November 4th - I began my Overmountain Victory Trail hike at the Hampton Creek State Natural Area parking lot and trailhead.  To get there take Highway 143 in Roan Mountain like you're going to the State Park, but before you get to the park, take a left on Old 143, then take the first right onto Hampton Creek Road.  After about three miles or so, the parking area will be immediately on your left.

Let me first give the history of this trail...

The Overmountain Men were a group of about 1000 (mostly untrained and un-uniformed) American militiamen in the Revolutionary War that gathered at Sycamore Shoals (then called Fort Watauga) in Elizabethton in 1780.  These men banned together and marched across the Roan Highlands through Yellow Mountain Gap on their way to Kings Mountain, South Carolina.  Eventually, they made it to the Kings Mountain battle and in one hour and five minutes they totally defeated the British's American Tory army in what is known as the prominent turning point in the Revolutionary War.  The path that I took today, is the same one that these men took over 225 years ago.       

Okay, if you are referring to the National Geographic topo map when looking at the this area, it's wrong.  You can no longer take the road into the Natural Area as shown on the map (at least there are signs posted that say not to).  The parking lot and trailhead is right next to Hampton Creek Road.  This is adds quite a bit of mileage to the hike.  My map calls this a 1.5 mile hike to Yellow Mountain Gap, but it was more like 3.8 miles.

I started at approximately 3000' elevation, and the first two miles of the hike basically ascended on a dirt farming road through pastureland.  I walked past numerous horses and cattle along the way, a couple of barns, old tractor tires, and the farmer himself whom I waved to.  I also had to open and close 4 or 5 cattle gates.  I guess the "Natural Area" is not so natural after all.

(Click all images for larger photos)

After about two miles I reached the edge of the forest at about 4100' elevation.  From there the trail basically traversed south-westerly through more old roads and eventually what seemed to be newly constructed trail.  The blazes were white triangle-shaped and in some areas they were really well-marked, but in others they were almost non-existent.  This caused me to lose the trail briefly a couple of times (especially with heavy leaf cover on the trail), but eventually I made my way to Yellow Mountain Gap (4700' elevation).

Sign at Yellow Mountain Gap Where the AT & the Victory Trail Intersect	The Overmountain Barn (AT Shelter) at Yellow Mountain Gap	Views Into North Carolina from the Northern Climb Out of Yellow Mountain Gap
I Stopped on a Rock Outcropping to Eat a Snack and Enjoy the Views		Overlooking Yellow Mountain Gap

From Yellow Mountain Gap I took the Appalachian Trail to the north, and after 1.6 more miles of climbing I reached the summit of Little Hump Mountain (elevation 5459').  This gave me approximately 2400' of elevation gain in a total of 5.5 miles to the summit. 

The 360 degree views on this bald summit were very nice.  I stopped to take some photos, but my batteries went dead so I was only able to take the few below.  I soon turned around and came back down the mountain.

My total miles hiked for this day was 10.8. 

Wonderful Views from the Summit

of Little Hump Mountain

The Easy to Spot Grandfather Mountain

from the Summit of Little Hump

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