Clark in June

I don't post about the majority of our hikes at Clark Reservation State Park, just because we go there so often, and I have posted about it so many other times.  I have never bothered documenting solo hikes here, and have mostly transitioned to posting only hikes that include family members beyond Frankie and I, just for the fun of looking back at the pictures later.  Even on this front I have been slacking: Frankie and I hiked here with Mary in October 2017 and with Erin and Alden in September 2017, and I didn't document either hike.  In fact, it's been almost a year since I last posted a Clark hike. 

However, I noticed I am only a few posts away from having posted a grid of Clark hikes, or one in every month of the year.  Yes, I realize this concept more typically applied to a list of peaks, such as the 46 Adirondack High Peaks or the 48 White Mountains of New Hampshire; that's why it amuses me so much to contemplate gridding local parks.  Were it to be a real thing, Frankie and I would have completed this mission quite some time ago, since we have actually already hiked Clark Reservation during every month of the year; I just haven't documented all those hikes here.  But if there's no evidence, it never happened, right?  Anyway, I decided to follow this lark and post trip reports from hikes in those few missing months, should they organically occur -- by which I mean I won't be going back and posting old pictures.  This silliness will only be imposed on future hikes that happen to fall during one of the two "missing" months. 

For today's hike, we descended the stairs, then turned left, following the Lake Trail around and then up the hill on the far side (after throwing all the rocks into the water, of course).  From here, we simply took the Cliff Trail back to the playground, where the boys engaged in the obligatory sliding and climbing and such.  Last time we all went down to the lake together, we returned via the same route, so it was nice to complete a loop this time instead of an out-and-back.  Alden has gotten astoundingly agile and independent for being such a young 3 year old, and had no trouble with the Cliff Trail.  Crazy how fast these kids grow!    

the Lake Trail

dame's rocket (Hesperis matronalis)

the Cliff Trail

It is so difficult to get a nice picture of a group, especially one that includes small kids.  Or me! 

last scramble