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| Happy Wanderers today |
A surprisingly large number of Senior Trailblazers showed up for our Tuesday hike: 22 to be exact, which a few old timers thought might be a record. We piled into quite a few cars to get us all to the trailhead, so we could hike the five miles of trails in the Stimpson Family Nature Reserve. When I used to do this hike with Melanie, we'd often take two trips around the shorter loop, to make it a little longer.
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| One of our many stops |
We didn't do that today, though, so it was over before noon, but we all had a really good time. We were all ready for rain, as it has been forecast for the afternoon, and we did have a few sprinkles, but nothing much, really. It was overcast but pleasantly warm and humid. At every junction, our leader Persis asked us to stop and wait to regroup. Quite a large group to keep track of, any way you look at it.
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| Geneva Pond |
The last time I was here, there was a huge amount of pollen in the air and on the surface of the lake, but today, as you can see, the water was still and clear. We then made our way to the junction that would take us around the larger loop, which also has some elevation (not much; we had less than a thousand feet today).
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| Persis and a huge old growth tree |
Since we didn't have Leanne with us today, our leader Persis did a good job hugging this tree in Leanne's honor. There are many such trees in this magnificent reserve, which doesn't allow horses, dogs, or bikes on the trails, to keep from disturbing the natural environment.
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| Such a beautiful place |
We are so fortunate to have such a magnificent acreage to enjoy so close to town. We were all sad to say farewell for now to our environment, but we all look forward to visiting this place again soon. It's open year round.
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| Information about the reserve |
It was nice to visit with my new friends, the Happy Wanderers group, one of the three Senior Trailblazer groups to choose from. This one is the only one on Tuesday, and both of the other groups gather for a hike on Thursdays. I'm still up in the air about whether to hike later this week, since I had quite a strong reaction to the second Shingrix shot and still have a very sore arm. In any event, today was a delightful way to spend my Tuesday morning!
:-)
It looks beautiful - as all your hikes do. I hope that sore arm disappears quickly and that you do feel up to hiking again.
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful setting! Friends and nature…perfect!
ReplyDeleteI would hug that tree too!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the cool, mostly cloudy morning for my walk today. Tom reports that it has just now started to rain. I don't expect much but we can use all we can get.
Wow, 22 is a lot of you--well, the photo of Geneva Pond is absolutely striking and seeing that tree is one thing but seeing Persis hug it puts things into perspective. DJan, you should include a "What I'm having for lunch" photo for your foodie fans like me :^)
ReplyDeleteLooks like a good day even if you felt that it was too short! It rained on me today while I was doing the first leaf mulch, I finally got so wet and cold I gave up!
ReplyDeleteMany times it's the people in the group who make things fun.
ReplyDeleteThat was a large group. Lots of people to chat to on the hike though.
ReplyDelete'Hikers Only' seems like a most wonderful idea.
ReplyDeleteI like that they don't even allow horses, dogs, or bikes on that trail. What a large and wonderful group. Sorry your arm is still hurting. Hope that is better soon. :)
ReplyDeleteMaybe ice would help your arm for a bit. Far better than getting shingles! Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteAnother good day for you!
ReplyDeleteA lovely place for a hike.
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