Hiking at Bear Run

The rainy system that was supposed to hang around all day Thursday moved through much more quickly than we expected, leaving us that evening with dramatic clouds against clearing skies. I've started reserving some Mondays and Fridays for possible vacation days, as the fall weather starts to arrive. And so Friday morning found us packing up our gear for a day hike at Bear Run, not far from Lamar, about a 45-minute drive from our home.

First, though, we stopped and had a late hearty breakfast at Eat 'n Park. As we finished our meal, we checked on the status of chili, as there is a takeout special on quarts of chili this month. And so we left there with our bellies full, and with two quarts of warm chili, which my husband stashed in a softpack cooler in the trunk for later. Oh, and one Smiley cookie! :-)

We hiked up the hill along Bear Run, and set up our chairs right in the middle of the trail. We didn't see a single person the whole time we were there. I meandered around with my camera and took some photos of the creek bed and the forest. It's been so rainy here this summer that everything is green, green green. Then I sat in my chair to catch up on the latest of John Sandford's Lucas Davenport thriller mysteries. (Yes, I admit that I - a former English major - have trashy taste in books, but only sometimes.)

The last time we were at Bear Run, the water in the creek was so high that I had difficulty crossing it, even in my big hiking boots. But this time it was more manageable, and I hopped easily from rock to rock. It was cooler than expected, and the breaking sun didn't really show up until about 3 pm, around the time we were getting ready to hike out. While we sat there, I was surprised at how cool it was, and while I had left the house in a t-shirt, I ended up putting on pretty much every layer I had with me, including using a piece of fleece that I sometimes sit on as a makeshift scarf. Fall is coming! I will have to remember to stash some warmer gear in my daysack next time.

We hiked back down to the car and found ourselves - surprisingly enough, after the huge breakfast we had - starving. We whipped out a quart of chili from the trunk and found it still warm! The only spoon we had between us was the tiny spoon in my Boker picnic set (a travel knife/fork/spoon), which held about a teaspoon or even less. But you should have seen the two of us share it and wolf down that chili! In just a few minutes, we'd polished off half a quart. What a nice, unusual treat for us to actually have warm food waiting in the car after a hike! And then we headed home.

I'll include a few links to prior photos of Bear Run at several different times of year:
Of Mountain Streams and Salamander Dreams
Pennsylvania Woods and Waters, Late April
Springtime Is Springing Out All Over!

The song to accompany this shot had to be about the woods. I didn't see any roses, but I did see the forest. And so here is a lesser-known, rather rare, acoustic demo by Stevie Nicks, called Forest of the Black Roses.