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Thirty-two TrailBlazers, both old and new, headed for Lake Alma on a bright and sunny fall morning.  If truth be told, it was glaringly sunny for those of us who were driving east on I-40 toward Alma!  We were pleased to meet some brand new hikers as well as some of the newbies from our kickoff picnic last week who were willing to come back for more!

 Our group was pretty large so we divided into two groups with Linda taking one group clockwise and Jim with his canine buddy Hiker taking the other group counterclockwise.  Heading out with Jim, we briefly walked a paved trail, suitable for strollers and small children, and then started hiking an actual trail up and down until we reached the first bridge with horizontal boards.  Without exception one and all studiously watched their feet!  It was a bridge over untroubled waters; actually there was no water at all due to lack of rain!  Along the way we did see tiny lavender asters all over the place.  At least Yours Truly did because she looks for stuff like this!

 When we reached the rock sign for McWater Falls, we did not take the short detour due to a “dry faucet” so to speak!  One might say that today is was just plain Mc or McNoWater Falls. Yours Truly of the bad knees and achy back decided to only do an in and out hike just to the bayou today. On the return trip she realized that this was the first time she had done this hike clockwise and she felt a tad disoriented.  Suddenly it seemed like she was on the wrong trail.  It turns out she was heading to the falls!  In their defense, they could be called McDrip Falls today!  The sign for the falls is visible in one direction and not in the other until you pass the turnoff.  Who knew?

 Continuing on we crossed a couple of board bridges or rocky areas that would normally have some water.  Then we reached the Homestead where there are foundations for two old buildings probably circa 1930s or 40s.  The hexagon is made of stone, has a door opening and a small fireplace.  Nobody knows exactly who built it or why.  The other building possibly could be a smoke house or a place to store food but nobody knows for sure.

 After some more ups and downs we eventually reached the bayou where the hikers gingerly pussyfooted across the bridge while watching their feet.  Yours Truly, throwing caution to the winds, scrambled down that steep embankment to take pics and then managed to haul herself back up!

 After this Yours Truly doesn’t know exactly what happened because her crystal ball has not been cleaned recently.  She knows that at some point the two groups met up and then continued on like ships passing in the night. On the far side of the lake there are great lake views and some rocky trails before the hike up the wide trail that leads up to the dam that takes you back to the parking lot.

Sign up on the web site if you would like to do the scenic Mt. Nebo hike next week.

 Pics are below.  Click on any pic to enlarge it and then use the arrow at right to see the rest.

  {gallery}2016-10-08-lakealma{/gallery}