It is perfectly still and dark. The sky is ablaze with stars, more than I've ever seen before. It is cold. It is time to get up, 4C. But thankfully, no rain. The best strategy for making the transition from warm sleeping bag to cold clothes is as quickly as possible, limit the suffering :). We are considering walking on with out breakfast but the allure of hot oatmeal and tea irresistible. Now we are ready, it is a brilliant day. We are just a mile from our campsite and already we need to remove jackets, it is too hot. The sun is warm and views are spectacular, at 5290ft, the mountain tops in the distance peek through the clouds and the valleys are hidden in billowing clouds. It seems every step gives us a more beautiful perspective, progress is slow, we stop to admire to risk not falling on our faces. 

The trail is in great shape. The forest is completely different with evidence of a forest fire probably 50 years ago allowing huge new growth on the forest floor. The tree are densely packed together with golden birch and suddenly a beech grove. We climb up for awhile and come to the top of a bald, with a magnificent tower on the top Bartram Tower. We meet two lovely girls who share our photo of the Alzheimer Society flag.

Spring is near. Tiny leaves are beginning to peak through the carpet of dead leaves that blanket the forest floor. The sun is out, walking is a pleasure. The forest is still save the occasional birds along the path. We have seen nuthatches, blue birds, robins and juncos. 

Legs are tired and suddenly two smiling (and very good looking) faces in front of us, It is Jellybean and his room mate, hiking up the trail with Trail Magic, they are offering us apples, and Gatoraid just at the perfect moment. We are thrilled with the generosity.

It is after 5 and we are just arriving at the camping area, it has been a long day. There is little flat ground. All the tents are slightly tilted, looks like someone was drunk when they set them out. A few people in the shelter which is a 3 sided structure with a roof extended over the open side for cooking, usually with a bench and table structure. 

All is quiet now, the sky has gone dark, tomorrow will be a big day.