Planning to do this hike in late April/ early May would most likely put me right in the middle of the bubble correct?
for sure....Originally Posted by blue indian
Im not opposed to that honestly. Meetin folks on the trail is always interesting. Shoot, it lead to me being in a book about the AT! It is the peoples trial afterall.
Buuuut I might push it back a bit. Especially being so close to trail days..
Is the foliage leafing out at elevation in late may/early april?
Also could I expect night time temps to reach below 35?
I did the hike SOBO in 13 days last Oct. Resupplied with maildrop at Mtn Harbour and ride to town in Erwin. If I did it again I would avoid Uncle Johnny's. I heard there was a Holiday Inn Express within 1/2 mile. The UJ experience was nothing short of filthy.
Which 2 weeks between April - August would you say would be the optimal time to hike this section?
Late April, early May you could still have some pretty raw weather. Leaves should be coming out at higher elevations but still not fully developed most years. I have seen snow on Memorial day weekend and low of about 40 in mid July on Roan. I would pick anytime between Mid May and mid or late June. The later you go the fewer the thrus. There will be a lot of wildflowers and the weather is likely to be very moderate with cool to warm, sometimes hot days and cool nights anytime in May and June. The rhododendrons bloom in mid to late June in the Roan Highlands. July and August can be nice (by Atlanta standards) or can be hot and muggy and not so much fun.
Yes! Nice. This is the kind of info im looking for. Thanks!
This is one of my favorite sections of the entire AT
Looking for someone to start hike with? I am from Macon area and looking to hike from Hot Springs, where my last section hike ended, to Damascus. I want to arrive Damascus on/about Friday 12 May for Trail Days, so I want to leave Hot Springs about 30 April.
I want to find someone to start out with; share rides and the like. My regular hiking partner may meet up after Roan Mtn. . . .
My dates are tentative as of now. If my schedule ends up looking like yours, maybe we could work something out.
When I hiked that piece during my 2013 thru-hike I'd planned on stopping at Uncle Johnny's, but Erwin and the surrounding parts of the trail were the epicenter for norovirus, which I wasn't too keen on catching. I stopped at Uncle Johnny's for a coke and then paid $5 for their shuttle into town. I stayed at the Super 8 Motel, which was fine, and I was glad to have my own space that night. There's a Food Lion in town for resupply, although the town is spread out so a lot of walking involved. I totally agree with the recommendations for Mountain Harbor. Great breakfast, and fun to go into town for dinner and resupply at the Dollar General. I'm not a fan of maildrops, so didn't bother with those and had no problem resupplying. Mountain Harbor also carried a small stash of hiker foods for purchase.
Lady Grey NOBO '13
www.trailjournals.com/LadyGrey
Thanks for your input! I am going to try and stop by mountain harbor, hopefully the timing works out so I can eat breakfast there! I would like to take a nero there and keep moving.
Still need to figure out where to shower and wash clothes though. It would be sweet if I could also resupply at the same time.
Definitely stay at Mountain Harbor and all your needs will be taken care of. Shower/laundry/supermarket/good BBQ place in town for dinner/amazing breakfast.
Follow slogoen on Instagram.
I second staying at Mountain Harbor, that is where I got to meet Slo-go'en!
Is there open bald hiking in this section or is that mostly north of Damascus?
All the balds are south of Damascus. Most of the balds are between Hot Springs and Damascus.
Follow slogoen on Instagram.
Wonderful! I was under the impression that most were north of Damascus in the roan highlands area..
but that's awesome! I'm looking forward to it!
roan highlands are in tennessee. grayson highlands are in virginia
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