Time for Pilot Knob Ridge

I made it up to Pilot Knob Ridge today and was very happy to see from the trail logs that a lot of people came and visited this lovely place. Today I was not only checking the trail conditions, but I also added and replaced some trail markers. The post at the intersection of the blue and orange trails is marked correctly for as long as the trail marker poachers stay away.

The weather was warm, but comfortable, and all and all I had a very slow and enjoyable hike.

One sad note: As it has been a little dry, the waterfall has slowed to a trickle, but even so, walking up and viewing the rock formation at the falls is worth the trip.

For you birders out there. Any place along the blue trail would be an excellent spot to sit with binoculars and watch birds. I am not up on my bird song identification, but I can tell that there are a lot of different birds out there. I did see a pair of scarlet tanagers; the male was a gorgeous, brilliant red.

This is an example of some of the diverse habitat on the blue trail. This kind of open woods coupled with some of the fringe areas around this habitat provide a huge variety of food sources that supports a high diversity of plants and animals. This photo does not do it justice.

A view of Sandy Bay from the Gazebo. Summer is here as indicated by the boats moored there. You know the water temperature in 54 degrees Fahrenheit, so I bet that nobody is swimming...except a few brave souls.

This is my trail partner. His job is to keep me company, greet fellow hikers and watch over me. He preforms all his jobs flawlessly every time. By the way he really is not a bear, he just looks like one.

I know it is a spider with and egg sac, but it was big and interesting so I decided to photograph it.

This is grass growing out of the pavement of the drive that is part of the orange trail . Why oh why would I take such a boring picture? This ties into my essay on the positive points of the drive entailed A different look at the Driveway trail. This patch of grass demonstrats nature's resilience and strength, as simple as it is, this patch of grass will soon break up this section of pavement allowing larger plants to take root.

Had a great time today and it was nice to run into people along the trails.