What a great day for a hike!  OK, maybe not; but I had the day off, so I'll take it. It was very windy and dumping rain, so put the rain gear on, crossed my fingers, and headed out. Yep. Lord Hill. Again.

Haven't walked the whole Midway in awhile, so decided to check it out. Surprisingly, despite the storm, there was nothing to clear. A couple of the stream crossings on the south section needed a little attention - the log planks were submerged. Propped them up a bit, but I'll have to come up with a more permanent solution. In the meantime, watch your step.

Sat at the Viewpoint for awhile and enjoyed listening to the wind and watching a pair of eagles soar and dive in the gusts. Can't believe those trees up there haven't toppled yet! Cleared up enough to get a pic of Wallace Falls - bet it was a good day to visit there! Didn't see anyone all day, although there were a few cars in the lot.

Anyway, that's about it. Can't say about the rest of the trails, but the Midway is good to go. Check it out! It runs roughly between the Main and the Pipeline, so you can't get lost. (It's a footpath, so it's not raked and there are a lot of step-overs, so pay attention.) Pack your trash!

Wonderful hike, not to far out of town.  There are miles and miles to explore on foot, or on mountain bike. The trails are marked and the terrain is easy to navigate.

Wonderful hike, not to far out of town.  There are miles and miles to explore on foot, or on mountain bike. The trails are marked and the terrain is easy to navigate.

My route today was rather erratic, looking for erratics.  Well, they might not be true erratics. These look local, not the "You're not from around here, are you?" type. Lets just call them "Giant Misplaced Boulders". Here goes, largest to smallest :

#1.  Can't miss it. It's big as a bus, and right on the trail. Take the horse trail around the south side of Temple Pond, then the first left back north. (I call it the "Big Rock" trail, but it's probably got another name.) This rock is big enough to climb up the backside - carefully, of course.

#2.  This one just blends in. You might not even notice it. Which is OK because it's off-trail and I can't tell you where it is. Let's just say somewhere between #1 & #3.

#3.  This one appears out of nowhere. It's not too far down from the north entrance to the Second Spring trail. (Which interestingly, used to be called the Erratic before the new map came out; also called the Rogue Knights?) Saw two bike riders on it today - the first I've ever seen on this trail! I don't usually advertise little used trails, but this one is in danger of disappearing. Check it out! A little hard to find the entrance, but worth the effort...

#4.  This one is so obvious, you might miss it! But don't worry, your kids will find it! It is about a hundred yards down the trail from the parking lot. On your left...

This was a fun route. LOTS of mallards today at Temple Pond. Didn't see that many people, even though the lot was full. (Nice parking today, BTW - pulling in instead of parallel. Fits twice as much!).  Hike on...

Yeah, it's me. You knew I had to give you an update on my last report, so here it is...

Last week the Cut-off trail between the Main and the Pipeline was blocked by a five tree blow-down. I thought it would be cleared already, and as expected, it was. As suspected, all the sawn up logs were tossed onto the Midway, effectively blocking the entrance. Never one to miss an opportunity, I used all the pieces to my advantage!

I usually block the entrances to the footpaths with logs and branches to discourage the horse and bike riders from accessing it; leaving a few step-overs for the hikers. This crossing was a trouble spot, but the logs came in handy. I think it came out pretty good, considering. The re-route is now the new way - at least til the next blow-down. (And looking at all the dead trees in the area, it won't be too long.)

All the clean up took longer than expected, so I never did get a chance to check out the S Midway. Maybe this week. I did get to the Viewpoint for my sandwich and a beer, and the sunset looked promising for this next week. Someone has done a LOT of work raking the trails - nice job!

I guess that's it. As always, it was a great day out in the woods.