The Hiking Life

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I told the battery of test they used to give prospective recruits to the US military, (this in 1968.) I got visits from the Army, Air Force and Navy recruiters.

The visit with the Army dude was short. "No thanks, I don't want to walk to work." Not a fan of hiking.

My brother was in the USAF by that time, so that was out. (Very unlikely I'd ever take orders from him.)

[Istvan]

It's like it just occurred to them that they don't want to get shot.

Luckily there's no hunters in the White Mountain National Forest where I hike. 

No human ones, anyway. 

[Thumpalumpacus]

From a few years back -- my son and I hiking Pedernales Falls State Park a few years back:



And hiking the Climbers' Trail at Reimers Ranch, Travis County Parks:

[Nanny]

Weather limited us to just 6 miles in the woods this weekend, but there's no hunting on Sundays so it was a lot less noisy. My 1.5 year old dog is doing well learning to walk off leash, learning commands and enjoying the taste of freedom. Even got my daughter to join us.

We did notice some cyanobacteria in a shallow, muddy section of the lake. Odd time of year for it but we haven't had much rain of late. Kept the dog away from that stuff. No waterfowl at all. Lots of deer sign.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Back in 2015, my son and I hiked Sycamore Canyon. Here's the view of PCH and Pt Mugu from the highest hill in the park:

[Nanny]

Cool and breezy on the trails this weekend. Dougie, my dog, and I did about 8 miles total between Friday and Sunday, keeping the walks shorter in the blustery weather. Lots of deer sign and coyote scat (coyote dookie has a lot of hair in it) so they're doing their thing. Fewer hunters now that the cold is settling in. Shotgun and muzzle loader deer season starts in a week here. Bird season is winding down. Wear blaze orange in the woods.

[Ravenshire]

It's getting time for another snowshoe trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. Did the route from the park 'n' ride lot to Beirstadt Lake to Bear Lake and back on the last trip. I'm thinking Emerald Lake, or maybe Lake Haiyaha via Dream Lake for this trip.

[Nanny]

It's getting time for another snowshoe trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. Did the route from the park 'n' ride lot to Beirstadt Lake to Bear Lake and back on the last trip. I'm thinking Emerald Lake, or maybe Lake Haiyaha via Dream Lake for this trip.

I've done some camping up there in the summer months. Amazing vistas, lots of wildlife. Calf-burning climbs! Enjoy that. I can imagine the scent of the cold air.

[Ravenshire]

It's getting time for another snowshoe trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. Did the route from the park 'n' ride lot to Beirstadt Lake to Bear Lake and back on the last trip. I'm thinking Emerald Lake, or maybe Lake Haiyaha via Dream Lake for this trip.

I've done some camping up there in the summer months. Amazing vistas, lots of wildlife. Calf-burning climbs! Enjoy that. I can imagine the scent of the cold air.

Being just a little over an hour away, I try to make it up there at least three or four times a year. More often if we have guests in from out of state. I always love playing tour guide.

[Nanny]

Dougie, my canine hiking partner, is gaining confidence off leash. He explored some game trails and splashed around the pond on our walk Saturday. He listed to his recall command and seemed really to enjoy pushing into new (for him) territory. We explored several hundred acres of mowed corn fields and the big black chickens were fun to chase (all birds are chickens to Dougie). Loads of deer scat in the fields but no deer to be seen. It was a quiet opening weekend for shotgun deer season. Morning rain and cool temps either kept the deer laying down or kept the Fudds away. Just over 6 miles on Saturday.

Heavy rain kept us home Sunday.