Photos taken while walking 2-mile trail at Yates Mill Pond County Park

The lead-off photo is intended to be a kind of teaser for this post, entailing another visit to Yates Mill Pond County Park in Raleigh. 

Don't get me wrong, though; it's legitimate. Fully. But the real purpose for this post is not so much the pond and the colorful trees surrounding it. But a sort of new angle for doing yet another post on a park that's become a favorite, partly because of its proximity to home and partly because of a two-mile trail I've been using a lot in recent months for my daily walks.

In fact, the bulk of the photos I took there on Sunday were taken on the trail itself. It occurred to me not long into Sunday's walk that I hadn't stop to illustrate the sundry things I see and come across on my walks there. I've taken lots of pictures before while on the shorter, one-mile trail that actually surrounds the pond. But not from the longer one that veers away from the pond deep into a wooded area adjacent to the pond.

The two-mile has segments that resemble normal trails, such as the first photo below.  

But it also has ghosts! Like the one shown in the lower right corner of the photo immediately below.  OK, OK. I kid. Usually I toss photo in which I accidentally include myself, but I was in a playful mood while composing today's post, so I'm going to leave it. 

But in all seriousness, the photo below also depicts one of about seven or so wood-lined sections of the path that the park installed because the path exists in a soft-land area that often stays wet and/or damp well after a good rain. You'll see a few other examples of this in photos further down in the post. 

The photo above is another example of a mostly routine view of the trail ahead of me, while the first three photos below illustrate some interesting shadows I came across along the way. 

Perspective was another photography quality I tried to indulge Sunday. And on this day, it often involved looking upward. The photo above was the initial orientation I captured of this portion of a tree. I turned the camera to the landscape orientation to get a different perspective of the same tree in the photo below. 

 

Above and below: Two more "looking upward" shots while on the walk. 

Above and below: Some foliage along the trail's loop portion farthest from the starting point. 

Trees -- and/or portions of them -- were another subject of the shoot. The photos above and the first five photos below are good examples. When my eyes first came across the third photo below, I initially froze in my tracks, thinking it was a snake poised to make a strike at me!

The photo above is a mid- to upper-section photo of one the most intriguing trees I came across close to the trail. The first photo below is a more details view of the tree's middle and bottom sections, while the second photo below is a detail view of its lower section. 

Above and below: Two more sections of wooden-covered portions of the trail because of soft ground underneath. 

One of the reasons I like this trail for my walks is that it is undulating and riddles with tree roots. Actually, I'd prefer much less of the latter; one can easily trip on a root while tackling the trail at a brisk pace, and I sheepishly admit I do a brisk walk, even on this trail. So you have to be watching the ground almost constantly. The photos above and below are two examples of trees roots waiting for a visitor to pass successfully. Additionally, the one below is on a steep -- albeit brief -- climb. So a double hazard. 

The bridge over the pond is ahead and to the left, signaling the two miles is nearly complete. All that's left is a straight wooden bridge (maybe 330 feet long) and then a right turn into the parking lot.

Closing with a couple of "pretty" shots. The one above is a view of the turning colors as seen from the bridge over the pond (autumns colors are just starting to emerge) and the one below is a section of a creek off a second bridge deeper into the trail route.