.7 miles I believe on fairly graded road.
Cabin Fever
01-16-2009, 16:00
A couple of months ago, we were doing trail maintenance on a the relocations north of Stan Murray Shelter. We were getting there by driving to Overmountain and hiking south. Someone in our party had keys to the gate and we drove all the way to Overmountain. The looks on the faces of the hikers in the shelter was priceless. I think they were a little disappointed we didn't show up with beer and pizza.