Still I wonder, who will stop the rain?

For two consecutive weekends now, my hiking desires have been dumped on by mother nature. Don't get me wrong, being outdoors in the pouring rain is better than being stuck inside on a sunny day. This past weekend was supposed to include a 10 mile hike on the Art Loeb Trail in western North Carolina. The loop includes 5 peaks above 6000 feet, with the main attraction being Shining Rock. Josie and I pulled up to the trailhead as the light was fading and got our hike on as soon as we could toss on our packs.

A quarter mile later brought the monsoons; and we were forced to hurry-up pitch under a tree for the night. While I tried to toss and turn around the tree root that was beneath me, the rain still came down steadily. I finally faded off to a decent night's sleep and the morning brought a quasi rainy morning.

The day ended up worthless for hiking and we bagged it, only to see the weather clear up somewhat... All in all the day turned out great, driving along the BRP, stopping in Asheville, picking up fixings at a local market, then heading back out on the BRP for a little picnic...

Traveling through time on the BRP:


The many stages of the Catawba Rhododendron:


A hidden secret:

If you look close, the blowup will reveal the hidden nugget.