Full moon in Brown Canyon; walking the social trail

I posted this hike on Meet-up last week.  Ellen said she would walk it with me as she always wanted to find that trail she had heard about going up the ridgeline back to the parking area.

We ended up being a group of three:  Ellen, Dennis and I with Fritz.  Dennis last hiked with me last year when we did the Miller Canyon loop via a social trail.  Travis had signed up but had to cancel.

We met at 3:35pm in the trailhead parking off Ramsey Road.  The parking lot was packed, which concerned me, but most of those cars were for people walking to the Brown Ranch house.  We bypassed the house by  climbing up a side trail, past a grave marker, and back down into the canyon.  Once there, we only met two more people: a lone cyclist and a lone hiker.  Fritz was on leash until we got to the social trail.  That's where the trail gets interesting.

Moon rise was at 5:05pm and sunset at 5:34pm.  It gets dark fast in the shaded canyon and my concern was to get on the 1.4-mile social trail while there was still daylight. The unmarked social trail climbs up two hill tops before descending back into the parking lot.  The setting sun behind the mountains offers some light as one ascends up the southern slopes, but we had to stay on pace.

Parts of the trail fade away, so I used my Strava track to stay on or close to it. The soil is loose and rocky with a lot of downed trees and other organic debris along the way, and I was alert for three things: border crossers hiding nearby, my other two hikers staying close by, and Fritz.  Fritz is devoted to me, but ever now and then he loses it when he spots a deer.

It got dark fast after official sunset.  Views into town as we descended were nice.  How many of those lights were Christmas lights strung up in front yards?

The hike took us 2:26 hours and tracked at 5.1 miles.  Fritz and I were thirsty and I kept thinking of my iced tea in the truck.  We all wished each other well as we left the parking lot to go home.

Ellen is getting her strength back.  To challenge herself, she is hosting a 13-miler Carr Peak loop on New Year's Day.  She, Dennis and Travis have signed up.  I may as well, too.