Recently most of our energy has been devoted to traveling, moving, and a host of other time-consuming activities, so it’s been rare for us to find much time for hiking. But this afternoon was so sunny and warm that we were quite easily inspired to head up the mountain to the Eales Preserve.

We hiked the Conglomerate Loop and the Stonehenge Trail, of course along with the gravel roads required to get to and from the parking area. Mountaintop breezes made the conditions pleasant despite the high humidity—and no ticks found us!

Rich and I agreed that it this particular loop was a bit rockier than we’d prefer for mountain biking, but there are many more trails in the area to investigate.

Wildlife sightings today were few, but we saw at least three varieties of colorful mushrooms and several stands of Indian Pipe that were sadly past their prime, their dull black withered heads turned toward the sky. I still always like to see them. And we snacked on sweet blueberries along many of the trails.