Raptor Ridge on Halloween

Raptor Ridge

It was a dark and stormy... day, Halloween 2013, when nine Senior Trailblazers headed up to Raptor Ridge and Madrone Crest to experience a typical Pacific Northwest winter hiking day. It was pretty much opposite from the sunny and beautiful day we had last week, but we still had a very good time.

Soggy leaves on the path

When we started out, the rain from the night before had stopped and although overcast, it was fairly warm and comfortable. Good hiking conditions. However, it wasn't long before a light mist began to cover everything, so we stopped to put on our rain gear. This trail is a well-traveled one, well maintained and right in town. We saw several people out for a run or taking their dogs for a walk, but we went a fair distance today, more than ten miles total.

Fog, rocks, gloves

We decided to hike all the way up to Madrone Crest before we stopped for lunch, but I was unaware that it would be so far. It was almost seven miles, so I was pretty darn peckish before we made it to Madrone Crest where we had no view (again) and I could finally enjoy my lunch. Next time I'll take more than trail mix to munch on while I'm hiking to keep me from getting so hungry.

Conference

Al would check with us to find out whether or not we wanted to continue on or stop. Since it's rather uncomfortable to stop when you're damp from both the light rain and exertion, we went out to the viewpoint, even though we knew there wouldn't be any. But amazingly, as we were finishing lunch, the clouds began to part and we saw blue sky!

Rita showing us a picture on her iPhone

As we began our downward hike back to the cars, it began to get downright pleasant. We had some good conversations, and Rita told us about her recent trip, sharing some pictures with us on her iPhone. It amazes me how much our lives have changed with the advent of smartphones. We also had a conversation about the meaning of different colors, and I was able to look up the definition of mauve, puce, and taupe to decide which best describes the color of Rita's pack rain cover. (It's puce.)

Linda, Ward, Rita

I also got a picture at Huckleberry Point of three of my favorite people, with the sun finally winning out over the fog and rain. Once we returned to our cars and made our way back to the Senior Center, we all agreed it had been a very good day, not dark and stormy at all. I'm glad that it will be decent outside for the little ones who will be out in costume tonight. I hope some of them visit me so I won't be forced to eat all that candy myself.
:-)