Can you stand one more Friday hike?

I really thought we were finished with Friday hikes, but the deer hunt ended and the weather was so nice, when we all got a message from Nan, who has been our leader on these hikes, we all jumped at the chance. I worked hard all week to finish my work so that I could take the day and go. We hiked to Swan Peak (beginning at Swan Flat), which is nearly at the top of the canyon. It was about half a mile of really hard steep climbing, and another mile and a half of pretty flat stuff, then repeat going back (going down instead of up.) We did encounter some snow, as you can see in the pictures, and at one point had to "bushwhack" because the trail was covered with snow. Can you believe we're hiking in NOVEMBER?

We haven't even started hiking yet, but everyone has to set up their cameras for the timed group shot. Pretty crazy. I even bought a little tripod for the purpose. But, if we aren't hiking for the pictures and the beauty of the world, why are we going?

Yup, there were ten of us this time.

This shot shows a bit of the steepness of the trail, but here we're going down, and of course there was plenty of up.

But the view at the end, oh, so worth it.

At the beginning of the summer, before I started hiking, I was hesitant to go. I worried that I wasn't physically fit enough to keep up. I worried that I didn't have time, and I didn't know these ladies very well (I'm actually pretty shy). None of those worries remain. I love these ladies, I have gained a lot of strength over the summer, physically and emotionally, and I discovered that I NEED to go. It is such an uplift for me. I am so grateful to the Lord for the beautiful world He gave us and the beautiful people I have been given to associate with.