After tomorrow’s hike at White Rock was canceled due to poor conditions and predicted blustery weather, 19 TrailBlazers were happy to opt for Plan B, an afternoon trek at Lee Creek north of Van Buren. Judith was going to lead but had to cancel, so Becky stepped into the breach until Doug showed up. This is a favorite stomping ground of his, so he led the pack. 

The weather was ideal, in the 40s, and it probably reached the lower 50s, with no breeze and very welcome sunshine. We headed over to the loop where there are some remnants of the hardy folk who lived and died in these hills above Lee Creek in days of yore. There are still some gravesites here and there as a reminder of the history that was made there. 

Next we headed up the loop to the waterfalls that were actually flowing. It is difficult to see them up close and personal, so we had to peek through the brush and foliage at the top of the ridge. We proceeded on to the crack in the rock, somewhat similar to the crevices at Devil’s Den, but not on that grand scale. 

We trekked back down to Lee Creek and dithered a bit about crossing it since it had more water than usual; normally it is an easy rock hop. Buffalo Bob and Doug did some boulder-building to make a rock bridge, so the rest of us threw caution to the wind and crossed the creek with no major mishaps. After that we started up the Homestead Loop and a few of us, the ones with bad knees, had our work cut out for us when it was time to slip-slide down the steep trail back to the creek. En route there were some neat overviews of the creek and Lee Creek Reservoir. 

It turned out to be a great day, and everyone was so glad to be outdoors.