Elk Garden to Buzzard Rock on the AT

We headed out at 8 this morning to Elk Garden Trailhead near Whitetop, Virginia's second highest peak.  After close to 2 hours on the road, we unloaded and geared up and hit the trail.  The trail began in the woods, but emerges on a bald.  The wooded sections are usually uneventful, but this one looked like an enchanted forest.  The areas alongside the trail were covered in trillium, trout lilies and other wildflowers.  It was gorgeous, along with the views from the bald of course.