Blooms On Rich Mountain Trail.

Dudes and Dudettes! As I walked a familiar path I was treated to bright new colors from Flame Azaleas, Mountain Laurel, and others with some plants still in the process of flowering. The trail was quiet from recent thunderstorms some of which I encountered on the second half of this 4ml+ RT. I passed two gentleman who were coming out about a half mile into this walk and they were the only folks I saw.
Magnificent shades of green and the varying sun light with the clouds and canopy caused me to pause and wish I could show in these pictures the wide view and joy being appreciated at the time the shutter snaps a moment in time. Peace

Blooms and Snow Along West Prong

Wow, what a great day to spend part of in the mountains! The blooms along this trail are just increasing with more Flame Azalea, Trillium, and various other flowers and colors! Here are few that are new along this route to me anyway.
As I almost reached my halfway point, 3 mls, a frozen precipitation began to fall on me and it did not appear to be hail but rather sleet or a heavy wet snow. This was above 3000', late in the afternoon, and in the Smokey Mountains. I experienced this frozen moisture for a few minutes on top of Rich Mtn. and again briefly as I began my descent from campsite #5. Days like this are when I'm glad I was a Cub Scout and my brothers were Boy Scouts so I learned to "be prepared" because I had grabbed some work gloves out of my trunk and put on a jacket as I prepared to start the hike.










The jacket tucked under my shoulder strap of my bag and the gloves went in the jacket pockets when not in use. Though both items became very useful several times along this 6 ml. walk.
From what little I know about specific wildflowers I can say this with confidence and that is there will be blooms of various sorts along the West Prong for several weeks. Peace