Gary (Nothing) and I shuttled up to Carver Gap (5,500 ft) at the Tennessee/North Carolina state line to start our hike. We climbed Roan to over 6100 feet in the first mile and a half. The highest shelter on the entire trail is here. The trail had a lot of ice and it was windy and cold.

Then the long descent began. There was one additional climb of about 900 feet before we got to the Clyde Smith shelter for the night. The going was slow and the descent took its toll on my legs. We arrived just before dark after getting a late start from Carver’s Gap.

It was a cold night, but we were out of the wind and I was nice and toasty.

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AT Thru-Hike Stats
Section Day #1 (3/20/24)
Start - Carver’s Gap (380.8)
End - Clyde Smith Shelter (370.8)
Today's mileage: 10.0
Total section miles: 10.0
Section Avg:  10.0
Total miles on AT: 1272.2

Life isn’t hard to manage when you’ve nothing to lose.

Ernest Hemingway