Max Patch and Kale Gap

After a chilly, damp night, we were back on the Trail at 9:40 a.m. We headed for Max Patch, where we stopped for lunch at about noon. Even though it was a little overcast, it was just as beautiful as I remembered. While we ate and rested a bit, I took advantage of the wind and sturdy branches to dry out our sleeping bags; other hikers were doing so as well. The view began to look like some sort of strange alien landscape with all of these odd shapes seemingly floating in mid-air. Forest, of course, slept through it all.

After lunch we pressed onward until about 5:48 p.m., when we stopped just past Walnut Mountain Shelter at Kale Gap and set up camp. We are settled in for the night. Hot Springs, we're coming!!