This time we all knew what we were doing a little bit more - it was a beautiful day, and very pleasant in the shady brook. After collecting our waders, we headed out - one of our party ended up with waders that only went up to the top of his thighs - needless to say he ended up rather soaked! In our little group, there seemed to be less balsam to find, but it was still there. I fought my way up onto a nettle-infested bank to remove some of the plant. News that there was a wasps nest on the bank ahead did little to put people at ease - it induced paranoia in a few, and fears of an allergic reaction in another. There were a team of Silver DofE volunteers with us that day - they started off close to the wasps nest - lucky them! I learned that I need to work harder on looking for the plant, as Vince pointed out, I did miss a few.
