Sassafras Mountain
During the hike from Hawk Mt. through Sassafras and Horse Gap, the winds were fierce, as clouds raced by _below_ us. Five whitetail came down the east slope of Sassafras, ignoring me as I watched. While part of me wanted to hustle and make up my missing five days of hiking, taking time to rest and look around was just as much a draw.
This is my overstuffed pack. I was hiking with one of the tags off of my 4runner. Bad DNA. It was a nickname bestowed upon me by my college roomie Pete a decade before. It became my car plates, and somehow seemed suitable for pack decoration. Everyone referred to me by the tag on trail, so it became my Trail Name, too.