Bent Creek used to flow across Biltmore Estate in the days when George and Edith Vanderbilt lived there. It now crosses land controlled by the National Forest Service and the NC Arboretum. It is clear and beautiful year round due in part to the sense of stewardship that the people of these organizations seem to feel.

My friend Hedy Fischer and I rarely get to hike together even though we both love to do so. Hedy technically doesn't have a job but she and Randy have quite a bit of rental property that she manages so she is one busy woman. Once in a blue moon, I succeed in convinicing her to join Abner and me, and she did one day earlier this week. Above is a Trilium we found growing in the wild on a trail in Craggy Gardens on the Blue Ridge Parkway about 15 miles from Asheville. I, of course, had no idea what it was but Hedy either knows this stuff or sounds authoritative enough to convince me.

At the upper most point in Craggy Gardens, you are 6,085 feet above sea level and on a clear day like this one, the views are extraordinary. The lake you see is actually the reservoir that provides Asheville's water.