“I felt like summer had taken me over.”-Junot Diaz

“Everything good, everything magical, happens between the months of June and August.”-Jenny Han

“Summer breeze makes me feel fine.”-Seals & Crofts

What a beautiful morning!!! That is the only way to describe it. Not many days during the month of June start off with a cool 57 degrees with no humidity and an awesome breeze. Not only that, I didn’t see a single fly, mosquito or gnat during the entire hike. Could it get any better? I don’t think so!

Even though I have been on some of the trails on this hike previously, I would say I have never hiked probably three of the six miles. As with the rest of Ward Pound Ridge, it was outstanding. The trails were well maintained and since I haven’t been in this part of WPR since before COVID, I was met with a nice surprise very early into the hike.

A wonderful addition to Ward Pound Ridge.

After several years of disrepair to existing bridges, the folks at WPR apparently made the decision to install two of these covered bridges across a stream that runs through a portion of the park.

Five thirty in the morning at the start of the hike.

The entrance to my happy place!

I’m going to guess that this area floods when it rains…

It was almost as if the trees were standing guard over this part of the trail.

Even though you can’t really tell by the photo, this stream is running and provided a great soundtrack with the breeze blowing through the trees as I took a break.

Call me crazy, but can you see the shape of the turtle?

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, today was an absolutely beautiful morning to be out hiking. These are the kind of days where you can head out into the woods and use the time to reenergize and refocus with no distractions.

Today, like many other hikes I have done in WPR, I didn’t see to many folks out on the trail. However, one person who I saw should be an inspiration to us all. As I was working my way up a hill, I felt good about myself and was happy that I wasn’t that tired or winded. About 3/4 of the way up the hill, I heard a trail runner approaching from my rear. As I turned around, I saw a man who was easily 10 years older than me (I’m 58) who blew by me like I was standing still.

Needless to say, the good feeling I had quickly disappeared.

Of course, I say this with just a little bit of humor, because this guy, for as old he is, is in phenomenal shape. Kudos to him!!!

HAPPY HIKING!!!

Hike #5-6/15-6.0-20.9