Worth The Hike
It was a brisk yet sunny day. The trails were completely iced over as the sun only melted the edges and overlooks of the Hollow. Four miles in and four miles out with a planned pit stop at one of the overlooks.
When Boss emailed all the participants the day before the hike, he told everyone to bring and plan on wearing ice spikes like YakTrax or Stabilizers. Hiking a portion of the trail on Tuesday, he forewarned all of us. Ending his email with, "if you don't have them, another hike to this area will be done in May as well," I couldn't wait until May. You see, I knew "the plan."
Stopping for a very short break, we could see the pond located in the hollow was still solidly frozen. Although the hike was slow-going because of the trails, the conversation was good among the group of nine, discussing a wide array of subjects.
When we got to yet another overlook, Boss said, "JP will tell you why we're stopping here. Take it away JP...""Look around everyone. Does anyone notice anything?" Hearing answers ranging from mosses, Mountain Laurel, frozen water and slippery trails, I then said, "Does anyone know what all this white stuff on the ground and bushes is?" Silence and a lot of shrugged shoulders.
"This, my friends, is Eagle striping (aka residue) and is more than likely caused by one of the adults perching above our heads. Look at the pines on the island. Dos anyone see the nest? There is an Eagle on eggs, telling us that this location will, once again, be a successful nesting site."
just seeing, saying, and sharing...
Worth The Hike
with you and those at
One more thing. Most of you know how I am about back-ups for certain things. The day of our hike, I'm glad I had extra spikes to share. When the woman returned them to me, she said, "Thank you JP. I"m going to buy two pairs...one for me and a second to have on hand so I can pay it forward." Yes, I thought the hike was worth it.
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