Back on the porch, with coffee. The neighbours have a radio going on their dock; wish it'd fall into the lake. A bit stiff from hiking yesterday. It's cooler, also. Big wind came up last night.
Yesterday we helped Kate fetch over some second-hand furniture she bought for the guest room, then got ourselves together for a long hike in the nearby provincial park, Okanagan Mountain Park. Lisa had last-minute chores to do, so she declined. It was just me, Nola, Kate and Qwinn, A Dog.
The path in started from a quick sneak down a private road, over a tiny stream, scramble through a tangle of bushes and gully and then, with no change I could see, we were on park land.
From there the path was little more than a goat track. It's a secret one known only to local naturalists, who of course showed it to Kate as she is One of Them. The views were splendid—it overlooked the lake the entire way. The drop-offs were unnerving, and the steep places going down were, for me (I have terrible depth perception), difficult to judge. But we perservered, and Nola helped me, and Kate was patient and Qwinn was Qwinn. Saw an eagle's nest, lots of lichen and some other odd plants, including not-so-odd juniper bushes. It was hot and sunny. Most of the grasses were in summer mode for arid places—green at their roots, then dry and yellow above.
Eventually found our way to the Right Beach and settled in a shady spot to eat lunch while watching, on one hand, a sandpiper family (with one fluffy chick) search for nummies on the shoreline, and on the other, a large human family reload their speedboat. They had an amazing number of coolers. Nola & Kate went wading while I dozed with my feet on my pack and my head on Nola's camera case. We nibbled cherries & Nola spat the stones at Qwinn, who crunched them up and quested for more.
Went back a different way—straight up the hill till we found the official trail, and from there to its head. It was less hot in the trees, and the trail roomier and more gentle in its ups and downs, almost as if it had been planned by professional parkies or something. (cough) It was several kilometers out and back, and up and down, but none of us had any idea how many, really.
Today my feet are sore and I've a few stiff muscles; don't know what's on for today, aside from Lisa leaving and Kate going to work, but it should include a at least a little walk to stretch a bit.
