Staircase Rapids Loop

The lichen Usnea longissima hangs from a Neckera covered Maple tree (Acer macrophyllum)

My daughter's school had the day off so I had to scale back my plans a little bit.  I took her and a friend to the Staircase Rapids Loop Trail.  The new bridge is really amazing.

It rained for most of our hike but the skies turned blue at the end of our hike and we enjoyed tea time at a mostly dry picnic table after our hike.  We saw four other people up there today.

It's the end of the month and I was able to stick to my budget really well, so I bought myself a new backpack today.  It is a ULA brand Circuit.  I will use it for backpacking trips and  I will retire my Gorill@ pack to day trips only, but first I'm going to make some modifications to it.  I intend to get rid of the clips on the top and turn my pack into a roll top.  I will lose the top pocket by doing that though..

2.5 miles 300 feet elevation gain 200 calories

Little Red Riding Hood's Grandma (?) enjoys the new bridge.
Watch out for the big bad wolf.

Crossing a smaller creek in the rain