[Journal Entry for August 12, 2016; Stony Brook, Harriman State Park NY] I parked at the Reeves Meadow Visitors Center, off of Seven Lakes. I took the Pine Meadow Trail (blazed in red) upstream along the southern bank of Stony Brook. Recent thunderstorms have dropped enough rain to maintain the lush green of the vegetation and to keep the brook flowing. The day is sunny and oppressively hot and humid, but the air along the brook is cooler. The stream bed lives up to its name. It is full of boulders, some several yards in diameter. I stop at one of the larger pools, just below a set of small cataracts. Most of the brook is in deep shadow, shaded by overhanging trees above. A few parts, and especially the pipeline crossing, are open meadows full of wildflowers. The Cardinal Flowers (Lobelia cardinalis) - - tall stalks with bright red blooms - are in full bloom. They seem to need both water and sun, for I encounter them only sporadically, in places where the terrain is open enough for the bank to be reliably in sun. I connected with the Stony Brook Trail (blazed in yellow) and took its footbridge over Pine Meadow Brook, a tributary of the Stony. The valley of the Stony Brook is less steep above this point. The brook meanders more and has larger open, grassy areas. Cardinal Flowers are more abundant. I see squirrels scampering around the bank, and few frogs, fish and water striders in the brook, but wildlife is not abundant today. Soon after passing a large pool – a swimming hole created by a low dam of boulders – I come to the Lake Sebago Dam and Seven Lakes Drive. I climb up to road level and walk the highway back to my car. The route is shorter but the sun is scorching. 2:30.