Stopped on a whim after school to hike Lewis and Clark. Hadn't been there since last June, right after the tornadoes hit and the trail was impassable. Noticed daffodils coming up by the pond; this must have been the site of another homestead that has all but disappeared.The temperature was around 60 degrees and I was warm in Nelson's old Ireland sweater. The sun would come out, then it would rain and by the end the sun was kind of peaking out again. I looked up the time of sunset--7:42--plenty of time before dark. Made me feel hopeful. I was wearing my giant brimmed straw hat-not a hiking hat--to protect my face from the sun and as it turned out, the hat kept me very dry, too, even at the end of the hike when the rain picked up and the trail started to get a little muddy.
Debris from last year's tornadoes. Cut from the path but not removed.
Coming upon the river vista, a broken tree and eerie sky.
The last mile or two of the trail--more burned trees and limbs. Eerie but exciting. Hiked the trail in abuot 2 hours and 15 minutes: 3:30 or so to 5:45. Talked with Pat on the phone at the end. Stepped gingerly and slowed down when the trail became muddy. (Earlier, in the school parking lot, it had actually hailed as I walked to my car in the sunshine.) There were two or three joggers; a backpacker hiking the trail backwards who'd also seen the hail, a woman walking alone, and a couple. The last two were at the trail's entrance. I panted going up the hills, but didn't feel short of breath or anything. Couldn't believe how good this hike made me feel.
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