I parked at the junction of FR151 and the little road up to the trailhead. The recent rains have filled the pond at Little Spring and the pipe is a strong, steady drip. The coneflowers are in bloom and the baneberry is bright red. I was making the loop today, so up the "staircase" I went--476 feet in elevation gain in less than 1/3 of a mile. Great workout, beautiful old growth forest. There are many downed trees to work around.

Bismark Lake is dry, but one of the tanks below has water in it. Butterflies are everywhere feeding on the deer's ear plants. At the Bismark trailhead, no cars. Down the road to 151--no cars. The only vehicle I saw was when I made it back to my truck.