A New Hiking Trail

Saturday afternoon, the boys, their friend, and I braved the mist and gray skies and hit the trail at a new hiking spot not too far from home. Early on, the trail comes across this Stonehenge-type edifice, which made for a great source of entertainment (and bickering).

The four-mile loop was the perfect length for an afternoon, and just enough to tire the boys out so they quit the bickering. And it was the perfect time of year to enjoy the maple-dominant forest--beautiful changing leaves and even a small stand of flowering witch-hazel, which I forgot to photograph. I wondered to myself why we hadn't hiked more over the summer, and then at one point we passed a swampy area and I remembered--oh, yeah, that's what's so nice about hiking in the fall--no bugs.

The glowering skies never let loose rain, and we finished the hike with dry shoes and topped it off with a trip to the apple orchard for a jug of cider and a bag of apples before heading home.