This was a fantastic day for a hike. With the rain yesterday the ground was damp enough to keep from kicking up dust but dry enough not to be mud. White fluffy clouds in the sky and a cool breeze made this hike very pleasant.

This was the first time we actually hiked up the Bell trail and it was a blast. Before, we had stopped for lunch at the Weir trail and headed back. The scenery was very cool. We saw a few groups coming out after backpacking and one group going in. We have been wanting to try backpacking here but were unsure about where some good sites were. We explored around the area and saw some potential spots for camping. We had concerns about how crowded it might be on any given weekend because we did see the several groups who were out there this weekend.

We had lunch by Bell Crossing, relaxed for a while in the shade and then headed back out. We made really good time on the way out, making up for all of the photo ops we kept having on the way in! The dog did well today carrying all of his own water.