Obligatory selfie at the columnar basalt formation.

Shenandoah National Park, May 13, 2023 — About a month ago we planned to take a hike up and over Compton Peak to see the wild azalea and mountain laurel which historically are in full bloom.  It was also a chance to check up on weed growth and talk about the work we’d do over the summer.

As the days counted down, the weather prognosis worsened.  The precip probability in the 10-day forecast climbed from 39 to 58 percent.  Digging deeper the day prior, we learned that the Weather Channel app was predicting less than a half inch accumulation with scattered showers.  Those are excellent odds and conditions so we green-lighted the trek to great success.  So what if we had to wear a rain jacket for 10 minutes.

Maintenance issues constantly crop up whether a waterbar rots, a spring undermines some stone steps, or some knucklehead scratches graffiti on a rock.  The steps will fall to the Hoodlums for repair.

Along the way ya gotta check out the rocks.  We also found a couple of thru hikers enjoying out bench.

Ultimately we found a few flowers.  The azalea were waning and the mountain laurel are just budding out.  The dreaded weeds are ahead of schedule.  It’s going to be an interesting year.

Sisu