Flowers from the White Trail, Moss Rock Preserve

For my third visit to Moss Rock Preserve in Hoover, Alabama, I set out on an out-and-back along the White Trail from the trailhead across from The Preserve. With Darby along for the hike, we planned to get in a mild three-to-four mile hike. Our turnaround point was to be the Frog Pound, which as it turned out was little more than a muddy bog due to seasonably dry conditions. After passing Boulder Field, our next major landmark was Tunnel Falls, more aptly found to be Tunnel Trickle on this occasion. But despite, the arid conditions, there were a good number of flowers about.

These are a couple that I photographed using the "Macro" (1:2 Reproduction) functionality of the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L lens I have recently acquired. These were taken handheld, made possible only because of the Image Stabilization on the lens; even still I would have been better off with a tripod or monopod, because with macro it's easy to miss that critical focus point with the slightest movement of man or plant. And had I not missed focus on several other photos, I would be able to offer more photographs exhibiting the colorful, though not exotic, flowers hikers can look forward to.

The Preserve at Moss Rock, Photos of Us

With this being Anna's first hiking trip with us, there were a few things she had to come to terms early on in the venture: 1) Marked trails are merely suggestions about where to go rather than hard-and-fast requirements to be followed.

Cascading falls of a tributary to Hurricane Creek

2) Blake has a bit of a climbing bug, and wherever there is a vertical surface that isn't too sheer or inverted, it must be scaled. Of course in the photo on the left, he had the misfortune (after getting to the top) of discovering that the way he'd gone up was also the only way done; it seemed precarious.

3) Whatever you're doing of have done, once the camera's on you, you have to make it look like a huge accomplishment. Anna adapted to this idea more rapidly and enthusiastically than the previous one.

4) Everyone has to participate. Anna's debilitating fear of heights made it a little challenging for her to come out to the middle of this pipeline for a picture, but she eventually managed to bear-hug/inch-worm her way out there.

5) Just because you don't exactly know where you are according to the trail map, doesn't mean you're "lost." Here we are back on the White Trail (I really was sure at this point, despite some earlier false proclamations of certainty), headed home to watch the Final Four.

Moss Rock Preserve, the Western Half

I went hiking at Moss Rock Preserve in Hoover, Alabama, with Anna, Blake, and Darby. Blake and I had been with another friend. Tyler, at the end of February (here) exploring the eastern portion of the preserve. On this day, we were setting out to see the western half, including Boulder Field, the Great Wall, Tunnel Falls, and whatever else happened across our path.

Panorama of Boulder Field at Moss Rock Preserve

Boulder Field lies about a tenth of a mile in from where we parked and is an aptly named landmark. It is one of the primary areas of the preserve that plays host to countless rock climbers and boulderers. As we continued along the trail, we came to Hurricane Creek, which runs the length of the preserve and is supported by dozens of tributaries. So it didn't take us long to abandon the trail and follow one of the creek beds up the mountain, slipping and sliding along mossy rock as we went.

And while there weren't countless flowers and berries blooming along the trails, I thought the loveliest such scene was not a wildflower at all, but fungus.

Orange Bracket Fungus at Moss Rock Preserve

After following the tributary for a while, we eventually ran into Powerline Trail, which then hooked up with the Blue Trail, which led us to the Great Wall. In an effort not to spoil it for you, I will only provide an abstract of that extraordinarily large boulder.

The Blue Trail led us to a connector trail, which hooked us up with the White Trail, which meandered its way back toward the car, but not before we had to stop for one more panoramic shot.

Blake and Darby taking one last look at Hurricane Creek