Well, I guess the word has gotten out...the Fall Colors hike is not to be missed! Many hikers contacted me over the weekend about joining the hike, so I thought maybe 18 or 19 for Monday. But when we all assembled on Woodruff Bridge the count was 24! The most we've had on a hike since I took the reins in the spring of 2020.

The sky was clear but it was chilly in the shade of the big trees as we gathered on the bridge for our group picture before the hike.

As we started on Trail 1034, there seemed an air of excitement about experiencing all the changing colors along the river. Green plants like the Vanilla Leafs turned an Autumn yellow and Sword Ferns changed from green to gold. But the main attraction on both sides of the river was the Vine Maples leaving their summer green behind for Fall gold and bright red. The Dogwoods were changing from green to pink and formed a canopy over the trail.

It was a field day for the photographers capturing all the colors and reflections of bright colors in the Rogue. White rushing rapids were also an attraction along with the roar of the Rogue. And many pictures of happy hikers enjoying this special hike.
We took the trail up to the bridge crossing the river to the Natural Bridge and stopped at all the viewpoints including the Bridge itself.

In the Fall when the river runs lower all the rapids dive through lava tubes revealing the solid lava flow Bridge. For thousands of years, this was the only way to cross the Rogue and the native tribes followed the herds across.

From the viewpoints, we went into the forest and found two long logs to sit on for lunch. After the break, we continued a short way up the trail and found a raven full of Vine Maples, Dogwoods, and Oaks displaying their Fall Colors.

Heading back the sun had risen above the trees warming the trail to the mid-70s.