Magnificent Seven Hike!!
We turned out on a warm , sunny morning to battle blackflies.
We did our level best and, with the help of light breezes, we made it home without too many bites.
We started from the Washington Snow Dump. After checking out the huge burl on the largest yellow birch tree at the base of Big Burl Hill, we continued south and east on the Woodpecker Trail System to the shore of Angel Lake.
Back on the Frame/ Esten Lake OFSC Trail we continued to another trail along Crystal Lake for a lunch break at a rocky open space.
Our intrepid troupe trekked along the shoreline to the winter snow- mobile access point from Crystal Lake to Esten Lake.
Blackflies did not harass us too much on bush trails nor in open spaces. We returned to Washington Snow Dump on the same trail as we had first taken, sort of.
We capped off our trek with a Merry game of "Find the Trail Marker". Everyone participated !
Lots of laughs, too. Our efforts were rewarded when we found the Big Burl Trail and the homeward journey ended happily.
Critters seen and heard: Cooper's Hawk, Kestrel, garter snake, 2 toads, and a turtle. Does a bird's egg count? One hiker found a white bird's egg that had hatched.
