The walk started right on time, and Dave got us back to the cars at precisely the 2-hour mark. He really has a knack for such precise timing, though he’s not usually this exact. He routinely times the hike ahead of time using a stop-watch function on his phone, and then keeps track of our progress using mileposts he’s created.
There was one mishap on the walk. Bad Dennis was stung twice, only the second and third times he has ever been stung. ” I was stung twice by ground wasps near the wood “bridge” (just planks) on the way back down the trail we used to go up. Roger knocked several small wasps off my backside and inner thighs–I had one up my shirt sleeve ; his dog was limping on three legs–I think the dog upset the ground nest. Might have a small reaction to them.”
Official head count: 33H, seven D
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Sun Aug 25
The Pinnacles look-out from the southern approach, Danby SF
This was a special day for Tiger and me — exactly 15 years ago, on the last Sunday of August 2004, we took our first hike with the group, after taking over as coordinators — it was a small-scale beginning — there were only two other hikers, Roger and another person who left the trail a while ago — I’ve enjoyed the 15 years of hiking since then greatlyA few years ago I started to have an occasional disruption of my vision known as an ocular migraine, though in my particular case I don’t actually have headaches. The event leaves big blind spots in my vision and can be accompanied by areas of extreme brightness, making it hard for me to see. I got hit with an episode about a half-hour into the hike — I had to turn back and hang on to Tiger’s arm and stumble along clumsily until the condition resolved after a while.
