There are two things I can never get enough of... wildflowers and waterfalls. On Saturday I had an abundance of both on a hike to Pete's Branch Falls.
I went over this hike in more detail back in the Winter of 2017, so today I will talk about some of the interesting things that happened on the hike. The hike starts at the trailhead at the far end of the Horse Creek Recreation Area. The trail to Pete's Branch Falls heads up Horse Creek Road (4WD). Sometimes the water flow at the falls can be iffy, but the level of the water at the large creek crossing (higher than my last time) was encouraging.
Even more exciting was the wildflowers I encountered going up the trail (road). On this first section, there were eight kinds of wildflowers, including three different color violets and a bunch of Bent Trillium. So, many that I am going to do a wildflower special for first-half of April.
When I reached the junction to go right I was surprised that the sign was still there as it looked pretty rough 16 months ago, but about the same today. Not long after I reached the left turn onto Pete's Branch Trail. I encountered three hikers who informed me that there was some blowdown before the falls. Before I got there I hiked through the valley of the Trout Lilies. I had never seen so many in one area... amazing!
I will say the blowdown was pretty challenging but it didn't keep me from the goal of reaching Pete's Branch Falls. It was a good thing as Pete would have dragged me through the blowdown... backward.
After lunch and enjoying the falls I pulled Pete away, kicking and screaming.
After lunch and enjoying the falls I pulled Pete away, kicking and screaming.
While I didn't bring my handsaw I did cut some of the blowdowns out with my Leatherman Knife, which helped a little. Oh, I also hauled out trash...again! However, this didn't come close to ruining the day of wildflowers and waterfalls.
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