No Drought Right Now

I have had several hikes "weathered out" in the past couple of weeks, including HFD's trip to Dupont State Forest and a trip to scout out Mount Mitchell. I want to take the HFD group to Mount Mitchell in early May to simulate the higher altitude of the Grand Canyon and to give them an idea of hiking down when you're fresh and hiking up when you're tired. Guess I will have to check it out on a weekday. In the meantime, I am pulling my stuff together for my first "official" Smokies trip. Jim and I will do a 3-day, 2-night backpack with some members of Carolina Mountain Club. I don't have a lot of really lightweight equipment so I guess I'm going shopping!