The sap was the manifestation of the heat in the air.
I took this photo while on a summer hike with my fiancée. It was a blistering hot day, about 93 degrees with a real feel just shy of or over 100 degrees. We were hiking on the Youngs Creek Trail in the Hoosier National Forest. The sap on the stump was the visual manifestation of the heat in the air.
The heat we felt that day was quite overbearing, but there is something about it that I absolutely enjoy. I love going on a hike in the extremes. Whether it's really cold or as hot as can be, those hikes let you really feel what it's like to be in nature.
Youngs Creek Trail is a multi-use 12.7 mile trail in southern Indiana. Based on the fact that we saw a total of two people that day, I imagine that it doesn't get as much use as it should. We saw plenty of wildlife throughout the day, and maybe this was a result of the low human traffic. We came across an Eastern box turtle (I'm sure he'll be featured in a later month's gallery), some toads, and the quickly vanishing tails of some skinks (I believe one was a five-lined skink).
The abundance of wildlife was our reward for being out on such a hot day. Even though the sap on this tree was boiling, the temperature was well worth the experience of the hike.
We saw plenty of wildlife throughout the day
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