Early Fall

As I start to write this blog I’m struggling a bit with the title.   This is a picture that took a little bit of effort to obtain.   But first I digress.   This past weekend I had marked my calendar to shoot star trails.  But as the weekend approached the possibility of having clear skies seemed doubtful.  So after canceling the planned trip to shoot star trails, I  noticed that the weather forecast called for fog in the Shenandoah area.   Time to switch to plan B.  I decided to get up early to be in the Shenandoah for first light and hopefully lots of fog.  The fog was everywhere but so was the rain.   I had decided to hike into the upper falls of White Oak Canyon.  I typically like to start my hikes going up rather than down.  That helps prevent biting off more elevation than I’m able to handle.   We parked at Skyline Drive and started hiking down in the rain and fog.  By we, I mean Duke and me.   Duke is my Labrador Retriever.  Originally I was going to leave him at home this time, but at the last minute he was giving me a really sad look and I gave in.  I’m glad I had him since I only saw a total of 3 people on the trails, but the downside is I came home with a wet and muddy dog and had to give him a bath.          

I really did not take that many pictures, but I’m really pleased with the few that I have.  I’m also happy that my pack and clothes are waterproof because it sure was a wet day.   With regard to the elevation, I made it back up the mountain just fine but I’m also glad the hike was not any longer or steeper.   Driving and hiking through Shenandoah I noticed some yellow leaves and leaves were starting to fall, but in the photo above is the only place that I noticed brilliant red maple leaves and must say I’m surprised they are turning so soon.  Perhaps fall will be early this year, but more important to me, I wish for much more of this brilliant color.