Hello Hikers!
Wednesday Oct 19
Road walk — Hill Road and Curtis Road, South Danby
It was a beautiful grey morning and everyone was in a cheerful mood — I got into taking some posed line-up shots — this is four of the seven Susans who hike with us regularly ….
…. I liked this field as a backdrop — doesn’t look as good in the photo as it did in real life ….
…. I went gaga over this stand of dark pine — the hikers had gotten into doing the Hokey-Pokey when I got this shot
The leaf action was really spectacular — if you think I’m exaggerating, check out Jack V’s nature shots here.
Official head count: 18H, four D
Saturday Oct 22
Bock-Harvey Forest Preserve, Enfield
An alarming incident. The big tree in the foreground fell down right into the trail shortly after we walked by the spot on the outbound leg — we were quite shocked to discover it blocking our way when we headed back — it was gusty but it didn’t seem like the wind was strong enough to be toppling trees. This one was very rotten.
As predicted, we got rained on, but it was intermittent and it wasn’t raining all that hard — we were prepared for it and everyone stayed warm and dry and we had a wonderful walk. On the drive to the trail head we passed areas where all the trees along the road were stripped bare of leaves, but there was plenty of leaf action along the trail and it was very satisfying. I realized when I got back home that the old growth maple trees that are so cherished by forest people are so tall you can’t see the leaves on top unless you practically bend backwards, which I didn’t do, so I don’t know what the leaves were like on them.
Official head count: NineH, two D
Sunday Oct 23
Bald Hill Road to Hill Road, and a get-together at Hobit’s afterwards, Danby
Official head count: 30H, seven D
You can see Jack V’s photos online here
Not everyone who hiked came to Hobit’s afterwards, but there were people there who’d skipped the hike. It was a little cool in the back yard and almost everyone stayed inside — I sat outside staring into the fire and watching Emmie toast marshmallows
Jake, who’s now 16, has become quite a tumbler. He did some wonderful tricks for us but I don’t know how to activate the “burst” mode on my camera so I failed to get any of his most spectacular moves. I did manage by luck to catch him in mid-flight here.
Classic fall morning, drizzling a little, gloomy skies, upper 40s — not everyone’s idea of a great day but I really love these conditions
We’ve had to cut this walk short for the last few years because a landowner withdrew permission for access, but that was just recently remedied, and the new trail is lovely
Official head count: 14H, one D
This is an excellent trail with a number of very beautiful stretches — looked especially lovely with the bright slanting sunlight and the long shadows
More gorgeous weather — another great walk
