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  1. #1
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    Default Snow up on Roan Mountain

    Spent the weekend at Roan Mtn. We actually got there Thursday. It snowed all day. Lower elevations didn't pile up much, fighting some melting I suppose but on Friday morning everything up on Carver Gap and Roan was thick with snow. It was really cool as I had never hiked in snow. We didn't do a lot but got a day in going out to the Roan Knob and back. Things melted back a lot yesterday and today but they're expecting over 6" in town tonight so there could be a foot up on the mountain! The storm appears to be bringing snow up and down the Appalachians so the early thru-hikers are going to be hiking in white!

  2. #2
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    No surprise. The Weather Channel is on these winter storms 24/7.
    I’m surprised that our family survived the 1950s in Western MA without the Weather Channel.
    Did y’all manage okay without traction gizmos?
    Be warm. Be safe.
    Wayne

  3. #3

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    The Weather Channel is more hype then weather. But it looks like the whole AT will be impacted by this storm, along with more high winds in PA/NJ area. Their calling for 12-14" in my area, with flurries lingering until next week! That on top of what we just got is going to be one big pile of snow!
    Follow slogoen on Instagram.

  4. #4
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    Weather Channel Hype.
    Precisely my point.
    Wayne

  5. #5

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    A fresh snow and iced up Roan High Mt area of the AT winter hike is a highly regarded experience valued more than the Whites at the same time.

    The Roan AT Cabin gets darn cold in the shade. Always some critters running around both inside and outside at the cabin. Sitting outside one night around a campfire in about 1 1/2 hrs we saw deer, a Bobcat, Grey Fox, porcupine, and opossum. Inside a rat and the usual suspects - meeses. Next morn chattering inquistive chipmunks greeted us outside. Something up on the roof and under the floor at night too. Yeah it's an animal shelter gathering place.

    I really like it in the winter and during the rhododendron, flame and carolina Azalea bloom period as well as searching for Grays lilies(away from the AT). It's beautiful in the fall too with yellow solidago and purple asters with the maroon low bush blueberries. Better than Clingmans Dome or the Whites.

    I can picture it in the past with herds of now extinct Eastern elk.

    Oh what a tangled Web we humans can weave.

  6. #6

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    Thx for that Uncle Joe.

  7. #7

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    One of the coldest nights I ever spent on an AT hike was at Roan Mt shelter. It was late April or early May, yet went down to 20 that night and me in a "keep you alive to 30" sleeping bag. Spent most of the night doing isometrics inside the bag to stay warm. At the first hint of dawn, I said the heck with this, packed up and got hiking. Two hours later I was warm enough to stop for breakfast.
    Follow slogoen on Instagram.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Venchka View Post
    No surprise. The Weather Channel is on these winter storms 24/7.
    I’m surprised that our family survived the 1950s in Western MA without the Weather Channel.
    Did y’all manage okay without traction gizmos?
    Be warm. Be safe.
    Wayne
    We did manage fine without micro spikes or anything. A few icy patches and I did go down once. But overall we hiked thru it fine. It was a good 2-3" pack with some shin-high drifts. It was gorgeous to see.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Slo-go'en View Post
    One of the coldest nights I ever spent on an AT hike was at Roan Mt shelter. It was late April or early May, yet went down to 20 that night and me in a "keep you alive to 30" sleeping bag. Spent most of the night doing isometrics inside the bag to stay warm. At the first hint of dawn, I said the heck with this, packed up and got hiking. Two hours later I was warm enough to stop for breakfast.
    Yeah that shelter was cold when we got there and had lunch on the return trip. I told my friend, "No imagine we just got here and were preparing to sleep for the night!"

  10. #10
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    My daughter reports more snow overnight in Boone.
    Snow Day for the Kidlets. ☃️

  11. #11
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    The aforementioned Roan Mountain Shelter:
    IMG_0107.jpg

    The trail:
    IMG_0063.HEIC.jpeg

  12. #12
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    Not sure about all the areas along the AT, but so far (and with what is expected tomorrow), many areas up here in NY are getting onto the top 10 list for most snow in March (and we're not even halfway through the month).

    It may be tough for many to top that list (since the rather famous 1888 storm was in March with it's large totals) but some areas could get close if these storms keep occurring...

    It also seems (perhaps a bit more unusual) that the storms are all tracking enough to impact a fairly large area of the country (which was also part of the issues with the first storm particularly and power outages - it's hard to find extra help crews to bring in when you have to start going several states and hundreds of miles away to get out of the storm zone, and then there are a dozen other states all looking at the same time in those same places).

  13. #13

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    Absolutely dumping right now just down the road on 19E. Its got to be exciting up on hump right now.

  14. #14
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    Winter storm Jonas greeted me on Roan during my thru (January of 16). Then I post-holed all the way to Erwin. That experience was somewhere near sober psychedelic.

  15. #15

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    sober psychedelic.


    Reminds me of Walter Mitty crossing the snowfields in the Himalayas at 18K ft: "my mind drifts like the snow."

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