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This was one of those trips where the weather did not cooperate as planned. The Roan Highlands are
so high that weather systems moving eastward are actually stopped by the height of the mountains. The clouds socked
in on us all day, but eventually began to slacken up in the late afternoon. Here the trail ventures through an old orchard.
The trail proceeds through the mist. I call this shot "Into the Unknown" as it looks very mysterious
and foreboding.
Sunrise at Yellow Mountain Gap. This was one of the few locations that water was available.
The drought in the summer of 2007 greatly increased the difficulty of hiking in the Southern Appalachians.
My hiking partner "Boulder" stands atop Jane Bald looking towards Roan Mountain proper. Round Bald
appears in the right portion of the picture. Beyond lies Carver's Gap and the car. The weather was much better
for us on the second day than the first.
The views into North Carolina can be very beautiful. On one trip here, the sky was so clear that the
Smoky Mountains were visible on the horizon, over one hundred miles away!
The Roan Highlands stretch out before the viewer. In the center lies Hump Mountain, a 400 acre bald.
The large craggy mountain that appears to the right of Hump is Grandfather Mountain.
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