Hurricane Florence wreaked havoc as it came ashore over the weekend, dropping tons of water as it arced slowly toward New York State. When the National Weather Service warned of potential flooding overnight as remnants of the storm passed over the area, I made plans. My morning run would definitely be at Taughannock, camera in hand.
The overnight rains were not as heavy as forecasted, and by the time 7:30 rolled around, no more rain was falling. As I pulled into the parking lot under gray skies, I noticed I was all alone. No other hikers were there yet, at least at the top trailhead.
From the upper falls bridge
As I began my run I heard the thunder of water over the upper falls. Definitely not as much flow as I've seen in the past, but beautiful and powerful nonetheless.
Vibrant color, trailside
I enjoyed a somewhat leisurely run around the rim and base trails, focusing more on looking around me than looking at the pace on my watch. When I'd reached the base of the falls I sat on the bridge and took the opening video of this compilation.
After I'd completed the base trail round-trip and started back up the South Rim, the sun peeked through the clouds to the east, lighting up the gorge walls to my right. It was the perfect way to start off the day!