Pat & I decided to go snowshoeing. Anna & Evan dropped us off on Mansion Road and we started up the Red Square trail. Note for future trips - the Red Square is actually off of the driveway where the trails hit Mansion Road. A horse trail starts at the bottom but luckily we looked for the Red Square markers and saw the problem right away.
It was a fairly uneventful hike. We went up the Red Square to the Green and followed that to the Red Circle. Then we headed down from there. We only saw one other guy up on the Blue on the cliffs to our right as we turned onto the Red Circle and then 2 guys and a woman we passed just after we crossed the White trail.
More determined than ever to get the 4 Seasons done in 2011. I modified our Giant Master Excel files to keep track of how many different times we've done each segment. This will still only have a maximum of 12 for each as we do each in each month but not note when we've duplicated a section within the same month.
It was a great hike and took a little over an hour.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Christmas Eve and resolution
Took Sadie for a quick walk kind of late (3:45?). When I got to the Yellow Trail, Evan called to say that they were all going to 4:30 Mass and I was on my own. They told me to start the clam chowder at 5:00 but that gave me over an hour. I was off!
I had thought about going for the Orange segment between Circle and Square because I noticed it was short a week ago. This would give me it for winter even though I already have it in December. But now I decided to go for the Orange and Yellow in the 5th segment.
It went pretty quickly and smoothly and I was back home by 4:50. I'm pretty determined now to at least go for the 4 Seasons Giant Master in 2011, if not the 12 Month Master.
For now, it's Merry Christmas time!
I had thought about going for the Orange segment between Circle and Square because I noticed it was short a week ago. This would give me it for winter even though I already have it in December. But now I decided to go for the Orange and Yellow in the 5th segment.
It went pretty quickly and smoothly and I was back home by 4:50. I'm pretty determined now to at least go for the 4 Seasons Giant Master in 2011, if not the 12 Month Master.
For now, it's Merry Christmas time!
Monday, October 4, 2010
First Monday of October
Not much to say today. Gray day but not really any rain. In the morning, Sadie & I went up to where the real Red Circle hits the safety trail and back down the real Red Circle. Then across the little shortcut at the bottom back to the house.
In the evening we went up around 6:00 - again, gray but not raining. We got all the way up to the Yellow and came back down the shortcut to home. Nothing really to speak of on either hike out of the ordinary.
In the evening we went up around 6:00 - again, gray but not raining. We got all the way up to the Yellow and came back down the shortcut to home. Nothing really to speak of on either hike out of the ordinary.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
October Coyote Catch-up
I haven't been good at getting to the blog after my last couple of hikes.
Friday evening, October 1, I went up as early as I could, around 5:30 PM. It had been raining all day and was still misting/sprinkling. Sadie & I went up the Red Circle and I monitored Evan's water bars. We stopped at the highest one because it had failed and water was pouring down the trail. I dammed the stream with rocks and used one longer rock to scoop out the debris from the trench so the stream would be redirected off the side of the trail as it was supposed to operate. Then Sadie & I continued up the Red Circle and left on White to the big rock lookout. Night was rapidly approaching, as usual, and there were patches of light gray mist drifting above the trees below us.
We continued to the Y/G Crossover, where we passed the guy who is always talking on his phone headset, and down to Yellow and back home via the shortcut. We were both pretty wet by the time we got to the house.
Saturday afternoon, October 2, we went up around 2:30 PM. Somewhere near where the White trail crosses we ran into a guy with 2 smaller dogs. Sadie was fine with them and he mentioned that his dogs are generally fine with other dogs if he leaves them alone but if he puts them on a leash or picks them up, they growl to defend him. I pointed out where the White goes up the cliff and Sadie & I continued to the Green and turned right. Just before the Green we had taken a shortcut down a little valley where I had never gone before which led directly to the Acorn Bridge where I got beaned by an acorn (see earlier post). We continued until we found where we had missed the tangency with the Red Square and White on a previous hike, the area below Hezekiah's Nob I've called Little Italy (Red, White & Green). I pointed a passing hiker on the White trail in the right direction and we headed right on the Red Square back to Orange.
Turning right on Orange goes up a rocky rise and eventually crosses the White trail. From there it was very short to the Red Circle and over the big rock ramp to the big puddle from the previous day's rain. Sadie pranced right down the middle and I walked around and wondered where that water goes. There is a babbling stream which comes down from the right at the bottom of the rock ramp (going South) but there doesn't seem to be an exit which is why there is such a big pond up there after heavy rain.
On the way down we turned left on Yellow after pointing the way to two young women coming up the Red Circle. We went down the shortcut and fortunately Sadie fell behind me as she chased a chipmunk or wandered off the trail for some reason. As I approached the end of the long fairly flat section at the top I could see something just as the trail starts to fall off down the hill. My first thought was that it was a dog but then I realized that it looked just like the pictures I had seen of very healthy coyotes. It was crossing the trail from East to West but I didn't look for longer than a second or two.
I quickly turned and called Sadie and kept talking to her to keep eye contact and make sure that she didn't look beyond me to the coyote. I put her on the leash and as we started down the trail to where I thought the coyote had crossed, neither of us saw any trace.
We had heard the coyotes howling a few nights ago and we had remarked how we had never seen one in the daylight. I'm quite sure that now I have seen one, and very close to home.
Finally, today, Sunday, October 3, Sadie and I went for a little extended morning walk. We passed one man with a black lab and the two dogs played nicely for a little bit but Sadie would growl whenever the other dog came near me. Remembering what the guy with the 2 little dogs had said yesterday, I didn't pet or play with the other dog and Sadie was OK.
We continued on to the Yellow lookout where we met a couple with a larger brownish dog, maybe a Weimaraner? The man immediately put his dog on a leash and they circled each other with wagging tails until Sadie started being aggressive. The man took a swing at Sadie with his foot and I kept yelling her name until she came to me. I put her on the leash and contiued past the lookout until they were gone. We came back to the lookout briefly and then went back home via the shortcut. Sadie knew I was mad at her all the way home.
Friday evening, October 1, I went up as early as I could, around 5:30 PM. It had been raining all day and was still misting/sprinkling. Sadie & I went up the Red Circle and I monitored Evan's water bars. We stopped at the highest one because it had failed and water was pouring down the trail. I dammed the stream with rocks and used one longer rock to scoop out the debris from the trench so the stream would be redirected off the side of the trail as it was supposed to operate. Then Sadie & I continued up the Red Circle and left on White to the big rock lookout. Night was rapidly approaching, as usual, and there were patches of light gray mist drifting above the trees below us.
We continued to the Y/G Crossover, where we passed the guy who is always talking on his phone headset, and down to Yellow and back home via the shortcut. We were both pretty wet by the time we got to the house.
Saturday afternoon, October 2, we went up around 2:30 PM. Somewhere near where the White trail crosses we ran into a guy with 2 smaller dogs. Sadie was fine with them and he mentioned that his dogs are generally fine with other dogs if he leaves them alone but if he puts them on a leash or picks them up, they growl to defend him. I pointed out where the White goes up the cliff and Sadie & I continued to the Green and turned right. Just before the Green we had taken a shortcut down a little valley where I had never gone before which led directly to the Acorn Bridge where I got beaned by an acorn (see earlier post). We continued until we found where we had missed the tangency with the Red Square and White on a previous hike, the area below Hezekiah's Nob I've called Little Italy (Red, White & Green). I pointed a passing hiker on the White trail in the right direction and we headed right on the Red Square back to Orange.
Turning right on Orange goes up a rocky rise and eventually crosses the White trail. From there it was very short to the Red Circle and over the big rock ramp to the big puddle from the previous day's rain. Sadie pranced right down the middle and I walked around and wondered where that water goes. There is a babbling stream which comes down from the right at the bottom of the rock ramp (going South) but there doesn't seem to be an exit which is why there is such a big pond up there after heavy rain.
On the way down we turned left on Yellow after pointing the way to two young women coming up the Red Circle. We went down the shortcut and fortunately Sadie fell behind me as she chased a chipmunk or wandered off the trail for some reason. As I approached the end of the long fairly flat section at the top I could see something just as the trail starts to fall off down the hill. My first thought was that it was a dog but then I realized that it looked just like the pictures I had seen of very healthy coyotes. It was crossing the trail from East to West but I didn't look for longer than a second or two.
I quickly turned and called Sadie and kept talking to her to keep eye contact and make sure that she didn't look beyond me to the coyote. I put her on the leash and as we started down the trail to where I thought the coyote had crossed, neither of us saw any trace.
We had heard the coyotes howling a few nights ago and we had remarked how we had never seen one in the daylight. I'm quite sure that now I have seen one, and very close to home.
Finally, today, Sunday, October 3, Sadie and I went for a little extended morning walk. We passed one man with a black lab and the two dogs played nicely for a little bit but Sadie would growl whenever the other dog came near me. Remembering what the guy with the 2 little dogs had said yesterday, I didn't pet or play with the other dog and Sadie was OK.
We continued on to the Yellow lookout where we met a couple with a larger brownish dog, maybe a Weimaraner? The man immediately put his dog on a leash and they circled each other with wagging tails until Sadie started being aggressive. The man took a swing at Sadie with his foot and I kept yelling her name until she came to me. I put her on the leash and contiued past the lookout until they were gone. We came back to the lookout briefly and then went back home via the shortcut. Sadie knew I was mad at her all the way home.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Chestnuts
Left the house with Sadie around 2:30 PM going up the Red Circle, as always. We got to the Green and turned right, bound for Hezkiah's Nob. But somehow I missed it! They may revoke my Giant Master status if this gets out. My vague plan had been to take White from the Nob to Chestnut and back by Orange.
Anyway, at some point, I think at the "big bend", I realized we had missed it and changed destinations. I hesitated when we crossed Red Square and also at Blue. I'm not sure why I rejected Red Square but Blue we had done recently. So I decided to go out to Chestnut and back home via Orange as originally planned.
I noticed that Sadie was already panting and at one point she sat down in the trail. To be fair, she had done a lot of running off the trail after the ubiquitous chipmunks and squirrels. But we were only a little over 30 minutes out. Even so, I called home and asked someone to pick her up at Chestnut.
We got to the trailheads around 3:20 or so based on the fact that my call home was at 3:12. Emily showed up in a minute or 2 and took Sadie back home.
I walked over to the trail map to consider my options but decided on the Orange, again, as originally planned. But when you're just drifting through life, it kind of pushes you in other directions. I knew Yellow headed off far to the left so I just assumed Orange was next. It didn't take long for my keen powers of observation to realize that I was on the horse trail.
I thought about turning back but then I realized that the horse trail must be the one that goes all the way down to the Chestnut Plantation. I had only been there once or twice before and had considered making my way down there a few times in the past. It didn't take a lot to convince me that this was a good time because I had been concerned about Sadie stepping on the spiky shells littering the ground down there.
So I proceeded down to the Chestnut Plantation. I think it was eerier last time because it was in the fading light of day. I picked up a few chestnuts and headed back home via the roads.
Anyway, at some point, I think at the "big bend", I realized we had missed it and changed destinations. I hesitated when we crossed Red Square and also at Blue. I'm not sure why I rejected Red Square but Blue we had done recently. So I decided to go out to Chestnut and back home via Orange as originally planned.
I noticed that Sadie was already panting and at one point she sat down in the trail. To be fair, she had done a lot of running off the trail after the ubiquitous chipmunks and squirrels. But we were only a little over 30 minutes out. Even so, I called home and asked someone to pick her up at Chestnut.
We got to the trailheads around 3:20 or so based on the fact that my call home was at 3:12. Emily showed up in a minute or 2 and took Sadie back home.
I walked over to the trail map to consider my options but decided on the Orange, again, as originally planned. But when you're just drifting through life, it kind of pushes you in other directions. I knew Yellow headed off far to the left so I just assumed Orange was next. It didn't take long for my keen powers of observation to realize that I was on the horse trail.
I thought about turning back but then I realized that the horse trail must be the one that goes all the way down to the Chestnut Plantation. I had only been there once or twice before and had considered making my way down there a few times in the past. It didn't take a lot to convince me that this was a good time because I had been concerned about Sadie stepping on the spiky shells littering the ground down there.
So I proceeded down to the Chestnut Plantation. I think it was eerier last time because it was in the fading light of day. I picked up a few chestnuts and headed back home via the roads.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
First Fall Hike
We got a late start tonight. Headed up around 6:20 and quickly were at the Yellow lookout. I wasn't feeling 100% so I thought about turning around. But we went for the Y/G Crossover and once we got rolling continued to Orange.
There were a couple near misses with acorns again. I may start wearing a helmet!
The Orange was pretty uneventful but Pat called around 7 to ask where we were because it was rapidly getting dark.
Coming down the big rock ramp on the Red Circle the end of the trail looked like a little light at the end of the tunnel. A little farther along and there were lights shining down the path. As we got closer, I got a glimpse of them and saw they were street lights or buildings but I'm not sure where.
We scrambled down the shortcut in the dark and got home at 7:15.
There were a couple near misses with acorns again. I may start wearing a helmet!
The Orange was pretty uneventful but Pat called around 7 to ask where we were because it was rapidly getting dark.
Coming down the big rock ramp on the Red Circle the end of the trail looked like a little light at the end of the tunnel. A little farther along and there were lights shining down the path. As we got closer, I got a glimpse of them and saw they were street lights or buildings but I'm not sure where.
We scrambled down the shortcut in the dark and got home at 7:15.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
This is Nuts!
Got an earlier start this evening to enjoy the start of Fall, the waning daylight and the remains of the warm sunny day. Headed up out back around 5:20 and cruised through the Red Circle to the Green in roughly 20 minutes. The setting sun was already streaming down the great central valley. The plan was to continue to the Violet and turn right. I saw the Blue cross just after the scramble through the boulders, but I guess I missed that the Violet was right after it.
So we continued on and just before a Boy Scout bridge crossing a dried streambed, a trail wandered off to the right. "The path less taken" was calling me. It was flat and wide enough to drive a truck down. We plodded on until we reached a junction where one of the cross-country ski trails went left and roughly straight ahead. Sadie & I continued in the forward direction, still believing I had never reached the Violet and was between it and Blue. I was soon to learn the error of my ways.
After another unmarked trail split to the left we arrived at the Violet trail. Since that had been my original intention, we kept going forward and stayed to the right on Violet when the X-Ski trail went left, even though Sadie obviously prefered the other. I had not made note of how many X-Ski and unmarked trails there are in that area so I soon had another decision. An unmarked trail went right but this time I resisted my PLT (Path Less Taken) urges and stayed on Violet.
Very soon we reached the Red Square and turned right on it up a rock strewn hill. When it leveled off, we were in one of the many areas where large green ferns mingle with big gray rocks. These spots always remind me of the Yale Peabody Museum's great dinosaur mural, which was painted by the late Rudolph Zallinger, who used to live near us.
As we approached the Green trail, a couple was coming from our right on it with a dog. I had already put Sadie on the leash when I spotted them and she barked as I asked them from a distance which way they were headed. They continued on Green to the left and we turned right headed for home.
That section of the Green trail is very wide and an obvious trail goes straight. It is on the Giant trail map which I will link to below, as are pretty much all of the others I've mentioned above. But there was another one that wandered into the swamp and we almost took it but I was concerned which way it might turn, or that perhaps it was the one I know about and have taken before which would bring us away from home to the Blue.
So we wandered ahead on the Green under a canopy of huge Mountain Laurel, by the base of Hezekiah's Nob where the White trail abuts the Green and Red Square (see my Little Italy comment in a previous blog).
Now we were circling the big upper swamp in the high valley on the Giants belly. Ahead there was another Boy Scout bridge with an obvious short cut to the right through the now dry swamp. I opted to stay on the trail and use the bridge.
This has been an incredible year for acorns. There are so many in places that it's easy to do a "3 Stooges" marble routine, which I almost did at one point. As I stepped onto the bridge, I felt a sharp pain on the top of my head and a large acorn bounced off with a loud "crack"! What are the odds? And I've heard of 2 other guys who have been hit on the head this year also.
We walked along the Green trail in the fading light and arrived at the Red Circle at 6:35. We turned towards home and arrived just before 7 PM.
So we continued on and just before a Boy Scout bridge crossing a dried streambed, a trail wandered off to the right. "The path less taken" was calling me. It was flat and wide enough to drive a truck down. We plodded on until we reached a junction where one of the cross-country ski trails went left and roughly straight ahead. Sadie & I continued in the forward direction, still believing I had never reached the Violet and was between it and Blue. I was soon to learn the error of my ways.
After another unmarked trail split to the left we arrived at the Violet trail. Since that had been my original intention, we kept going forward and stayed to the right on Violet when the X-Ski trail went left, even though Sadie obviously prefered the other. I had not made note of how many X-Ski and unmarked trails there are in that area so I soon had another decision. An unmarked trail went right but this time I resisted my PLT (Path Less Taken) urges and stayed on Violet.
Very soon we reached the Red Square and turned right on it up a rock strewn hill. When it leveled off, we were in one of the many areas where large green ferns mingle with big gray rocks. These spots always remind me of the Yale Peabody Museum's great dinosaur mural, which was painted by the late Rudolph Zallinger, who used to live near us.
As we approached the Green trail, a couple was coming from our right on it with a dog. I had already put Sadie on the leash when I spotted them and she barked as I asked them from a distance which way they were headed. They continued on Green to the left and we turned right headed for home.
That section of the Green trail is very wide and an obvious trail goes straight. It is on the Giant trail map which I will link to below, as are pretty much all of the others I've mentioned above. But there was another one that wandered into the swamp and we almost took it but I was concerned which way it might turn, or that perhaps it was the one I know about and have taken before which would bring us away from home to the Blue.
So we wandered ahead on the Green under a canopy of huge Mountain Laurel, by the base of Hezekiah's Nob where the White trail abuts the Green and Red Square (see my Little Italy comment in a previous blog).
Now we were circling the big upper swamp in the high valley on the Giants belly. Ahead there was another Boy Scout bridge with an obvious short cut to the right through the now dry swamp. I opted to stay on the trail and use the bridge.
This has been an incredible year for acorns. There are so many in places that it's easy to do a "3 Stooges" marble routine, which I almost did at one point. As I stepped onto the bridge, I felt a sharp pain on the top of my head and a large acorn bounced off with a loud "crack"! What are the odds? And I've heard of 2 other guys who have been hit on the head this year also.
We walked along the Green trail in the fading light and arrived at the Red Circle at 6:35. We turned towards home and arrived just before 7 PM.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Hezekiah's Nob
I just started this blog earlier but wanted to talk about tonight's hike.
Sadie & I headed up the Red Circle from the yard just after 6 PM. The sun was already low through the trees as we climbed up past the Yellow, White and Orange trails. We came down the Cantor Steps onto the Green trail and turned right. After a short level walk we were at an area I call Little Italy where the Green, White and Red Square trails come together. We veered off the Green onto the White and up Hezekiah's Nob.
I stopped to rest on top, sitting on one of the big stones looking out to the view to the southeast where the Blue trail comes up. The White and Blue trails cross on Hezekiah's Nob so I guess it's as close a spot as any to being Red, White and Blue with the Red Square passing just by the bottom of the Nob. We headed down the Blue and came to the corner where Sadie got lost the other night (see previous entry). She followed the trail and we found ourselves on switchbacks down into the ever darkening forest.
It had taken us about a half hour to reach the Nob and the sun was going to set around 7. I'm not sure how long we rested up above but it wasn't long. I also realized that the Blue was taking us a lot farther from home than I had thought about. We turned right towards Yellow on the Yellow/Green crossover and crossed the Orange trail on our way. I thought about taking the Orange home but decided to stay with my original plan. I'd reassess at the junction with the Red Square.
We reached the Red Square just before 7 and I decided that if we were going to get lost in the dark, at least we'd be behind the house. I could call home for a ride from the Red Square trailhead but this was doable.
It was getting darker but the yellow blazes are easier to see than some of the other colors like Green or Violet. You could look up and see the sun was still shedding enough light above that the tops of the trees were yellow but when you looked back down to the trail ahead, it was all shades of gray. There are a few ups and downs in there but we were alongside the ravine from the stream that runs down the neighbors' backyards in a very short time. It was longer up and farther than I remembered along the ravine but soon we were crossing the boulders that form a bridge when the stream is running. After the long dry summer there wasn't any water for Sadie. We turned left onto the shortcut to the Red Circle and were surprisingly precise to my planned arrival back home at 7:15.
So it had taken roughly 20 minutes to the Green, another 10 to Hezekiah's Nob, maybe 20 to the Red Square crossing of the Yellow after a 5 minute break on the Nob and then another 20 to home. I've been doing a reasonable job of finding hikes of about an hour and 15 minutes to an hour and a half.
Sadie & I headed up the Red Circle from the yard just after 6 PM. The sun was already low through the trees as we climbed up past the Yellow, White and Orange trails. We came down the Cantor Steps onto the Green trail and turned right. After a short level walk we were at an area I call Little Italy where the Green, White and Red Square trails come together. We veered off the Green onto the White and up Hezekiah's Nob.
I stopped to rest on top, sitting on one of the big stones looking out to the view to the southeast where the Blue trail comes up. The White and Blue trails cross on Hezekiah's Nob so I guess it's as close a spot as any to being Red, White and Blue with the Red Square passing just by the bottom of the Nob. We headed down the Blue and came to the corner where Sadie got lost the other night (see previous entry). She followed the trail and we found ourselves on switchbacks down into the ever darkening forest.
It had taken us about a half hour to reach the Nob and the sun was going to set around 7. I'm not sure how long we rested up above but it wasn't long. I also realized that the Blue was taking us a lot farther from home than I had thought about. We turned right towards Yellow on the Yellow/Green crossover and crossed the Orange trail on our way. I thought about taking the Orange home but decided to stay with my original plan. I'd reassess at the junction with the Red Square.
We reached the Red Square just before 7 and I decided that if we were going to get lost in the dark, at least we'd be behind the house. I could call home for a ride from the Red Square trailhead but this was doable.
It was getting darker but the yellow blazes are easier to see than some of the other colors like Green or Violet. You could look up and see the sun was still shedding enough light above that the tops of the trees were yellow but when you looked back down to the trail ahead, it was all shades of gray. There are a few ups and downs in there but we were alongside the ravine from the stream that runs down the neighbors' backyards in a very short time. It was longer up and farther than I remembered along the ravine but soon we were crossing the boulders that form a bridge when the stream is running. After the long dry summer there wasn't any water for Sadie. We turned left onto the shortcut to the Red Circle and were surprisingly precise to my planned arrival back home at 7:15.
So it had taken roughly 20 minutes to the Green, another 10 to Hezekiah's Nob, maybe 20 to the Red Square crossing of the Yellow after a 5 minute break on the Nob and then another 20 to home. I've been doing a reasonable job of finding hikes of about an hour and 15 minutes to an hour and a half.
25 years on the Giant
I've pretty much abandoned my old blog and I wanted to write about my hikes, so here we go...
After living on the side of the Sleeping Giant for 25 years, my entire family has officially hiked all the trails, becoming Giant Masters as noted on the www.sgpa.org website. Shortly thereafter, we started figuring out how many of the trails Sadie, our dog, has done and decided we could get her there. So mainly Pat (my wife) and I have pushed to get Sadie there in the last few weeks. It has forced us to hike trails we haven't in years.
In making the push, I've started hiking more regularly and doing longer sections in the evenings, squeezing as much as I can into the shorter time after dinner before dark. One evening I hiked the blue trail to the left over the little bridge by the river and had to carry Sadie down the last steep drop. Then we walked under the quarry, ablaze in the sunset, and missed the turn onto violet to the left. We came back and walked down the stairs in front of the old ruins and over the rocks back to the bridge via the violet trail. From there, I tried to push it in the rapidly diminishing daylight on the Red Diamond trail to the left where I thought we'd get to Tuttle. But I missed a turn in the dark and I felt a little like one of the Sims when they keep bumping up against a wall. The "trail" we were on kind of disappeared and there wasn't time to figure out the right way. I even made some vain attempts to determine the color of the marks on the trees using the dim light of my cell phone.
Another evening I went up the Red Circle right from the backyard all the way to the Blue and turned right. We went up and over some impressive cliffs that have beautiful views in the sunset. Back down to the upper valley and across and up Hezekiah's Nob. There is something about that place. I need to find the origin of the name, but it's funny to me because I had a great-grandfather named Hezekiah Summers. So it's a great place to celebrate the end of this summer of this incredible year of 2010. We went down the blue and the wind was picking up and the sky was darkening. Sadie ran ahead but the trail turned right. I turned around and she was gone! Pat called to say she was on her way to pick us up on Chestnut so I told her I had lost the dog. Pat called again from the trailhead and said that she could not even hear me calling Sadie's name so I was farther in than I thought. We both kept calling and met in the woods. Then we went back to the van and called out the window while driving. I suggested we go home because Sadie at least has our phone number on her tag, unlike the first time I lost her shortly after we got her (another long story). Pat dropped me at home and went back. I called Evan to come right home and just after I hung up with him, Sadie trotted out of the woods from our usual exit on the left even though the spot where I lost her was deep in the woods to the right. I called both Pat & Evan and was thrilled to see her and amazed that she had found her way.
After living on the side of the Sleeping Giant for 25 years, my entire family has officially hiked all the trails, becoming Giant Masters as noted on the www.sgpa.org website. Shortly thereafter, we started figuring out how many of the trails Sadie, our dog, has done and decided we could get her there. So mainly Pat (my wife) and I have pushed to get Sadie there in the last few weeks. It has forced us to hike trails we haven't in years.
In making the push, I've started hiking more regularly and doing longer sections in the evenings, squeezing as much as I can into the shorter time after dinner before dark. One evening I hiked the blue trail to the left over the little bridge by the river and had to carry Sadie down the last steep drop. Then we walked under the quarry, ablaze in the sunset, and missed the turn onto violet to the left. We came back and walked down the stairs in front of the old ruins and over the rocks back to the bridge via the violet trail. From there, I tried to push it in the rapidly diminishing daylight on the Red Diamond trail to the left where I thought we'd get to Tuttle. But I missed a turn in the dark and I felt a little like one of the Sims when they keep bumping up against a wall. The "trail" we were on kind of disappeared and there wasn't time to figure out the right way. I even made some vain attempts to determine the color of the marks on the trees using the dim light of my cell phone.
Another evening I went up the Red Circle right from the backyard all the way to the Blue and turned right. We went up and over some impressive cliffs that have beautiful views in the sunset. Back down to the upper valley and across and up Hezekiah's Nob. There is something about that place. I need to find the origin of the name, but it's funny to me because I had a great-grandfather named Hezekiah Summers. So it's a great place to celebrate the end of this summer of this incredible year of 2010. We went down the blue and the wind was picking up and the sky was darkening. Sadie ran ahead but the trail turned right. I turned around and she was gone! Pat called to say she was on her way to pick us up on Chestnut so I told her I had lost the dog. Pat called again from the trailhead and said that she could not even hear me calling Sadie's name so I was farther in than I thought. We both kept calling and met in the woods. Then we went back to the van and called out the window while driving. I suggested we go home because Sadie at least has our phone number on her tag, unlike the first time I lost her shortly after we got her (another long story). Pat dropped me at home and went back. I called Evan to come right home and just after I hung up with him, Sadie trotted out of the woods from our usual exit on the left even though the spot where I lost her was deep in the woods to the right. I called both Pat & Evan and was thrilled to see her and amazed that she had found her way.
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