Hemlock Lodge has a big parking lot that I’m sure fills up on nice summer days. We stepped out into gentle rain and thought we had time to get one trail done before more rain came, but heard thunder. Change of plans; had lunch and waited until RADAR looked mostly clear for a bit. The Natural Bridge Trail was number one on my list. The hike is up a well-defined trail and ends with an incredible view of the surrounding hills and valleys. The stone stairs up to the top of the bridge are quite narrow and very wet from the rain today. RADAR showed more “red” storm sections heading our way, so we went back to USAIN to wait to do additional trails.

We could really see the transpiration from the trees today. Almost looked like smoky campfires out in the forest.

Balanced Rock Trail is closed due to fire damage; Battleship Rock, Devil’s Gulch, Needles Eye and Laurel Ridge were our adventure for the afternoon. We felt like we were hiking through a rain forest; Tony said he kept expecting to see brightly-colored birds and hear monkeys. The pictures show how green it is.