20s & 30s Appalachian Trail Section Hiker Starter Kit: Roan Highlands, North Carolina

The Trip

Welcome to the Appalachian Trail (AT)! We will be backpacking in the most biologically diverse region of the United States, the Southern Appalachia, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Biosphere Reserve in 1988. This trip is designed specifically for beginning to intermediate backpackers aged 20s-30s and offers the opportunity to experience the unique and uplifting character of Appalachian Trail backpacking culture.

The bulk of our trip will be spent in the Roan Highlands. This area is considered one of the most beautiful sections of the Appalachian Trail. The highlands are a series of balds, a Southern Appalachian term meaning treeless mountaintops. From the balds we will have gorgeous vistas of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. 

We will offer an airport shuttle service from Atlanta to a pioneer camp for the first night. There, we will have a briefing on trip safety and trail procedures. We will cook dinner and get ready to head up the mountain to the AT the following morning. We will then backpack along the AT for the next five days, covering about 46 miles and gaining 13,000 feet in cumulative elevation. The average day will be about 7 miles of hiking and 2,100’ of elevation gain.  As we hike, we will come into contact with multiple AT thru-hikers and section-hikers as we camp at the many famous AT shelter sites along the way.

Participants will be limited to a 25-pound pack weight limit, including personal gear, snacks, and the pack itself. We will share the weight of food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Participants will bring their own snacks. We will also share the weight of the cooking gear, fuel, and tarp. Each person will carry a bear canister, which is required in the area we will be in. The bear canister will hold all food and any item that has an odor, such as toothpaste.  Along the way, we will encounter many streams and springs. Participants are asked to bring either water purification tablets or a water filter. We will provide a detailed equipment list later and will discuss sharing options. If you are in need of any equipment, we also offer a limited equipment lending library for most items.

Once registered, participants will have a phone conversation with the trip leader to answer any questions and ensure that the trip is a good fit.  After receiving approval from the leader, participants who plan to fly can book a flight to ATL (Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport), where we will provide a passenger van shuttle service to and from the airport and trailheads. ATL is one of the most affordable destinations in the US. 

Day 1: The trip leader will meet anyone flying to ATL at baggage claim for a 2:00 p.m. pick-up.  (more details on this later)  We convene at Rock Creek Campground, Tennessee.  This is the official starting point of the trip.  Around 5 PM we will enjoy a meet and greet happy hour and a trip briefing before dinner.  At some point during the afternoon, the leaders will set up a shuttle vehicle at the parking lot for the end of our trip.  Anyone can join us for the round trip car ride as we complete this task.

Day 2: We will wake up early, have breakfast, break camp, and drive a short distance to the Indian Grave Gap AT Trailhead parking lot. We will disembark from this point and begin our east/northeast trek through both the Cherokee and Pisgah National Forests and Unaka Mountain Wilderness on the AT. We will parallel the Unaka Mountain Scenic Drive for a while before heading into deep wilderness to reach our camp at the Cherry Gap Shelter, TN.

Trail info: 8.5 miles and 2,650 feet of elevation gain/Campsite elevation 3,993.

Day 3: From Cherry Gap we continue east/northeast through the Cherry Gap to Little Bald Knob.  We then encounter a common occurrence on the AT a highway crossing at Iron Mountain Gap.  AT Road crossings are famous for Trail Magic, where local people meet thru-hikers with gifts of great food and warm hospitality to ease the pain of the daily grind as the hikers make their way along the trail.  We again hike most of the afternoon to reach the Clyde Smith Shelter just past Iron Mountain (elev. 4,249).

Trail info:  9 miles and 2,475 feet of elevation gain.

Day 4: We leave our camp at Clyde Smith Shelter and hike toward Little Rock Knob where we actually turn due south to reach Roan Mountain. We will camp around the Roan High Knob Shelter. This is a popular area with road access but we will be arriving on a Tuesday and most likely won’t see very many day trippers.

Trail info: 8 miles and 3,208 feet of elevation gain.

Day 5: After breakfast, we will have the option of a 4-mile hike without our full packs. This hike will take us back along the trail to visit a nice overlook on the Roan High Bluff. Participants who prefer to skip this hike can enjoy some morning downtime in camp. After returning from the hike, we will load our packs and head to the Overmountain Shelter. We will have multiple awesome vistas at Grassy Ridge Bald (elev. 6,165), Buckeye Gap, and Yellow Mountain Gap.

Trail info: 11 miles and 1,552 feet of elevation gain (subtract 4 miles if not doing the optional morning hike).

Day 6: On our last day, we will have to wake up extra early because it will be a long day of hiking and driving for our return to civilization. We leave the Overmountain Shelter heading due north hiking over the twin peaks of Little Hump Mountain. We hike a little further to go over Hump Mountain (elev. 5,587). From there, we begin a slow descent to the end of our walk just past Wilder Mine Hollow to the Buck Creek/HWY 19 road crossing parking lot. Upon arrival, the leaders will take the shuttle car back and retrieve the van. We will drive to either a hostel or campground (with a shower!) near Asheville, NC to get cleaned up and enjoy an evening at a restaurant in town. 

Trail info: 9 miles and 2,092 feet of elevation gain.

Day 7: We will get up have a quick breakfast and get on the road back to ATL. We should be back at the airport by early afternoon.

Getting There

We will only be able to provide a shuttle for the Atlanta Airport (ATL) and not other airports. The shuttle will pick up at 2 pm. Please do not make non-refundable travel arrangements until notified to do so by the trip leader.  Participants can drive to Rock Creek Campground. We will only be able to provide a shuttle to ATL.

Accommodations and Food

The US Forest Service has a rule that large backpacking groups are not allowed to sleep in the AT shelter, but we are allowed to camp in a tent outside the shelter.  The shelter provides good stopover points for making our way up the trail as well as a reliable water source.

We will provide all meals while we are in camps. Meals are vegetarian-friendly. Participants will bring their snacks. Meals at restaurants are not included in the trip price.

Trip Difficulty

We rate this trip as a difficulty 3 out of 5. Please review the itinerary and make sure that you are comfortable carrying around a 35lb backpack for the stated distances and elevation gains. We are open to persons who see this level of hiking as a challenge. We believe where there's a will, there’s a way and if you follow our advice for training and equipment weight, we support you going on the trip.

Equipment and Clothing

Participants will need a summer backpacking kit. Your backpack should be around 60 liters and big enough to carry a bear canister. We can discuss this with you in more detail in our pre-trip phone call. You must bring a sleeping pad, sleeping bag/quilt, tent, backpack, water containers, bowl, cup, spork, one change of clothes, rain gear, etc. We will give you a detailed gear list later and will talk to you about the weather so you can prepare what types of clothing to bring.

References

Conservation

The Sierra Club National Outings department is always mindful of our nation's history, and we want to acknowledge the lands on which we recreate for our trips. The Cherokee people were the most recent inhabitants of the area of the Roan Highlands of North Carolina. Even today, the Cherokee people are one of the largest Native American tribes in the United States, with over 300,000 enrolled members. The Cherokee originally lived in a vast territory that included parts of what is now North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee. They were a highly organized and developed society with a complex government, religion, and culture system.