Mission Project

I am a student at one of the most awesome universities for the outdoors one can possibly go to, Appalachian State University. There is so much outdoor things to do within a half hour drive it will take your full tenure at the university to experience it. There are numerous waterfalls and gorges to see not the mention some killer views. Now I have been to Yosemite this past summer and it was awesome, I climbed Half Dome among other things, and believe me, i loved it. But when i was there i met some people from California who saw my Appalachian State shirt, and since it was before we beat Michigan, they didnt know where it was, so i explained it to them. after they heard it was in North Carolina they commented that yosemite must be a big difference to me since they thought that our mountains were only about 2500 feet and pretty much just little bumps. they were surprised when I told them that Mt Mitchell in NC is 6,684 feet, but still not very impressed. now even though the mountains out west impressed me with how big they were, but i still love our mountains back home alot, just because they have alot more color and character to me, and since the valleys are so low, they still make you feel like your on top of the world. theres my spiel on how the Apps are still cool, now for my mission.

I had camped out on Hump Mountain once before which is part of the Roan Highlands and the Appalachian Trail and loved it. the mountain is completely bald at the top, so there is no obstruction from trees, and when you come out of the forest on the top, you go by some awesome tasting berry trees, and then right into a random herd of Texas Longhorn cattle kept up there to keep the grass down. you creep on through the judgmental eyes of the cattle, passing within a few feet of them, then continue from the top. the pictures on Flickr i have posted are from the top of this mountain. that first time i camped up there, my friend and I met a guy from LSU that had graduated and afterward hiked the entire AT by himself. he was back in Roan Highlands because he said on his way back he had to stop there because it was his favorite place the trail and he had chosen Asheville NC to live now so he could be close to the area. he recommended to us to hike the whole Roan Highland area one weekend if we could and he guaranteed that it wouldn't disappoint. about a month ago we took him up on it and drove about 30 miles out of Boone to the Tennessee state line. the Highlands go along the NC/TN line the entire time with the mountain ridge being the actual state line i believe. well we hiked up the 6,300 foot Roan Mountain from the 2,700 foot valley, which made a pretty good climb. we camped the first night and continued along the open, bald grass, ridge the entire next day. it began to rain the next night and my Mountain Hardwear Cohesion shell jacket came in really handy and never let in an ounce of rain. i love the large bill sticking out of the hood , really keeps the water out of your face. that jacket also came in very handy later. i also have some mountain hardwear shorts that i dont know the model of, but i bought them in Lake Tahoe over the summer that have a seamless waist and a built in belt are made for backpacking, they are my new favorite shorts. the seamless waist is awesome and they left absolutely no rash! from the pack, they feel like not even wearing anything, the large pockets that keep things on the op of your thigh are very functional as well. you guys put alot of thought into your products ergonomically and it really shows when you put them to use. we camped our last night on hump mountain to a beautiful sunset and subsequent awesome sunrise that morning. we packed up and left while the dew was still fresh. we got about a mile down when my friend slid on some acorns and severely sprained his ankle, and almost fell off the ravine that the trail runs along the edge of. after i pulled him up and we looked at the ankle i needed some thing to wrap it with, and my cohesion jacket rolled up vertically was the best we could find. so i rolled up the jacket and wrapped it around his ankle with the jacket on the outside walking on it. i expected having to buy a new jacket after this but to my surprise, after being walked on, and bouncing down the boulders on the trail and the gritty ground for about 5 miles, the jacket, once cleaned off didn't have a tear in it, and stayed intact the entire time. sheerly amazing. my friend has now bought one of the jackets for himself and we both stand by mountain hardware products strong. i have a couple pairs of shorts, some gloves, an enterprise backpack, and that trusty cohesion jacket right now and they all do their jobs very nicely. the jacket is still waterproof after having it a couple years and putting it through a lot of tumult.