[catwoman]

My mornings to get to a hike are generally leisurely anymore. I don’t know but the whole idea of getting up and rushing to the trailhead at the crack of dawn just doesn’t appeal to me like it used to. What’s the rush?! Anyway, I got to the trailhead and found the parking area full. Well, there would have been a spot except this boyscout leader was standing in the one available spot to save it for someone else in his group. So, I managed to squeeze in a corner at the end just fine. Man, this was sure the day for large groups of kids! There was no escaping them! This is a nice trail - a little on the steepish side. Comet Falls is incredible! It seemed the herds all stopped here, so I went onwards to Van Trump to make an escape. Ha! I was all alone! L Hmmph! So sad when you actually get what you ask for sometimes. Anyway, I arrived at Van Trump and could tell how absolutely gorgeous this place must have been about a month or two ago with the wildflowers in bloom. And it should be nice again in another couple weeks with the fall color. Of course I hit it in the middle. Oh well, ‘twas still a very nice hike. I was thinking about heading a little further on the trail to Mildred Point, but noticed the trail was rapidly descending and I wasn’t in the mood to waste precious elevation that I was just going to have to climb back up again. So…… I opted to make Van Trump my turnaround spot. As I was heading back down, I started encountering the herds trickling upwards. I figure they must have seen me continue on upwards and figured they just had to see where I was going that was so great that I’d go away from the crowds. Could every scout in western WA have been on this trail today? Sheesh! …. Some with headphones, some arguing with their dad, some grumbling about being out there, some buckled over in tears and out of breath, some shouting to their buddy up the trail, some telling stories of their summer vacations, and so on and so on… As I got back to Comet Falls, ahhhh, most of the masses had moved on. It was much more peaceful this time. Snapped some pictures in a few different locations and meandered down to the car. Quite a nice day and very nice hike.