At Buck's Crossing

Day 7: I'm glad I didn't file a flight plan because once again, where I intended to go and where I wound up were about two trail miles apart. In the process of getting to and from Sahara Creek Camp (the eventual turn-around point of today's adventure), what was intended to be a casual hike mutated into an invasive-plant patrol. Instead of doing three miles, I did seven, and found two specimens of Great Burdock (Arctium lappa), something I have not seen previously at this elevation or on forested land. I also filled my perhaps-bag with chanterelles on the way back down, and I'm still puzzling as to how I walked right past them in the morning. I'll blame it on the beautiful golden light filtering through the maples; that, or perhaps the depth of crunchy maple leaves on the ground. In an amusing side note, the elastic waistband of my britches failed unexpectedly, and I did the last two miles of the hike holding my trousers up with one hand. Never a dull moment around here!