... "river pig"...
... bit of a jaunt totin' that thing for five miles - especially since it doesn't come equipped with a waist belt - been puttin' off sewing one on - definitely will add one for next year considering this mornings aching shoulders...
... other than a short hill at the start following an access road thru the wooded hillside...
... the "excursion" follows the rail line up through the winding river gorge for the distance...
... not a bad hike if you're aware of your surroundings...
... don't know what these purple flowers are called...
... edit: 09/10/15 - 'Wild Lupine'?...
... 'Morning Glory'...
... 'Casparis Hole' along the 'Yough'...
... east flank of the gorge...
... some unidentified plant...
... a purple butterfly...
... couple winged insects on this yellow 'wildflower'...
... green caterpillar contrasting with the rusted rail flange...
... probably the closest thing in the northeast to hiking in the southwest desert when traveling along the rail line on a hot 84 degree day...
... long final stretch...
... before reaching the put-in at 'Indian Creek' - here looking upriver from the stone railroad trestle...
... and downriver - that section cuts across the very top of 'Chestnut Ridge'...
... 'Camp Carmel' opposite - don't know who the lady is in the photo but whoever she is waiting on is late for showing up with the boats - she was swearin' up a storm to no one in particular - wouldn't want to be "f*kn Junior!!" when he finally showed up...
... rushing to inflate the 'SUP', load up and be on my way before "f*kn Junior!!" showed up with the rest of the group - wanted to distance myself from these guys - definitely would put a damper on the "peace and quiet"...
... finally on my way...
... lookin' back upriver from about a half mile downstream - no one in sight - bet she's still back there waitin' on that "f*kn Junior!!"...
... a bit further downstream - note the large island ahead...
... stopped to investigate these unidentified pink wildflowers that were growing here and there along the eastern shore...
... they were swarmin' with bumblebees...
... takin' a break at the island - lookin' back upstream - still no "f*kn Junior!!" in sight...
... bit of 'Indian Paintbrush' blooming on the banks of the island...
... hard to believe those small 'Sycamores' stay rooted considering that the island is occasionally under up to six to eight feet of swift water throughout the year - solid boulder-strewn bottom...
... some island 'river grass'...
... checkin' out some flowering-type ferns (I guess) growing along the western shoreline - there's miles of this stuff (see the previous 'Casparis Hole' panorama of this post - they're lining the opposite shore bank)...
... all full of hundreds of 'honeybees' (seen here) and 'bumblebees' - not disputing any "scientific facts" - but whoever says that bees are dwindling in numbers needs to come here and bring their traffic counter... (see "footnote" at bottom of page)...
...edit 08/31/15: Had my suspicions - looked it up to verify - is 'Japanese Knotweed' - an invasive species, actually, "...whose flowers are valued by some beekeepers as an important source of nectar for honeybees..." - maybe that's where they're all flockin' to...
... western shoreline of the island lookin' upstream - still no "you-know-who"...
... takin' a late lunch break a bit further downstream - a usual stop...
... saw this boat approaching from upstream (no - it still ain't that "f*kn Junior!!") - added it for scale - backdropped by the western slope of the gorge - note the hawk soaring just above the ridgeline about two-o'clock of photo center
... a final shot lookin' downstream thru 'Casparis Hole' - about three more miles from here to takeout - paddled from here on in and kept the camera in the pack - around a nine hour trip from start of hike to finish...
... "COOL MAN!!"...
... footnote...
... was mowin' the lawn earlier this summer when a swarm of several hundred 'honeybees' came swooping thru the yard and landed on a limb of the neighbors cherry tree - that's a solid swarm of bees in the (not the best of focus) photo - was a bit apprehensive getting in close for the image - I'm about five feet away - thought they might attack and it was a long run to cover - they stayed the night and were all gone early the next morning...
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