After a bad storm yesterday made the Caney Creek Crew turn back before ever reaching the trailhead, 13 TrailBlazers were happy to be able to hike the 3-mile loop on top of White Rock this afternoon. Weather was predicted to be somewhat iffy, but it turned out fine, and even the washboard gravel road to the top was not as bad as it has been on some occasions. At least we still have most of our teeth and nobody got a flat! 

The trail was very green, in need of some loppers in places, but it was a bonanza as far as flora is concerned. As for fauna, who knows, because we scare everything off, with the exception of a pretty owl that we saw in a dead tree! There apparently has been a relatively recent prescribed burn, but nice little greenery is sprouting up in those areas. Prolific azaleas were everywhere, and we finally came to the realization that wild azaleas are very fragrant. In many places, we could smell them before we even saw them. There also was an abundance of honeysuckle, blackberry in flower, thrift, the last of the dogwood, although most had lost their petals, and even some snap dragons. 

A unique feature of this short loop is that it has no fewer than 4 shelters that look like they are the work of the CCC. There have been several trails where we wondered where a shelter was when we needed one! We hadn’t done this trail in a while and many of us may have forgotten just how many stunning views and overlooks there are. We took our time and really had a chance to take a good look at everything. What a great afternoon!