The sun was shining and the air was crisp. It was a perfect late Autumn day. I hadn't decided what hike we'd be doing until we were crossing through the Moreau Lake State Park gates. I decided we had plenty of time to park at the warming hut and hike the Read Oak Ridge Trail to the lake overlook.
Most of the little streams from the Grant Mt. plateau were running today.
We started the day with gloves and hats on, but shed them soon after.
Quinn had a lot of pep in his step today.
Despite the lateness of the season, the woods were quite pretty.
I practiced patience and let Quinn enjoy throwing sticks and rocks.
Annual photo of Quinn at the notch in this boulder.
Climbing the scramble to the summit, not for the first time, not for the last time.
We made short work of the hike up. We met several groups on the way up, Quinn getting more than a few dog kisses along the way. We met a ranger as we were heading back down.
As we headed back down a scramble, we went off-trail a bit to pick up some trash.
At the bottom of the scramble I surveyed the slope down. I talked with Quinn about the possibility of doing a bushwhack down to the trail. The terrain looked clear and it promised to shave a half mile off our hike. I thought it would be neat for him to experience the woods without a trail and teach him a few things. He agreed, so we were off.
Although hunting is prohibited here, I forged ahead making a racket in order to flush out anyone who might be there.
On the way down, I asked Quinn to decide which way to take around obstacles. He often chose the more direct, steep route and just enjoyed butt-sliding through the leaves.
Both of the boys had a blast tromping through the woods. Sunny was especially happy to be let off-leash for a short time.
I ranged ahead about a hundred yards and watched him proceed down the slope. He occupied himself picking up sticks and rocks, examining them, and throwing them. He knocked dead branches with his trekking pole and balanced on logs.
We made quick work of the bushwhack and found ourselves on-trail again. The boys were still full of energy and romped ahead. Here you can see a Nalgene strapped to Sunny's pack that we liberated from the woods.
We were back at the car about two and a half hours after we'd started. As promised, I drove the boys to the beach where we played in the sun for some time.
With all the difficulties and horrors descending on our country right now, I'm grateful for my time in the woods, especially with Quinn. Everything we hold dear hangs in the balance, so I think it's important to embrace these moments while we can. It's hard to say what tomorrow will bring, but we can, for now, control what we have today. At least, those of us lucky enough to not be targeted by the regime's weaponized cruelty. At least not yet.
