Whenever I go hiking alone in a place like the Ecological Staircase at Jug Handle Reserve, I’m never sure how much exercise I’m actually getting. I may end up walking three or four miles — and more if I have time — but I tend to go slowly as I gaze around, admiring the beauty and shooting photos. I’m perpetually stopping, not to rest but to get a closer look at leaves or toadstools or to listen to the sounds of the forest. And sometimes I scold myself for spending more time shooting photos of the trail than actually walking on it. How many trail images can you capture before it’s just too much, before it all starts to look the same? And then, four or six months later I start looking back through these pictures and I’m grateful for every single one.

I couldn’t resist this dried-up pine tree posing as a Lhasa Apso

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