Time for another hike.

We’re getting ready for a longer backpacking trip, so we need to get in as much hiking as we can in preparation for several days of carrying our packs. We did a fairly short four and a half mile hike in the morning around the yellow and red trails at Busiek State Park and Wildlife Area. We used the south trail head, which appears to see very little traffic. 

After the problems I had with my huaraches on Monday, I tried lacing them more tightly and they stayed in place with less slipping, again the trail was wet and very muddy in places, though this time we only had to cross the creek (Woods Fork) twice. Today’s picture shows me re-enacting my valiant first crossing of the creek. We heard the sound of falling water and left the trail to investigate, finding a very nice set of small waterfalls on a ephemeral creek about 100 feet off the trail. From there we had to do a bit of back tracking to retrieve my sunglasses, which I’d left at the creek when I took them off to set up the camera for today’s shot.

We stopped for a bite of lunch and a short rest on a lovely gravel bank near our second Wood’s Fork crossing, where Ginger looked for fossils.

Once back to the car, we had to dash into Springfield, pick-up kids, return the rental car, pick up the van, and I went off to my class. It would have been an excellent night at class only partway through I realised that I’d read the wrong lesson the previous night. That’ll teach me to do my work late in the evening, though the van breaking down did throw me out a bit I should have double-checked the lesson.

Today’s alternate shot & extras