The three of us hiked together loosely again that day. We agreed to meet at Hogback Ridge Shelter that evening. The weather was good that day, and the trail was not too strenuous. It was a good day for a longer hike.

We arrived at Hogback Ridge around 5:30 that afternoon. There was a poem about Roan Mountain typed on a scrap of paper at the shelter. I took a picture so I could share it here. Roan Mountain was ahead of us, It’s namesake town Roan Mountain, would be the next resupply town past Erwin Tennessee.

The Roan in Rime

When cabin fever makes me moan,

I free my mind to tramp the Roan.

I hike a daybreak mountain climb

And roam it’s paths encloaked in rime

Unveiled from night’s obscurity

I’m awed with such wild purity

Rime swaddles mountaintops in white

Wen fog engulfs a wintry night.

As droplet imps in escapade

Caress each fence-row, branch and blade,

Their fairy kiss and snug embrace

Leave diamond sparkles every place.

Such thoughts, recalling icy morns

Of mountain heights where frost adorns

The artistry of fog and night

With gleaming flecks of brilliant light,

Grant scenes of God-breathed poetry

And Rime inspired rhapsody.