fragile edge of the trail

tenderness on the side of the trail, originally uploaded by seawallrunner.

Trailside

by the trail, originally uploaded by seawallrunner.

Thistle

thistle, originally uploaded by seawallrunner.

Hanging on

roadside flowers - help me name this, originally uploaded by seawallrunner.

Pine Cones

pine cones, originally uploaded by seawallrunner.

Marmot near Heather Trail parking lot

marmot near parking lot, originally uploaded by seawallrunner.

Isn't he adorable?

Not camera-shy either.

I am certain that he's used to having his picture taken several times a day.

Looking down - near Three Brothers Mountain

looking down from the brothers, originally uploaded by seawallrunner.

Heather trail is a rolling gentle trail with an average 3% grade. It skirts a nice little dropoff near the trail junction to Three Brothers mountain.

It's a long way down to the meadows and forests to the North of the park.

Rich descending from Big Buck

rich descending from big buck, originally uploaded by seawallrunner.

The hike to Heather Trail, on July 2nd, took us into very high country. The hike itself is very easy - most of the altitude is gained by driving up to the trailhead (@ 6,500ft). This is a long hike over two mountain passes, through spectacular meadows and dwarf trees

Paul and Three Brothers mountain

paul and the brothers, originally uploaded by seawallrunner.

On Saturday July 2nd, Paul Rich and I drove to Manning Park to hike the Heather trail. I can't recall an occasion where I used my camera in MACRO mode so much!