We had heard reports from the ranger that Black Crater might have too much snow and a lot of downed trees. As it turned out, there were no downed trees, and only two short patches of snow to traverse — just enough to add a little fun on a hot day.

Most of this trail is shaded by the forest until about the last 1/2 mile. The exposure can be intense on a cloudless day like we had. We reached the summit (which required a short scramble to the high point). There were thousands of big flies — a literal swarm flying around the very high point, so we took the obligatory summit photos then climbed down and away from the buzzing mess.

One of the other hikers we met at the summit says the flies are there every year, but he didn't know why. It was a phenomena I'd never seen before. Anyone know why they're there?