The weather was again perfect today for another hike (second of ten) in the Cuyahoga Challenge.
This hike was at Brandywine Gorge.
The story goes that the waterfall here was supposed to be overrun by the nearby Interstate 271 but was preserved by a future-thinking highway administrator who broke some rules.
I'm not sure what the real story is but it's a very pretty creek, gorge and hiking area. I'm glad it was preserved, both from a history perspective (there were several mills using the water's power) as well as from a topography and nature perspective.
We saw quiet waters.
We saw a garter snake. (You can see its tail disappearing into the grass.)
We bumped into a brand-new Cuyahoga Valley Interpretive Park Ranger who was out on a hike to see what trails he would need to "interpret" in his new job.
We probably extended our hike by another ten minutes talking to this enthusiastic Ranger. Of course, it helped that he's a fellow Scouter.
But right before that, we saw a snake.
A huge, black rat snake that was quickly climbing a thin tall tree to get to a huge maple. By the time we lost track, it was easily 30-40 feet above the ground.
It was amazing.
We watched it over a ten-minute period and it simply slithered up the tree, reached out to another tree's branch and just kept on going.
And to think, if we hadn't stopped to allow the youngest a break while she ate her trail snack, we would have walked right past it!
It was a great day for a hike.
The Brandywine Gorge Trail (approximately 1.5 miles) can be found at the Brandywine Trailhead (pdf) in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
