Oh the weather. Sometimes it is the bomb, sometimes it is not. My best girl is, and always has been, a serious warrior - a trooper in the truest sense of the word. Since I began adventuring with her, when we have plans made, we go - no matter what the weather. Sometimes it works out and sometimes we have days like this one in late September.

We'd not seen each other to really talk in what felt like a long time, so we planned an epic day. I came up with a solid plan that would allow us to travel a section of the AT she and I have only traveled one other time (that was in February when we did a 14 mile deep snow snowshoe up Little Big, over Safford Notch, up Avery Peak, down into the Col, down the Firewardens' Trail, then out on Stratton Brook Pond to where Barry waited for us with his car). The plan: bring mountain bikes with us, park at the Little Bigilow trailhead then ride our bikes (with loaded packs because the forecast was wet, windy and cold anytime after 10am) 4.5 miles up a hilly dirt road to the trailhead of the Safford Notch trail. Travel up to Safford Notch, take a right onto the AT, summit Avery and then hike back to Safford Notch -- from there, stay on the AT over to Little Bigelow and then head down, still on the AT, to where the car was parked and waiting. So it was a 4.5 mile bike ride and a 13 mile hike.

We were both fighting/getting over colds - Al had cold sores and had been really sick and I had been fighting Jim's cold for nearly two weeks. With both of us thinking a big day would kick that shit right out of our systems, we headed out. We were both wrong. We had a great day talking and visiting despite the rain (which became pretty significant just as we were heading out of the trees to get near the summit of Avery and did not stop from that point on).

But on Sunday, I felt my own cold sores rearing their nasty viral heads and soon had a really bad case all over my nose. She got another one on her lip (to match the one on the other side) and we both got full on sick again. I guess a big day out in the cold and rain was not what our bodies needed. Could have fooled us. So no views, but good bunch of hours out in the woods. It was a good one.

The bike ride to the trailhead. Weather was good at this point.

The trail was really pretty.

Dixie and Jack at the intersection of the AT and Safford Notch Trail

Near the summit of Avery - right near where the old fire tower was. This was both my and Al's first trip up Avery since they burned the old fire tower down.

Summit -- what a view!

Me and the dogs - summit

A favorite section of the AT - always. Love this part.