Second extra hike of the season

Al, Holly, April, Mike, Terry (me behind camera)

Six of us went out the Mountain Loop Highway yesterday, for our second "extra" hike of the season, to Mt. Dickerman. We didn't know that Mike and April would be joining us, as they didn't have a way to get ahold of Al, seeing the extra hike schedule on the Senior Trailblazer website and having some interest. (Al keeps it up but it changes often; sometimes we don't go where we were originally scheduled for various reasons.)

The wildflowers were out in amazing abundance this year. We did this hike as our next-to-last extra hike last year on September 19. It was a cloudy day, which I found contributed to a comfort level we didn't have yesterday. The sun beat down on us relentlessly. As we made our way upwards, I noticed that the mountains were partially obscured in haze. (If you look at the pictures in the link from last year, you can see it almost seems like a different hike.)

Just like any other trek, it was a simple matter of putting one foot in front of the other and going one step at a time to the top. Every guidebook that I saw warned to be sure and take plenty of water on this one. Last year it was cool and cloudy and I didn't use up all my water, but yesterday was another story. I ran out about a mile from the cars, and although Al had stopped to filter some water in one of the few streams for himself, I didn't realize I was so low.

As Al headed over to get that water, I asked Mike to take my picture, and the result was this good one.  Funny, all the pictures I take need to be straightened, but Mike's was perfect right out of the camera. It was nice to meet these wonderful people, who are interested in continuing to go on the extra hikes with us. They are very experienced trekkers and had no problem with the nine miles and almost 4,000-foot elevation gain. In fact, as we reached the parking lot, Mike, who drove, ran (RAN!) across the parking lot to get his van, and then opened a cooler with water, V-8, and even one beer, which Holly commandeered, and offered them to us first. After that, we drove to Granite Falls and had a really nice meal together.

Our new friends, Mike and April

Once I got home, I realized that I was still thirsty and drank down quite a bit of cool water before taking a shower and relaxing. I got up this morning and was, amazingly, not a bit sore or tired. After a good workout this morning at the gym, I headed home to write this post. It was a GREAT day, and Mt. Dickerman was once again a thriller.