Practically Perfect In Every Way


My March hike is in the books!

This weekend has been one of absurdly good weather and surprisingly helpful circumstances. Over 70 degrees out -- and our guests are a small group that are mostly hanging out in the Hills away from camp.

Yesterday, taking advantage of that, I made my usual trek to Sylvan Lake.

First things first -- a stop by the Coffee Cabin outside Hill City on the way. (I love those guys. They give me energy.) There was a line this time ... and their sign with the day's special amused me.


Onward!

The trail was dry for most of the way -- a huge improvement over last month's snowpack -- although there were also a lot more downed trees, some of which blocked the trail.

I suspect this one of falling the day I hiked last month. If so, it killed my snowman.

Maybe that's why I have "Psycho Killer" by the Talking Heads stuck in my head.

 Traffic was up, too. I chatted with a few other hikers, including our weekend guests and one speedy guy who leapfrogged me and missed the turn to the tower.

I had assumed he was through-hiking #9. I was wrong.

Tee hee!

Made it to the top in just under 80 minutes, my fastest time this year by a large margin. (Turns out you can go faster when it's not icy! And when you have proper footwear...) Next month, maybe I save the mocha for after and see if I can cut down another 5 minutes.

Did I mention the perfect weather?
By the time I got back to my car, the only thing on my mind -- besides the roast Mom had mentioned for dinner that night -- was a nap. This led to a downright heavenly afternoon.

 

March. Who knew?

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