We took our time getting ready for hiking today in Pisgah State Park, but we shouldn’t have. In fact, we should’ve gotten our lazy behinds out of bed at the crack of dawn and been back before noon. But we didn’t. And we paid the price. Hot again today, but thankfully, not as hot as it could’ve been as we were in shade all day. But we were sweatin’ in places we didn’t know we had glands.
The weather belies the season as temps soar once again to near record-breaking heights.
Pisgah State Park is the largest State Park in New Hampshire at 13,668 acres (or just under 21.5 square miles). Yes, we’re actually staying in Vermont right now, but NH is just a hop-skip-and-a jump away. And a bridge. Actually the State Line is in the middle of the bridge.
The trail area Blaine chose for today wasn’t particularly strenuous (we have to ease back into hiking after 4 days at the beach 😊), so I had time for some creative thought. I chose a Fall theme.
Ahh Fall!
The Sights! The Sounds! The Smells! The Crisp Air! (oh. wait. not that one . . .)
The resonance and pungent smell of dry leaves as we traipse through them.
Rocks snuggled in a brilliantly adorned sweater of moss
Mushrooms raising their heads like beautiful flowers
Chipmunks busily scurrying about, hoarding for their long winter sleep
A veritable feast of acorns lying in wait
Leaves captured in a web of pine needles
A mirror-image painting of God’s beauty reflected in nature
Tiny streams anticipating the rushing Spring waters
A mosquito nursery preparing for its new arrivals
Leaves releasing their last gasp as they cover all traces of previous passersby
Pine needles blanketing the ground, so thick the earth springs under our feet
Snapping Turtles in search of the perfect place to hide from winter’s fierce icy breath
Hornet nests abandoned, as males die and the New Queen seeks shelter amidst decaying trees
There are even signs of human preparedness as signs spring up along the trails for the boys and their Fall and Winter toys
Had enough? That’s all the creativity I have in me. : )
Here’s some other things we encountered today!
This was on the side of the road on our way to the park!
It was still a bit foggy when we started out. This memorial was at the Park entrance we stopped at.
A memorial from 1948 to a man named Harlan Fiske Stone.
Sounds like an incredible man – one of those lost to history. : (
These old walls once marked the Winchester-Chesterfield road that we’re now hiking on
We have no clue . . .
For some reason, they need a dam here
Today’s lunch spot was improvised.
There were no great places to stop. But at least Blaine found a log for us to sit on!
Here’s our view
It’s pretty obvious no one uses this trail . . .
at least not in the Fall
Look what we found!
It was off-trail in a fairly open area.
After some research, we’ve decided it’s most likely a 1934 Ford Coupe.
In all, we hiked 7-8 miles today – and never saw another soul.