This week we have a special treat for everyone. I've got pictures of Bill and Becky with us at the top of Lantern Hill!
Deb has been walking around Westerly with Bill and Becky twice a week for about a month now, and this week Sof, Rob, Kali, and I were invited to hike Lantern Hill with them on Thursday evening, after work.
We started at the base of Lantern Hill at about 5:30pm, planning on hiking a short loop around the base of the hill, and then up the back side, then down the other to our cars. We started hiking mostly up hill, on the road, towards the North Stonington dump where we passed the closed gate at the entrance, and then past the dog kennel where the trail enters into the woods. The dogs in the kennel were barking enthusiastically at us as we passed them.
This trail is very familiar to us, and we all enjoyed the fresh afternoon air. We eventually started our climb up the back of Lantern Hill, and stopped a few times to gather our strength and to rehydrate. As we climbed over the tree line, we took in the scenic views all around.
Here's Bill doing a Fred Sanford style, "Oh.... it's the big one, Elizabeth! I'm coming to join ya, honey!" at the top. LOL.
After a short rest to catch our breath and to rehydrate again, we took these group shots.
We then continued down the other side of Lantern Hill, and back to our cars. We later had dinner at Village Pizza, in Preston. I very much enjoyed our evening hike, and hope to do many more week-day adventures.
And on Sunday, Sof, Rob, Deb, Kali, and I hiked the Narragansett Trail from the Sunoco station on RT2 to RT164 in Norwich.
Sunday was an extremely hot and humid day, even at 8 o'clock in the morning. And most of the trail was covered with thick undergrowth. It was obvious that this part of the Narragansett trail has not been worn down by hikers very much this season. In spots, we were plowing through fields of soaking wet grass over 2 feet tall. During one 100 yard stretch or so, towards the end, we were wading through grass up to our armpits. And the bugs were ferocious. We have suffered through worse, but most of the morning's hike was not pleasant.
We had planned to hike from RT2 to RT164, and then back again, but because of not wanting to over-work Kali, Sof wasn't planning on hiking back to RT2 with us. She left her truck at RT164, and was teasing us as we all approached it. Because we had enough of fighting with the bugs, we decided to cool off at Sof's pool instead of fighting the bugs while hiking all the way back to RT2, except for Rob. He wanted to hike back to RT2, and we all let him.
Eventually, we gathered again at Sof's pool for a very refreshing swim and then later had lunch at Daniel's at the Waterfront.
See everyone next week!
Joe
