{"id":37906,"date":"2025-11-22T23:33:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T23:33:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/goatbells.blog\/?p=37906"},"modified":"2025-11-22T23:33:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T23:33:11","slug":"magical-mists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goatbells.blog\/?p=37906","title":{"rendered":"Magical mists"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Another very short break in winter weather in the valley but fog – thick in places. Went to bed contemplating 3 hikes, and then with the morning weather – cloud cover and fog – decided a Pisgah<\/a> Ramble was the right choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I left the West trailhead before 6:30am with 8 cars in the parking lot; when I returned at 11:30, the lot was full. My headlamp was on for less than 20 minutes as I exited the valley floor fog. My objective was to spend as much time on the north \/ northeast side away from the heavy traffic to the summit, so I went to the summit 2x from the backside after a pre-dawn trip up the main trail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That first time atop was great looking to the east and the rising sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Looking back across the valley to the southwest, just butte tops above the fog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As I came back down the south side on trail #3 perhaps the same deer as last time greeted me from the fog; he didn’t run but he didn’t stick around either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One of the later times atop Pisgah, the bench and fog were just perfectly before Spencer Butte across the valley sticking out above the fog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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With all the mist and fog in the lower elevations water and sun seemed to paint pictures everywhere I looked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Route<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Started at West TH and up main trail to summit. Then, down the south side to Trail 3 around to #4 and then up to the Summit; back down and up exactly the same, but then from the top down to #4 to the west and Tr #3 to #14 and back to the TH and car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the first 3 hours human and dog traffic was manageable but after that … too many people for sure, and so, so many leashless dogs that I started complimenting people who used leashes. It was irrational the number, size and types of dogs off leash with so much wildlife in that park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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