A long time ago, my husband, Lenny, asked me what I wanted to do for Mother's Day. "To hike, of course!" So that's what we did. We scouted out a hike he's going to lead for Carolina Mountain Club next month - only 7.9 miles on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

The section from NC 151 to French Broad Overlook is gentle and well-maintained.

Still I hadn't been on a mountain trail for almost two months because of my MST project. No matter how many miles I walked on the road or beach, I was never out of breath but here I could feel the uphills. 

The flowers were outstanding - dwarf-crested irises, lady slippers, a few trilliums and a lot of blackberry cane in flower. The trail crisscrossed the Blue Ridge Parkway a couple of times, so we asked a woman to take a picture of us.

I've got a little bit of the post-hiking project blues. I'm so glad to have completed the trail but I miss the excitement and challenge of planning the next segment.

Still The Mountains-to-Sea Trail was a great experience but I'm glad to be back in the mountains.