Mapping out unhiked segments

Coppertone and I revisited this part to hike some trail segments we had not visited before.  We got a bit of a late start and paid for it with the heat but managed to do what we intended.

The Cougar and Black Canyon trails meander on the ridge just north of the more heavily used Valley of the Moon Trail.  Unlike that paved path on the valley floor the trails up here are rougher and provide a more "genuine" hiking experience rather than a stroll in the park.  Even so, the terrain is not terribly difficult here.

Throughout our hike we saw evidence remaining of the Oct. 2017 wildfires that burned throughout Sonoma County and this park in particular.  There's ample evidence of regrowth and renewal but the area has yet to return to its former lushness prior to the fires.  When on the Valley of the Moon Trail to connect our segments together today we stumbled upon a touching memorial of marked stones, all corraled in wooden frame, dedicated to those lost in the fires.

Though many trees made it alive through the fire, many did not and some that remain alive are weakened.  We think this fact may account for the very large number of woodpeckers we observed on today's hike, far more than we would normally expect to see in the area.