The received wisdom seems to be: Kahtoola Microspikes or Hillsound Trail Crampons. Real crampons are overkill, but Yaktrax don't stand up to anything beyond shoveling the driveway. Send them home from Erwin, or if the weather is still chancy, keep them until you've done Mount Rogers.

I live Up North, so I wind up carrying my Microspikes until mid-May most years. Spring comes sooner Down South, though. We got our first snow squalls down in the valley today, so I've got my spikes out of the closet ready to go at need.