Deth

We don’t get to go out for a good hike or geocaching nearly as much as we used to in the past or as often as we’d like to but we managed to get out in the woods today. We used to be up there a lot. Early on in our geocaching it seemed like we were up there hiking around the state game lands or Governor Dick every other day. With the girlfriends bad knee and schedule and everyone one else seems to plan things for when it’s least convenient for us we don’t get out nearly enough.

This summer’s brutal humidity nearly every time she had off was a less than desirable factor in our lack of caching. It seemed to always coincide with when we had free time. The thing is we prefer nice hikes and those factors cut into that ability this year.

Today we got out and decided to go after an old DNF from about six years ago as our main target. It’s in a very busy spot but worth every second of it. We were early since we had to babysit this morning so we beat the crowds to the park. It was nice having the normally very busy trails more less to ourselves on the way up. It’s great that so many people get out and enjoy the woods but it’s nice when the trails are quiet. Thankfully ground zero for the main target cache of the day was pretty empty and I found it in the first place I looked.

We wandered off to some nearby caches while we were there. It was nice to revisit some trails today that we haven’t been on in well over a decade. The trails seem to be much wider and better maintained than they were years ago. I guess that’s one of the positives of it being a fairly popular place.

It was good to get out in the woods today for sure. It was a very much needed day to more or less disconnect and enjoy nature. The smell of the woods just automatically relaxes me. The much less humid day today with a nice breeze helped too! Shortly after we were at the tower the sun worked its way out to only brightened up the extremely clear air. Certainly not the best time visually for me to be bushwhacking with the bright lights and shadows but it’s good for the soul.

Up on top of the tower there was a nice refreshing breeze today. Lots of clouds in the sky but with the low humidity the lower atmosphere was very clear and the horizon was nice and sharp. A far cry from the regular haze of this summer. We enjoyed some time taking in the air and the view while no lone was really up there except for a young couple that came up where the girl seemed terrified of the heights and climb. This tower is well worth the visit and especially nice in the fall.

I noticed there were a lot of downed trees on the western side of the hill. I was wondering if that was from this summer with the frequent storms. Up that area seemed to get hit by some nasty ones this summer. We weren’t on the other sides so I don’t know if they had the same tree damage. We’d planned on coming up here earlier in the summer on one of those days they had the strongly worded warnings but didn’t due to the weather.

We both know that we’re in good shape now but it’s really nice when a day like today reinforces it. I remember we’d have to take breaks on the way up the hill but today the hike was just easy. Not even any heavy breathing and no need to take any breaks at all other than to tie my shoe. My heart rate didn’t even come up that much. The hill isn’t steep enough for that.