Rose and dog Sadie left in the morning for a Christmas visit with her family. By late afternoon we were in hostel mode. Son John $pencer bunked in with grandson David to give his room to Bob, a hiking friend of long standing. We had a leisurely breakfast before driving the two to Cataloochee to hike. Even though it was not prime grazing time, we saw a herd of elk resting in the valley.

The fellows let me take their picture after they strapped on their backpacks. They planned to hike back to a peak we can see from our living room window. It isn’t right in our back yard, but it is pretty close.