Thirty-eight TrailBlazers, including several new faces, and two canines made the scenic drive to Mt. Magazine to hike around Cove Lake. We were pleased to have Billigene back in the flock since we had not seen her for a couple of months. We certainly lucked out on the weather as it was bright, sunny and warm. There is nothing like good weather, a short drive, and a moderate hike to bring people out of the woodwork! 

We drove over the arched bridge to a parking lot near the campground that would accommodate a bunch of cars. After crossing the road, we started up the trail, sometimes hiking close to the lake and sometimes not. There were several little rock-hopper creek crossings and more bridges of various types than Yours Truly remembered. Along the way we saw moss, ferns, interesting fungi, a sweet gum magnolia, little creeks and several crops of ($#*^#%%&) greenbrier lying in wait for us! At one lakeside campsite we saw an inviting red canoe. In places there were mud holes and mushy ground, so we had to watch our steps. 

After we arrived on the other side of the lake about half of us opted to do a mile round-trip hike up to the highest point above the lake. It was a steady climb, so there was a lot of huffing and puffing to get ourselves up to the top where we were rewarded with a beautiful overview of the lake.