Mile 1874 - Hogback Ridge Shelter To Mile 1897 - Little Laurel Shelter Most of the afternoon was spent walking along an exposed rocky ridge that reminded us a bit of Maine. With the leaves off the trees, we had nearly continuous views of the surrounding mountains. This was definitely one of the more memorable … Continue reading Day 143. Winter Views

Mile 1853 - No Business Knob Shelter To Mile 1874 - Hogback Ridge Shelter We were fortunate to have a bright, clear day to experience Big Bald and Little Bald. From the top of Big Bald there is an amazing 360° view that seems to go on forever. It was cold and windy, but with … Continue reading Day 142. Big Bald

Mile 1839 - Indian Grave Gap To Mile 1853 - No Business Knob Shelter We are at a point in the trip now where the inconveniences and discomforts of living in the woods are becoming less noticable. The tasks associated with camping and taking care of ourselves in primitive conditions are becoming automatic and familiar. … Continue reading Day 141. Living in the Woods

Mile 1823 - Greasy Creek To Mile 1839 - Indian Grave Gap Daytime temperatures are rising and the snow at lower elevations is finally melting. The trail is soggy, but it feels so good to walk on normal trail again. Now that we are moving beyond Roan we are starting to feel that the Smokies … Continue reading Day 140. Thawing Out

Mile 1817 - Hughes Gap To Mile 1823 - Greasy Creek After yesterday we were looking forward to a little break. We took our time leaving in the morning and walked the short distance to Greasy Creek Friendly which is just a bit off the trail. The rest was much needed. We went into the … Continue reading Day 139. Greasy Creek

Mile 1796 - US 19E To Mile 1817 - Hughes Gap Today's plan was to complete the highest peaks of the Roan Highlands in one day to avoid needing to camp up high on a very cold night. This meant a long day of hiking with many big climbs and deep snow most of the … Continue reading Day 138. Roan Highlands

Mile 1786 - Walnut Mountain Road To Mile 1796 - US 19E We stopped for the day in the town of Roan Mountain after a relatively short hike. The snow is starting to melt some at lower elevations, but higher up we are still walking through deep drifts which is extremely tiring. Tomorrow we have … Continue reading Day 137. Roan Mountain, TN

Mile 1769 - Laurel Falls Trail To Mile 1786 - Walnut Mountain Road With the temperatures warming up and the sun shining brightly, hiking today was amazing. It was still slow because of the snow, especially at higher elevations, but really fun. Laurel Falls Snowy descent Taking a break

Mile 1763 - Hampton, TN To Mile 1769 - Laurel Falls Trail A southbound hiker that we first met up north a couple of months ago arrived at the hostel yesterday after trying to hike through the snow and giving up part way through the day. We talked with him about the trail conditions and … Continue reading Day 135. Testing the Waters

Mile 1763 - Hampton, TN It snowed quite a bit overnight and should continue all day making travel very difficult. We are so glad that Brenda was able to get here in time! We all decided not to try to hike today so we enjoyed a really fun snow day at the hostel. Snowball fight … Continue reading Day 134. Snow Day