Day 13 – Mt. Rogers Disappoints and Hayter's Gap

I slept very well in my new sleeping bag.

Breakfast in Troutdale was at the same place dinner was the night before: Jerry's Kitchen and Grocery. I knew I had a big day of riding ahead and was on the road by 8AM. If you refer back to the elevation chart from the previous post, immediately after Troutdale I was to climb to around 3700 feet in elevation. The highest yet and the highest until the Rockies. I was very excited for the view. Here it is:

Not exactly what I expected...

I checked my map. That is certainly the spot where I am at the greatest elevation. Disappointed, I pushed forward and began rolling down the hill. After no more than a quarter mile, I stopped. I thought that if I rode my bike all the way up here, I darn as well am going to get a nice view. I turned around and began riding back up the hill. I had only ridden 8 miles so far.

I had noticed a sign with “Mt. Rogers” printed on it pointing into the woods down a path off the side of the road. I also noticed on my map that the summit of Mt. Rogers was 5700 feet. Surely there would be a view from up there. I traded my cycling shoes for sandals, grabbed my camera, locked my bike to the “Mt. Rogers” sign, and headed into Jefferson forest. The first thing I saw was this sign.

There was a moment's pause to consider if 13 miles round trip was too much. But, a moment was all it was. I kept walking. Not more than 200 feet later, I was hiking on the Appalachian Trail!

The trail was barely that. I had to stumble over rocks, climb around fallen trees, and slosh through trickling creeks. I was very excited to climb this mountain. I was moving fast. Camera in hand, I was going to get my view. Here is a small section of the trail.

The Appalachian Trail

I began my hike at 9:15. After a while, I began to wonder how long I had been hiking for and how much further I had to go. I was getting hungry and thirsty and wondered if I should have brought some food and water. All I had brought with me was my phone that had no reception, my wallet so maybe I could pay a bear not to eat me, and my camera. I wondered if there were even bears around and I also wondered if I would see any humans. I thought there was a better chance of seeing a bear than a human.

I made it to the top at around 10:45. I walked out of the woods and into a clearing. The wind picked up and the clouds were rolling quickly just over my head. It was quiet, except for the blades of grass rubbing against each other as the breeze blew them back and forth. I walked by an area of land that seemed to have been recently camped on. It was wonderful. Here was the view.

Not bad but, not exactly what I was hoping for either.I was at 5700 feet! I thought maybe if I just walked a couple hundred more feet I could get a better view. I could've walked a couple hundred more feet up on top of Mt. Rogers all day. My stomach was now sternly telling me to turn around. Reluctantly, I did.

The walk down was just as eventful as the walk up. However, I did pass two humans (no bears) who were not looking to have a conversation. I asked one woman if she had seen a bike on the side of the road. She said she had not. I began to walk a little faster. I made it back down to the road by 1PM. My bike was just as I'd left it. Immediately, I ate a chocolate bar and rehydrated myself.

I rode about 25 miles to Demascus to have lunch. The roads were, for the most part, downhill. It was very easy riding. As I was eating my lunch, the owner came up to me and asked me where I was headed. We began talking and I mentioned my hike earlier in the day. The first thing he said was, “You were a little disappointed with the view from the top, weren't ya?” I said I was and then he told me I should've hiked up Whitetop Mountain if I wanted a spectacular view. The path up Whitetop was just a little further down the road from Mt. Rogers. Also, Whitetop is a little shorter than Rogers. I would've never thought the shorter mountain would have a better view!

After Demascus I rode about 30 more miles to a little town named Hayter's Gap (pronounced high-ters). I have been looking forward to Hayter's Gap. Look at the elevation chart and you will see why.

Click to enlarge.

After Hayter's Gap, that's about 1500 feet of elevation gain in a little less than 4 miles.

Before I was to begin my ascent, I downed another chocolate bar and poured all my remaining water into my CamelBak. That climb was the hardest bit of riding I have ever done. The road was switchback the entire way. My average speed was close to 6 mph, my shirt was completely soaked through from sweat, and yet, I only took two short breaks to rest my legs. I knew I was getting close to the top and I could hear thunder in the distance. It was quite dramatic.

The climb up Hayter's Gap were miles 47 through 51 on the day. It was downhill for most of the final 9 miles to the Oaks Motel in Rosedale, which is where I am spending the night. As soon as I rolled into the parking lot, the rain finally started to fall. What a day.

Here is an up to date google map of my progress. Almost in Kentucky!

View Where is Joe? in a larger map

life=good