Today’s hike is the annual physical challenge for Barbara and me. Each year, we must prove to ourselves that we are still able to scamper up through the boulder lined gorge of Keyser Run on the appropriately named Little Devil’s Stairs trail.

But, the trail is not only a fitness test as we age. The lower elevations are home to abundant round-lobed hepaticas (above) flowering in mid-March and the start of many other wildflowers. Minor variations are seen in hepaticas spread over this first mile, from pale, nearly white blooms to the lustrous blues most evident along the trail.

As we climb nearly fifteen hundred feet in the first two miles with multiple creek crossings, hopping from one boulder to another and over fallen logs, there are crashing waterfalls that obscure the chirping of birds in this woodland paradise.

We make frequent stops to regain our strength and to observe flowers along the trail and appreciate the sheer cliffs that rise above us. As we climb, the gray skies clear to brilliant sunshine. A glorious day.

On our descent, Barbara spies small patches of Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyera oblongifolia) and Putty Root (Aplectrum hyemale) orchids in the forest. She has become a very competent spotter for these treasures that I rarely spot with my colorblindness. Neither will flower for months, but we are thrilled to find them, and we’ll watch for blooms on hikes later in the year.