It took me an hour and a half to get here from the North/South Loop trail junction. Here being at the junction with the shortcut to the North Loop. In the background you can see the chimney of the abandoned homestead.

When I crossed Little Paddy Creek on my way here, there was some water running. That’s the first time I’ve seen water in Little Paddy Creek at that point in over a year. The two wells on the ridge and the stock ponds I passed had water, too. That’s good news.

From here I’m taking the ‘shortcut’ to the North Loop. This is one of the roughest sections of the trail to hike on, with several sections that are all large loose rocks.

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