Bald Hill Road south to the Abbott Loop and up to The Pinnacles Look-out, Danby SF
Dark misty damp morning — extremely nice after all the hot weatherNot the whole group ….Aside from where we parked, the little clearing at the look-out was the only place with any real light for taking photosBack into the gloomy woodsThis is where the southern leg of the Abbott Loop crosses Bald Hill Road — we traditionally reverse course and retrace our steps at this pointBack up at The Pinnacles on the retuen leg of the walkZucchini give-away by Ekhart
Missed getting six hikers ….The improvement to the trail along the edge of Lick Brook involved lengthening the route so the climb is more gradual, and installing several areas of wooden steps to end erosion of the steep slopes. Several hikers said this reduced the adventure of climbing up the hillside. I was hoping the work crew would also level out the path so it no longer tilted strongly toward the stream gorge, but this issue wasn’t addressed. I have a lot of trouble walking on a surface that tilts because, as some of you know, I developed problems with my balance a few years back related to a nerve disorder I inherited. I’m no longer able to walk without lurching and staggering a bit, and this problem makes me worry I could stagger into the gorge.I’ve been wearing a bike helmet and upper body armor for over a year when I hike ever since I took a weird and somewhat serious fall onto the top of my head that I suspect was related to my balance problems. The helmet and armor make me feel more secure but they can be really oppressive on a hot humid morning like this was.
What a spectacular day we had for the Hiker’s reunion
picnic! By all accounts, it was an
overwhelming success. The weather was
perfect. The chicken quarters were moist
and flavorful. The wait for grilled
food was minimal. A record number of
people came (between 90-100!). There
were lots of great food on the dish-to-pass tables. And a good time was had by
all. THANK YOU.
A special shout out to Roger and Gunilla, Randy, Jack, Bud,
Pat, Mary, Eckhart, and the very generous donor who wants to remain anonymous
for all you guys did behind the scene.
Also a BIG thank you for everyone’s generous donation. We have enough to pay for the website for the
year, cash to give to Steven and Susan for the incidentals for other hiker
related expenses ( for example sparkling wine at the New Year’s eve tailgate
party) and a nice gift certificate to
REI so they can keep looking sharp while attending every hike.
Hope to see you on the trails, or around town,
Happy Hiking.
Liz Kyle
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Liz and Gunilla, and Tiger’s back. I really love scenes with smoke that’s illuminated against a very dark background.
Liz always does a great job coordinating the food, and I don’t think anyone’s happier to have her handling it than Tiger and me. We used to do the food operation ourselves but Tiger hated it, and Liz felt I was heavy-handed and brusque. Liz really has a knack for this — she makes it seem effortless.
Our food coordinator Liz K, vamping with balloons she was on the way to tie up along Route 13 to mark the entrance to Roger’s drivewayIf you’re new to the web site, be aware that if you click on any photo, you’ll see a large high-resolution version pop up, which will let you see the details.
Official head count: As of 1 pm, that’s to say very early, the official count was 85H, already more people than we’ve ever had before — and new people were steadily rolling in. It seemed like the final total might well approach 100.
Upper Buttermilk Falls SP and La Tourelle, from Yaple Rpad
Everyone who hiked made it into the group shotIt was supposed to get hot but it didn’t; it stayed cloudy and damp until we finished the hike, and it was very nice
Official head count: 14H, one D
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Sat July 20
Hike cancelled — excessive heat and humidity
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Sun July 21
Wooded areas along Fall Creek near Flat Rock
We managed to keep under the trees for almost the whole walk — so, even though it was in the low 80s and getting humid when we wrapped it up, we were pretty comfortable