Saturday, June 11th

Cherry Gap Shelter (361.4 mi) to Mountain Harbour B&B (395.3 mi)

Hiking Miles: 33.9

Total Ascent: 7,891.4 ft

Total Descent: 8,950.5 ft

Total Grade: 496.3 ft/mi

Steps: 74,902

I left the shelter at 5 am, while Stevie headed out at 7 am. We both met up 17.6 miles later at the High Roan Knob Shelter which is the highest elevation (6270 feet) for a shelter on the AT at 12:40 pm. The path leading there had many uphill and downhill climbs, but I was feeling strong this morning and my pace was swift. The views were beautiful both in and out of the wooded areas, and there were plenty of unique sights to see.

We had planned to stay at this shelter overnight; it was a cool 2-story structure with a small covered entrance. However, it was only 1 pm so while we stopped to eat lunch there outside under a tree, we decided that we would continue hiking another 16.3 miles to the Mountain Harbour Bed & Breakfast. The only question at the time would be whether there were vacancies there because of its popularity. They were known to have the best breakfast on the AT!

After a few attempts to reach a person at the bed & breakfast, we were able to book two campsites on the property (the inn was completely booked) and more importantly, we booked the breakfast for the morning which we were so excited about. This also gave us incentive to hike the 33.9 miles overall for the day, which was our largest mileage day since starting the trail.

The second half of the day was more of a challenge, mainly because of three rather large balds that we had to climb, coupled with fatigue. It was also a Saturday which meant there were many day hikers on trail that slowed our pace a little. During our trek, we were psyched to see Smiles, who had stopped to rest and to collect some water. He likewise was excited to see us and we hiked together for five miles. When we reached the top of the last bald, the views were stunning, and Smiles decided he would camp there for the evening and enjoy the sights and the fresh air. At 6 pm, we still had another 6 miles to reach the Bed and Breakfast, so we pushed on and picked up our pace.

It was gorgeous atop the bald and I video chatted with Teresa to share that amazing experience.

A cool thing was we finally exited North Carolina for the last time. It was all Tennessee from here on out until we reached the Virginia border. There were a group of campers along the side of the trail that cheered loudly and congratulated us as we crossed the state line. They looked like a fun group having a good time camping, grilling, drinking and laughing.

We finally arrived at the Mountain Harbour Lodge at 8 pm and the timing couldn’t have been better as we were able to order dinner from the food truck before it closed for the evening. And being last, I felt that was the main reason we got so much food with our order. The young lady who checked us in was named “Trail Mix” because when she set out on the AT in 2021 she carried a large bag of it. She said she had to leave the trail early due to contracting the neuro-virus.

After dinner, we showered and chilled a bit in the bunkhouse with a tiger cat named “Oda Mae” after Whoopie Goldberg’s character in the movie Ghost (no concrete explanation as to why). She was a sweet cat. I was exhausted and I had tweaked my right knee during the day so I was looking forward to a good night’s sleep in my tent.