The trail was actually pretty easy for the first part of the day, nicely groomed and relatively flat. I started seeing encouraging signs promising trail magic farther up.
What I found in the first big gap that I arrived at was a period re-enactment group from Alabama. They were awesome and had a ton of food to share. They handed out nuts, fruit, chili, soup, and biscuits. The early lunch was delicious and the group was welcoming and entertaining.
I’m starting to get really spoiled because up and over the next mountain there was another group providing trail magic – handing out beer, cookies, prosciutto and gatorade. I also met a sweet pit bull puppy and Burmese mountain dog (named Everest) along the way. The puppy was energetic but Everest was just chilling, both were obviously pretty happy about life. Dogs are the best, they’re some of my favorite people.
After this break there was another climb that led up to Wesser Bald and another fire tower. This is the first day since I’ve been on the trail when the wind has been warm. You know that feeling, the early days of spring when the first warm breeze blows through promising the summer to come. It was just like that and it was lovely. I also saw the first flowers starting to blossom, I’m looking forward to walking through the spring bloom of all the plants on the trail.
There were more great views but everything was partially obscured by a forest fire. I hear rumors that it was both a controlled burn and an unplanned fire. Not sure which it is but in my years in California taught me to treat wildfires with caution.
Another mile past the tower and I found a cozy spot to camp. I arrived by 4pm and spent the evening sitting around the fire and reading “The Three Musketeers”. I do appreciate all the digitized public domain books.
Day 15 Mileage: 10.6 mi [Wayah Shelter -> Wesser Shelter]
Total Mileage: 139.3 mi
Your first blooms, I think, are bluets or Quaker ladies. Sweet!