I think about a lot of things while I’m hiking. Sometimes I think about the things I plan to write about in the blog. Unfortunately I sometimes forget what those items are when it’s time to actually start writing.


After the unusual weather in the Pacific Northwest the past year I had no idea how fall color would be turn out. It’s always a gamble, but I was a bit pessimistic this year. As I started the drive up state route 242, I saw that the vine maple, which I could have expected to be yellow, wasn’t particularly colorful. It’s hard to hit peak color in different areas during a several week trip. Usually I arrive later to catch better color elsewhere in the following weeks. But I planned an earlier vacation especially to catch the best color at Proxy Falls and Clear Lake. Proxy did have some red leaves, but they weren’t especially vivid. Not having good color there seemed to be a bad sign for things to come. Another observation is that with the dry year, Proxy Falls was flowing as low as I’ve ever seen. There was no water flowing over the interesting moss-covered columnar basalt on the left side. Upper Falls was flowing about normal, although it’s difficult to get pictures since there are too many trees in the way. Once again I was amazed at how much water flows into the pool without an outlet. How can that much water disappear into the ground?


I don’t know how this fits into the equation, but the huckleberry bushes were bright crimson on the Benson Lake/Tenas Lakes hike. So it was nice to see blazing color even if it may not continue with other plants in other locations I’ll be visiting.


I was doing pretty good, and doing a lot of bushwhacking. Then almost as soon as I was back on the trail returning from Tenas Lakes my knee started to hurt. It wasn’t a lot of fun limping all the way back to the car. Useful strategies are pivoting on the other leg like a peg-legged pirate or leaning way forward on trekking poles so that you can bend your ankle forward and confine the movement to the hip above the bad knee. You would be surprised at how you can walk without moving a knee when the trail is reasonably flat.


Earlier in the day I visited White Branch Falls. For the last four days I had tried to call to ask permission to enter their camp. I had assumed that they were closed for the season. But, since the gate was open when I arrived, I figured that I would drive to the camp and look for someone. That wasn’t necessary since a woman was walking a dog while enjoying her morning coffee. She was very nice. And in case you’re wondering, the golden retriever’s name is Daisy.


Other quick stops were Hand Lake, which, unbeknownst to me, is actually a meadow at this time of year. I also went to Craig Lake and the McKenzie Pass. So I saw lot of scenery, although I’m not very good at taking pictures of lakes. I plan to go to Clear Lake tomorrow and see if the vine maple is red. While I’m hiking I’ll make sure to think about lots of interesting things, which I will forget before I get back to the room.