Lory trail day

I only ran twice during the week after Quad Rock, easy 40-minute recovery runs. My quads were quite sore at the start of Tuesday's run, but much less sore afterwards. By Thursday my legs were starting to feel lively again. I spent Saturday morning and afternoon at Lory State Park with other runners, hiking the trails, cleaning drains, and improving the state of several creek crossings. It was a cool, overcast day, good weather for hauling gravel and swinging tools. We saw only one rattlesnake, revealed when we picked up a flat rock to use as a stepping stone.

Some parts of the trail were too sloppy to address. There's a drain in the picture below that is blocked off by tire tracks and footprints. Most riders and hikers, to their credit, are embracing the mud, but you can see that some chaotic evil folks are riding or walking on the shoulder.

Wildflowers have been slowed by cool weather, but are going strong now. I stopped often to take photos. Prairie bluebells (Mertensia lanceolata) were everywhere, along with sandlilies and clematis.

On higher trails above the valley I found some springbeauty blooming amid fronds of fern.