The smell of wet pine needles mixed with a potpourri of wild flowers, ferns, mountain meadow grasses and mud produced a heady fragrance beyond anything one could find bottled on a store shelf.  I inhaled the aroma deeply, stirring imaginations of cozy winter cabins warmed by fireplaces ablaze with crackling wood.      White tennis shoes contrasted with deep dark brown dirt as we trod up the gentle slope.  A neatly manicured trail led us along this sky-high peak at … Continue reading →