Because of the road work, access to the Comet Falls trail head is available only during weekends. As usual, the trails are peaceful in the early morning hours. After that lots of people start showing up. I talked with someone who had hiked Skyline earlier in the week. He compared the crowds to an amusement park line. I was thinking about it and wondering if I really want to hike Skyline. The reason I asked him is because I was wondering if the flowers were peaking in Paradise yet. When we were there the bloom was way less than we had experienced during a couple of previous trips. Apparently they're still nowhere near peak, although I do know that they are pretty nice from the Fourth Crossing to Edith Creek.

I was debating whether to hike to Van Trump Park. I haven't read any reports about the flower conditions, and I was living on borrowed time in terms of the rain in the forecast. I didn't have my larger jacket that covers most of my camera gear. Plus the trail is steep, which I knew was going to hurt my knees on the way back down. I stood by Comet Falls for a long time pondering my decision. I finally started heading back. At one point my huckleberry eating was interrupted by a few sprinkles. Camera gear still dry, I continued hiking downhill. The rain didn't start until I was a few feet from the start of the trail.