This morning was misty and wet from all of the rain the night before. Later on there’s the chance of rolling thunderstorms and … more rain. We hoped to hike a stretch of the Red Hill Trail to the Bruce trail before we got soaked.
The mud along the Red Hill Trail is sticky and slick. Hikers should be extra careful after it’s rained. We noticed many that were out had poles to stabilize themselves.
The trees looked extra moody with a slick of rain on them. This misty light made the green of the new leaves really pop.
Once we got down the first hill the terrain leveled out. The trail follows alongside the creek that Albion Falls cascades into. There are several little waterfalls along the route.
Erosion along the creek bed has left the roots of the trees exposed. Its a reminder of the communication network hidden beneath the soil. Suzanne Simard does an excellent TED talk explaining how trees communicate.
Birding
No trip along any of the trails is complete without a little birding. We had a perfect sighting of an indigo bunting. They are such stunning birds!
It’s amazing how many of the creatures inhabiting the forest, not 10 feet from us, are completely unknown to us. The more we get to know the plants and birds and butterflies the more in awe we are.
There is so much to see if we just decide to look.
Our intentions were to get to the Escarpment Rail Trail parking sidetrail and take the Mountain Brow side trail back. This meant a nice loop where we would get to see Buttermilk and Albion Falls. Not having a phone with data on it meant we didn’t realize we were almost there when the rain came. We turned around instead and hightailed it back to the car, making it just in time. Heavy rain poured down on us as we drove home.
