Sunset hike in Brown Canyon (5.2-mile loop)

Today's hike was another posted hike on MeetUp.  Two other hikers joined me:  AJ and Steve.  It had been a while since I had spoken with Steve, and was happy to see him sign up for the hike.

The hike was scheduled for 4:30pm and I had to hustle after leaving the high school.  My Huawei phone was acting up again and I was now determined to go straight to Walmart and replace that disappointing phone with a new Samsung S5.  I really like the S5 and the reduced new price of $199 is another plus.  Soon the S8 will be released.

I was able to come home at 3:45am and get the new phone charging before meeting AJ and Steve.  Both were already waiting for me, and together we started this loop in a clockwise direction, starting up the road for a half-mile before turning southwest on Brown Canyon Road, now a rutted dirt road that ends on private property and several homes.

The pace was slow but that gave me a chance to talk to both AJ and Steve.  We ended up hiking slow enough to witness the pretty sunset colors as we finished off the loop hike on the wide dirt road from the Brown Canyon ranch house.  I took my first photos with my "new" S5 today and am quite pleased.

There was no one else on the trail, which is odd for after work in the late afternoon.  Usually we meet mountain bikers coming down the loop.  This time it was just us three humans and three dogs.  We took a side spur to the Brown Canyon waterslide falls, which were void of any water.

Sadie and Zeke stayed by my side, but Trace went enthusiastically after birds in the grass.  Steve kept blowing his whistle to get Trace back to him, which meant Trace would bolt out from the opposite direction after running a complete lap around us.  He's such a fun dog, but in a larger hiking group this erratic running would be a nuisance. I completely understand Trace and love him for the goofy dog that he is.  He jumps into water like Zeke does and is a complete love bug.

We finished the hike in 2:10 hours.  While AJ went home to spend the evening with his own dogs, Steve and I had dinner at Culver's, where we ended up talking for over two hours (!!!).  The local middle school girls' softball team was also dining there and some of the girls recognized me.  Steve and I talked about Alaska and some of the sites to be on the lookout for.  "The beauty along the road is unbelievable" Steve told me.  I am so looking forward to this summer's road trip!  I have 90 days to get everything in order.