Last week was crazy at work, so I took today as a vacation day. Partially, I did it just to get a breather, but I also wanted to attend one of the internet group’s weekday hikes – 4.8 miles, ending right at sunset (and hopefully before the rangers locked the gates.)

The start was the usual punishing climb up the steep and constant Deep Gulch trail, but I made it (with the usual breaks to get breathing and heart rate down a bit.) The rest of the hike was pretty leisurely; as usual, I ended up at the back of the pack picking up the stragglers, and ended up making sure a mom and 8 year old made it home. They knew the trails and seemed to be doing good (except for occasional stops when the kid got tired), but leaving anyone behind always seems just not right.

And even for a beautiful, clear, warm day, the trails were still really empty. Nice!

I haven’t been hiking at all lately thanks to work, so this was a real treat. It was even better because dear wife and I did another 3 miles on a new trail on Saturday.