I'm on a roll with hiking.

Sunday, I went to the Smokies with a friend for another hike.  It was just a little cool and misty, and the beginning of the hike followed a creek.

I mentioned that it seemed like there ought to be gnomes in these mountains and we got into a discussion about how woodland gnomes would dress differently than garden gnomes.

 The ground was sodden in places and I was thankful for my waterproof hiking shoes.

Since the Smoky Mountains are a temperate rainforest, nearly everything sports a little moss.

Part of the trail involved a steep stone stairway. It was worse walking back down it.

It was pretty socked in at some of the overlooks, and the temperature was dropping.

The layers I'd peeled off got added back on.

 We stopped here for lunch. And as soon as we stopped moving, I started shivering.

A storm was brewing and we turned back after we'd walked about four miles.

Eight miles in all, much of it in cold rain.

As we drove back to where I'd left my car, I got an out-of-focus shot of this bear up in a tree by the road. Another bear was nearby, also in the branches.