Walking in the forest

We haven't had as much rain lately, so for Tuesday morning's walk in the town forest, I proposed taking a trail we haven't used this year because it tends to be wet.  Going along the Mainline trail to look at the tree identification signs put up a few years ago, we ended up taking a slightly backwards route to the Empire Lookout.

This is a little dark, but we had nine people, including six from our neighborhood.  Nancy, Suzy, and Chris live elsewhere in the city or town, and we are a fairly congenial group which welcomes new people.  You can see that most of us wore jackets because the mornings have been in the 40's lately.  But the sun came out on the way back to the parking lot, and it got fairly warm.  We took a winding route back that climbed up past the Little John Quarry, and then walked along Pierre's field to a part of the VAST trail we rarely use. 

I will be sorry to see the walks end at the end of September and wonder where we can go to get such great conditions.   Even though we have to watch for tree roots and stones in the forest, the dirt trails are cushiony underfoot.  The mall is dull and its tile floor is hard;  downtown is OK except for the traffic; the neighborhood or the treadmill get old really fast.  

Next week, weather permitting, we'll try Rauli's Run, a new trail for beginning bikers.  Should be interesting.