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Feature article
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Roan High Knob a ‘world away’ from grassy balds
By Carmen Musick
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Roan Mountain boasts the highest point in Tennessee outside of the Great Smoky Mountains and the 17th-highest peak in the eastern United States.
Yet, few casual hikers and day trippers ever really see it. I know what you’re thinking: How could you not see it?
At an elevation of 6,285 feet, the Roan High Knob towers over Carver’s Gap and hovers just a short distance from the famed Rhododendron Gardens. If you’ve been to Roan Mountain, you’ve seen it. Right? Well, so you might think. But, in all actuality, few people we know — even those who visit the Roan Highlands frequently — have ever seen the peak. At least not up close.
Instead, most of them park in its shadow, cross Highway 143 and head north on the Appalachian Trail toward Grassy Ridge. And, don’t get me wrong, they do so with good reason. That section of Roan Mountain — an approximately seven-mile stretch of grassy balds — offers some of the most beautiful views you’ll see anywhere, especially east of the Rocky Mountains.
But one of the special things about Roan Mountain is its diversity and, by always crossing the road and heading to the balds, day trippers and casual hikers are missing out on some of that — not to mention the actual summit.
The highest point on Roan Mountain is the Roan High Knob, which rises some 6,285 feet between Carver’s and Tollhouse gaps. The actual summit sits atop a rock outcropping, not far from the Roan High Knob Shelter.
Like many casual hikers, we’d never seen it for ourselves or even journeyed in that direction in more than a dozen trips to Roan Mountain. Then, one day, we decided to do something different. Instead of heading toward the balds, we parked at Carver’s Gap and took a left turn out of the parking lot, walking carefully along the highway’s edge, to the familiar white AT blazes that would lead us toward the Roan High Knob.
Relatively new to hiking, and novices at best, we had no idea just how different this trek would be from the many others we’d made just across the highway.
It’s hard to imagine two more diverse stretches of trail in such close proximity. Not that either was what we’d consider difficult, just very different.
Whereas the balds offer unyielding, sometimes breathtaking views on a clear day, the Roan High Knob is cloaked by a thick forest of spruce and fraser fir — an ecosystem more akin to the Canadian woods than the vast expanses that exist just a few miles away in the Grassy Ridge section.
To put it simply, heading south on the Appalachian Trail toward the Roan High Knob was — by comparison to our previous Roan hikes — like stepping into a whole different world.
We crossed wooden plank bridges and marveled at the plant and animal life on the forest floor as we traversed the well-traveled path.
Though I’m not sure what the trail would be rated officially, I can say that my whole family — including my then 8-year-old son and our dog — made the trek fairly easily and without much complaining. (Anyone who hikes with children will know what I mean).
And while it should go without saying that good shoes and water, as well as rain gear, are a must on all hikes, the good shoes (i.e. hiking boots or good tennis shoes) are an absolute necessity for this one. The trail is eroded in places and at times a bit steep, making a hiking staff another welcome companion on the journey.
About 1.5 miles into our trek from Carver’s Gap, we reached the junction for the Roan High Knob Shelter.
Marked by signs better viewed by northbound hikers than those coming southbound as we were, a turnoff steers hikers from the white-blazed AT onto a trail that leads to the Roan High Knob Shelter — the highest shelter found along the 2,175-mile Appalachian Trail — and the summit that lies atop a rock outcropping just a short distance from it.
Large enough to sleep 15, the shelter is a fully-enclosed cabin that I’m sure serves as a welcome rest stop for thru hikers. Though it was empty when we arrived mid-day, it had obviously housed many travelers over the years.
From what we understand, the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed a fire tower and fire warden’s cabin at the summit of Roan High Knob around 1933. The tower proved ineffective and thus didn’t last. The cabin, however, was spared and renovated in 1980 to serve as the Roan High Knob Shelter.
My son enjoyed exploring in and around the shelter, and asked repeatedly if people ever really stayed there. As my husband assured him that they did, he decided that he and his Scout troop should journey back some day for an overnight adventure of their own “when they get older.”
After a short break and quick snack by the campfire ring, we meandered through the surrounding woods to look for the surveyors benchmark which officially proclaims the peak’s elevation. My son was the first to locate it and was all too happy to climb the rocks to be the first to stand “on top of the mountain.”
With no real views to speak of outside the dense woods, we headed back down the mountain and marveled again at how different this hike — less than four miles round trip — had been from a similar hike we’d taken just the day before to Roan’s Grassy Ridge. And how, unlike that hike on which we saw dozens of other people, we made the entire round trip to the summit and back without seeing another soul.
Not that solitude is a bad thing, mind you; it was nice having the trail to ourselves. It just seems like a shame that some folks travel to Roan Mountain time and again, and never really see its peak.
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