4/17 In a daze

22 miles hiked today, 487.5 miles N
Thomas Knob Shelter

Today my cold was better though not totally gone. Still I was low energy from the start. I think it is my body recovering from town food. I spent the day in a daze. As a result I didn't observe much.
What I did see was;
Three deer in Deep Gap. The funny thing was I thought it was Deer Gap all day until I was double checking something in my guide and noticed my mistake. Can I see the future or is it coincidence? You decide.
I caught up with Bowser who was in the daze too and naping.
Along the trail two of my favorite plants, heather and moss, were in abundance which was a bright spot in my day.
As the day involved 3000 feet of elevation gain I saw more snow at the higher elevations. First it was small pockets hideing in the shade of a tree. Eventually they turned into shallow drifts along the trail slowly melting and leaving a thin layer of mud or water to slop through. At some points it would build up to the point that I would have trouble telling the trail from a creek.
The day was filled with strong winds and though I had orginally planed to camp on Briar Ridge but the wind and exposure made me push the extra mile to Thosmas Knob. It is an improvment in some ways but it is on the edge of a meadow and collects a lot of wind. Also part of its roof has worked lose and is banging every time the wind gusts, about once a minute. I can handle the wind but I hope the roof doesn't keep me up.