Trails here are about mountain vistas. They are also about steep rocky climbs and today, the Vista trail is about mud. The first two miles are basically uphill (1300 ft) through cool, rocky, wooded terrain. We thought we were moving at pretty good pace until we heard footfalls behind us and “coming through”. Hmm. We trekked on. Another approaches from behind. Then another. We are overtaken by trail runners. They speed fearlessly across the loose stone and tree roots thrusting themselves uphill and later careening down. We came to learn later that over 100 runners were out there on a half marathon trail run. I will stick to walking thank you.

It is a splendid view from the top so we chill a bit then head on down. Yucky surprise, this half of the loop passes through a really boggy section (on a mountainside no less) and we slog our way through the mud. Lucky for us, we wore our boots. Lucky for them, the runners were routed around the worst of it.

We close out the day with a stop at the Eagles Mere scarecrow festival. Five local wineries were represented, the local music wasn’t bad, and I bought a bit of pepper cheese from a local producer. We stayed long enough to grab a sandwich from the local mercantile but soon make our way home.

Evergreen trail winds through a mature forest under towering hemlock and white pine some are over 500 years old. A grove like this is a rare find in this heavily lumbered part of the country. Bonus, the trail starts at a waterfall.
Our second venture today is on the Grand View Trail, We should find a grand view/great vista, right? Not so much. It was a nice walk through the woods and we meander across a lovely woodland glade but trees obscure anything remotely panoramic. Upon our return I checked in with the rangers to see if we’d missed a turn or something. Nope. There is no grand view. Not since the forestry department quit maintaining the fire tower! Ok then.
The afternoon sun is warm so we hang out on the lakeshore. It is pretty quiet until eagles show up and bicker over who gets the best roosting spot. Once things quiet down again we head back to camp to grill some burgers. We still have a couple of those delicious farmers market tomatoes and they are fantastic on a grilled burger.

The main trails in Ricketts Glen State Park form a V shape as they track two wild streams cascading down intersecting ravines to merge at “Waters Meet”. It is a great walk.
From the trail head we meander through dense woods among scattered moss and lichen covered stone. It is a serene quiet path. Then we begin our decent into Ganoga Glen on a trail that follows the waters edge. At this water level, still pools are very rare as the coffee brown stream leaps down the rock-strewn creek bed. Side creeks add to the flow all along the way. We pass10 named falls including 94ft Ganoga Falls. Breaks in the clouds send splashes of light dancing across the surface. The trail is wet but not muddy and there are well placed stone steps. The trip down into the ravine is great.
We spy a bridge through the trees that signals we are nearing “Waters Meet” and the beginning of our climb back out. The view at the confluence is fantastic with falls on both streams and wild cascades downstream from here. We chill for a bit then head on up the Glen Leigh trail. It tracks the stream even more closely as we crisscross as many as 8 foot bridges and walk right up to edges of falls. I’m pretty sure that this was the best wild waterfall trail we have walked. Others have had more grand arched bridges and walkways but here I really feel we are part of the landscape. Don’t miss it if you are close.
Our final leg is the Highland trail where we find the stone outcropping that is responsible for this all. It obstructs streamflow and divides it to create these separate streams and allow for the spectacular merging. There is a cool stone bridge along this stretch too.

That’s all the hiking for today. We find a spot in the sun (it is still 57F) on the lakeshore for lunch then check out the big beach on Lake Jean. Clouds thicken and a cool breeze runs us indoors. Kent spends a bit of the quiet afternoon mounting medallions I have accumulated, a total of 34 new ones.