AT: Carver's Gap to US19E

The trail from Carver's Gap begins up about a 400 ft. elevation gain to the first of the balds. This section of the AT is beautiful at near 6000 ft. above sea level, and you'll get great 360-degree views here, including a view of Roan Mountain. The trail travels 3.7 miles to the Stan Murray shelter and traverses down the ridge switchbacking through the woods. Next, you'll begin the to climb the rest of Little Hump Mountain, which is tough. About a 1,000 ft. elevation gain over 2 or so miles. You'll then come through the tree line and again there will be a 360-degree view of the Blue Ridge Mountains, but possibly also high winds.The climb to the top of Hump Mountain can only be described as gnarly. It is straight up with a 400 ft. elevation gain in about 0.25 miles. From the top of Hump Mountain, you got a perfect view of Grandfather Mountain, Sugar Mountain, and the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee.The rest of this section of trail is rolling until turning left near a fence line. The next section of trail will go back down the ridge through the woods. After winding down the trail and going through switchbacks that drop almost 1,500 feet in elevation, the trail comes across a clearing where there was a campsite and a few opportunities to get a view of the area around Hwy-19.**A good out-and-back alternative would be to start from Carver's Gap and hike to Little Hump, where you could camp for the night or turn around. The views here are stellar, and you save yourself from the grueling hike up Hump Mountain.