Today marks the first weekend of very warm temperatures through Easter. I got the pack up early and took them on a sunrise walk on the maintenance road (the road is still the fastest way to get the dogs to a walking area). A few cirrus clouds along the horizon promised some color for sunrise.
The dogs seem to enjoy the early morning walk. There's still a chill in the air that cools the skin, and that all dissipates shortly after sunrise.
I only went three miles because I wanted to conserve some energy for the full moon hike later in Brown Canyon. I was off work today (through Monday!) for Easter, but Kevin had to work.
The predicted high for today was 86F and it felt it. I had the meetup set for 5:30pm, still light and still warm, and I didn't even need to pack a sweater. I just wore my flannel shirt with a t-shirt underneath it.
Seven people showed up! There was Bill, HollyW, Theresa and her step-daughter Wendy, SteveT and Trace, and EricS. This was a great group, as there were no slackers nor any whiners. We started promptly and walked the canyon clockwise, the same direction most mountain bikers ride this.
We didn't have any mountain bikers today. What we had instead were two loud ATVs that weren't even supposed to be on the badly-rutted Brown Canyon Road. We told them so, but they blew us off saying they had permits to be on that road. Another dog walker holding on to his young German Shepherd Dog, told us the same thing. We made way for the two ATVs, but we all bitched about the noise and the inconvenience. Apparently the ATVers did not want to pay heed to the NO MOTORIZED VEHICLES sign at the start of the dirt road.
All that aside, it was still a pleasant walk. We stopped a few times to let the slower walkers catch up. Bill seemed anxious and went on ahead; he knows where I take people to watch the moon rise and didn't worry about him. He's still a speed demon. But then we never saw him again.
This was Wendy's first time in Brown Canyon. Coming down to spend the summer with Theresa and to help her out around the house, she was in awe of the canyon's beauty. The sun was dipping down behind the mountains and casting us with a cool, deep shadow, but we could still see the trail. She thoroughly enjoyed the walk.
We made it to the planned overlook a minute too late. The moon's halo was already announcing its rise behind the mountains, so I stopped the group where we were to watch the moon rise. We were about .1 mile from the boulders where we normally sit and chat while the moon's getting ready, but today I forsook the boulders because we would have missed the moon rise over the mountains otherwise.
The moon rose promptly at 7:23pm. We stood and watched for five minutes before I guided everyone down the rocky hillside to get back to the main road. There was no sign of Bill. He would have seen the trail of flashlights coming down the hill had he been at the boulders. There was no sign of his motorcycle in the parking lot, either, so I just assume he power-walked the route and then watched from Ramsey Canyon road and then took off.
There was no breeze once the sun set. I was comfortable in what I wore.
Four of us ended the evening with a visit to the Bonedry taphouse. We sat outside on their new patio and chatted. Wendy kept telling us how beautiful it is here. She lives in Portland now, and that's a pretty area, too, I told her. We all had two beers each. Theresa was eating on an empty stomach so I brought out the popcorn and peanuts which guests can help themselves to. She told us about life on a Montana ranch, and being the youngest of 13 children; her stories are full of humor. She's a delight to listen to.
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