We drove out to the edge of Shenandoah National Park and hiked the Hazel Mountain Trail, short version (just under 6 miles). We parked in a bus turnaround lot where the county maintenance of route 681 ends, and walked past a couple ramshackle dwellings into the woods.

About a half mile up the trail, we heard what sounded like a black bear scrambling down a tree. (We heard the same sound last September, when we saw a bear while hiking near Big Meadows campground in Shenandoah—the second of three we would see that weekend.) As much as I would like to see another bear, I don't want to startle one in the wild, so we made lots of noise and found no more evidence of bears. We did come across lots of evidence of a horse who had eaten too many purple berries. I also caught a glimpse of deer running from us, unlike the deer that brazenly graze on my parents' flowers and lie down in their front yard.

The maple leaves were turning red and yellow. We snapped mitten-shaped sassafrass leaves in two—they smelled just like lemon drops.