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Despite getting up at 5:30 I still nearly missed the mountain sunrise. Guess I dawdled a little.
Aside from just having a nice hike, I hoped to find enough water in the creek to photograph a waterfall or two.
With the falls in "gentle" mode, I crossed the creek and poked around the peripheral fern grotto.
Probably not that many people have taken in this view, but I know at least someone else has. A nearly full bottle of Sprite had been left behind.
Hopefully very soon there will be much more water pouring down the gulch -- too much to allow anyone to make a photograph from this vantage point at the base of the falls.
First time I ever saw lion's mane (Hericium erinaceus) on Mt. Tam.
This is as far down the trail as I'd planned to go. I was glad at least a little bit of water was falling here. The little orange things on the log are chicken-of-the-woods mushrooms. They must have sprouted before the creek rose.
Little purple cup fungi.
These deer mushrooms were just too perfect to pass up, having sprouted right out of a log just as sassy as you please.
Always nice to have a chance to photograph Western bluebirds.
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