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Here's how you can check out what the AT looks like in the area of camp after Hurricane Helene. Following the Six Pack Hikers (a family of six) as they attempt a thru-hike of the 2,200 mile Appalachian Trail.

4/7/2025

I've been following the "Six Pack Hikers" on their thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. It's a mom, dad, and four kids. I don't know them except what I've learned from their daily reports from the AT. This one is from their day 32 and it's their trek from the Clyde Smith Shelter to Roan Mountain. Many TMC campers will remember this section of the trail. If nothing else, you can get a glimpse of what Hurricane Helene did to this area.

You can also go back to day 31 and watch their report going from the area of Beauty Spot to Iron Mountain Gap (which was devastated by the storm requiring a detour) and then right behind the old TMC to the Clyde Smith Shelter.

https://youtu.be/6gChc-QYMa0?si=-knTPEW6IYomr8y5

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Roan Mountain is the site featured to represent North Carolina in the new AT postage stamps.

3/6/2025

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If anyone had asked me, Roan Mountain would have been the exact place I would have suggested. I think my second choice might have been Max Patch.

"Rhododendron blooms in the Roan Mountain highlands of western North Carolina grace the first stamp of row four."

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Overmountain Shelter on the AT to be torn down

11/19/2023

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Ben Parker sent this notice to me today about the closing of the Overmountain Shelter. I imagine several dozen of our campers/counselors stayed in this shelter on one of their "Bob's Dairyland Hikes" that took adventurous campers on the AT from Carver's Gap down to 19-E in the town of Roan Mountain.

Read the story.

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Hiking on Roan Mountain

1/10/2022

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Here's a link about hiking on Roan Mountain along with some nice photos. This was recently published online in the "Only in Your State" blog.

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7,500 Acres Donated to SAHC to continue to protect Roan Mountain

4/23/2021

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Wonderful Earth Day news for lovers of the Roan Mountain area. Billionaire Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, has made a donation of 7,500 acres of land to add to all the other wonderful land making up that land mass.

Check out the story on WLOS-TV.

https://wlos.com/news/local/earth-day-gift-thousands-of-mountain-acres-donated-to-conservancy?fbclid=IwAR227wN5L4ME2YD61MSS6J9uvZGAK9mzusFXqJD0ANt2_mmumn6hUoe6buo

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Roan Mountain, a different view...

4/7/2021

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Pretty much all of our campers visited Roan Mountain at some point or other...either on a backpacking trip or as a day trip by van. It is a magical mountain. Check out these photos and captions found on the "Only in Your State" online newsletter:

Click to check it out.

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Back in the old TMC neck of the woods...

6/30/2019

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So TrailRidge folks, after traveling with my MindStretch Travel Adventures groups for years...we finally took the guys on a trip into the old TMC neck of the woods. We hiked up to Round Bald and a little beyond from Carvers Gap. It was 59 degrees when we arrived there this past Wednesday. And when we were done...guess where we had lunch with those famous milkshakes? You guessed it - Bob's Dairyland. Nothing has changed except the "outhouse" at Carver's Gap is slightly fancier than before.
We did meet a couple of Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy caretakers and they had some news about the old TMC property. I will wait until I visit the old TrailRidge before posting any info. That's not happening for several weeks.

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The backstory behind the protection of Roan Mountain

1/22/2018

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Sit down when you have a few minutes and watch this video shared with me today by former TMC staffer, Ben Parker.

It's about "our" Roan Mountain and how a chunk of it got its protection from mining back in the early 1970s, about a decade before TrailRidge opened. This is a story I've never heard.

It's told by Jay Leutze who just happened to be a high school classmate of Ben.

Click the link below to view the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTctPLabiEk

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A trip back to Roan Mountain...

10/27/2017

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Finally after many years, I decided it was time for a trip to Roan Mountain. And of course, I went via Hughes Gap Road in Buladean so I could at least drive past the old TrailRidge property. We sold the property 22 years ago (can you believe that?). I did not feel like driving into the property so just glanced at it as we slowly drove by. I couldn't see much, but it looked like the property could use some tender loving care.

The purpose for my visit was to hike up on Roan so I did get to do that with a good friend of mine. We stopped at Hughes Gap just because it was there. And then we headed on up the road to Carver's Gap at Roan.

Even in the clouds, it was beautiful...and COLD. At around 12:30 it was 30 degrees on top of Roan. And this was on October 25. We decided to hike up the road to Roan High Knob instead of on the balds. It was just too cold and windy in that direction. The road is closed this time of year so walking is the only way to get to the top and we had the place to ourselves. It brought back a flood of memories. Check out a few photos from the trip.

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Great Roan Mountain Video

7/21/2014

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Check out this little video of photos taken on a Roan Mountain hike by photographer David Dutton.

Many campers and counselors will remember this AT route exactly.