The day started cold and damp. The kind of dampness that chills to the bone. It had rained the night before and sections of the trail were mud which is mostly to be expected this time of year. But we continued our hike, hoping to see the sun eventually. We hiked through hardwood forest until we descended to the creek. We crossed the bridge and hiked through rhododendron tunnels, hemlock, and white pine. The bridge to return that crosses over Shades Creek further south of where we started was washed away. But I remembered there was another bridge further up the trail and luckily that one was intact. Once on the other side, we hiked to my favorite rocks on the creek's edge and sat down. We got lucky and the sun broke through the clouds. We spent a while there lounging around and soaking it in before heading back in a loop to complete the day.

Click “Read More” below for more photos from this hike.

The trail started off muddy in sections.

There are new orange benches placed around the preserve. This one is overlooks the top of the waterfall. Nice view, but not ideal. There is no established trail to get to the bench and I think the added foot traffic could spoil the natural beauty of the falls.

The top of the waterfall that runs down into Shades Creek.

Eastern Teaberry (Gaultheria procumbens)

The first bridge crossing over Shades Creek. We crossed over to the southeastern bank.

Rhododendron tunnels.

Stump Puffball (Lycoperdon pyriforme)

This is the bridge further south of the one that’s washed out. You can walk over it to return to the trail to make a loop. Note this is the purple trail.

After crossing the bridge on the purple trail we hiked to the bridge that was out and looked at it from the opposite direction. This is the yellow trail. The boards that are normally on the logs were piled up under a tree most likely destroyed in a storm.