Rolling up at 10am, I panicked a little when I saw the guard setting up a barricade for the Lake Rose parking lot. Thankfully, he waved us past and we got one of the last parking spots before folks had to add over a mile to hike into the Ganoga Glen gorge. We coated ourselves with bug spray, packed some snacks and hit the trail with Riesling leading the way.

The weather started out perfect, so we took our time to let Eric photograph all the waterfalls. I love a hike that offers regular stopping points! The park boasts 22 named waterfalls, E&L Gallery.

The trail was pretty difficult in spots, lots of stairs, but still very walkable for pup and despite her usual distaste of being wet, she even splashed around below Harrison Wright Falls.

We got caught in a total downpour about 2/3 of the way through the hike, but luckily found some shelter to wait out the storm. Riesling and I were absolutely coated in mud at the end of the 4.5 mile hike (carrying a writhing mud-covered animal will do that to a person), but I know we both had a great time despite what her tail says in the photo below.

Mama, why am I so filthy?

Before allowing her anywhere near the car, we found a wash basin near the campground and gave her a quick bath. :)

After this, we drove the remaining 9 hours home to North Carolina. The GPS put us at our hotel in Maryland around 5pm, so I made the decision to just keep on driving so we could sleep in our own beds for the first time in almost four weeks. Hallelujah!