Over-ambitious

In spite of the lack (still) of spring/summer weather, we can't resist the pull of a hike in the woods, given long days and the promise of emerald green vegetation and wild flowers. Yesterday we decided to try a local watershed preserve - a place we drive by every day on our way in to town. It is on top of Redmond Ridge and, in spite of being right in the middle of our daily commute, is a world away from the city. We just didn't realize how extensive the trail system was, nor how remote it would feel once inside the preserve. The perfect place!

There are even separate trails for hikers and bicyclists - our favorite thing! (We hate being run over by bicycles - as I've ranted about over and over on these pages.)

And so we set out. Map in hand, we wandered into the woods. (Who are we kidding? Does a map every really help us?) Green was everywhere, that's for sure. This is a fresh and dense forest - a combination, somehow, of old growth and new. There are some truly monster trees, and underneath them ferns are unfurling, the skunk cabbage leaves are near their 3-4 foot mature length. Everything in the forest is straining to outdo everything else. In its early summer garb it is all vivid and spectacular. We couldn't get enough. Around every corner there was a sun-dappled tree or a blazing white fungus or the sound of a little stream. Birds chirped... well, you know. Irresistible. And we we kept going.

I had the notion in my mind, having studied this part of the county on the aerial maps of Google Earth, that if we kept going on the trail, we'd come out on a road I use when I go in to work - perpendicular to the one we'd taken to get to the park in the first place. And sure enough, we did... only about a mile and half further west than I'd anticipated. And several hundred feet (am I exaggerating here?) lower in elevation than the road we'd need to return to. So, OK, we were game for an uphill walk. It's a nice country road. And it leads right up to a golf club and a pretty nice pizza place. This plan is shaping up nicely, right? Lunch and a cold drink (and a bathroom!) and a rest in the middle of a long hike sounds perfect.

And it was. But after lunch we still had about a mile and a half to go to get back to the car. Overall we probably hiked about 5-6 miles. (Mark actually thinks it might have been closer to 7 miles, but he needed new shoes...)

It was a bit over-ambitious for us at the beginning of our hiking season. To my credit, I was sore last night, but not really today!

That's actually pretty encouraging.