April 28

Unaka

Came down off of Beauty Spot down into a gap first thing this morning.  Then I began a pretty sizable assent on Unaka Mountain, at 5180 feet.  This was a beautiful mountain and a beautiful hike.  The forest changed back into spruce and fir again.  Although the trees were dense, this area was different from the evergreen forests in the Smokies, in that there was no understory or shrubs.  The only thing on the top of the mountain were spruce and firs.  As far as you could see it was just a maze of tree trunks that you were walking through.  If it weren't for the white blazes it would be easy to get lost.  The trail was nothing but soft needles that had fallen from the trees.  The forest was dark and moist.  Lush, dark green moss covered the ground.  This was a magical place.  At the summit I rounded a bend, and caught back up to KB.  He had pushed on further last night, so he had been ahead of me all morning.  Coming down the mountain, there were small Frasier firs everywhere.  It looked like a Christmas tree farm.  The air smelled great.  The rest of the day there were a few small ups and downs.  Entering Iron Mountain Gap, there was a really nice, new sign showing several distances north and south of that location.  Apparently I am now in the section maintained by the Tennessee Eastman Hiking and Canoeing Club.  I made it to the Cylde Smith shelter and decided to stop for the day.  Apparently shelters in Tennessee are lacking in privies, and this on was no different.  There was only one other hiker there tonight.  KB had decided to push on to find a tent site.  Looking forward to hiking into the Roans tomorrow!  

Sign at Iron Mountain Gap.