You meet the nicest people . . .

Sunday steps: 6648
Monday steps: 8909
Tuesday steps: 9349
Wednesday steps: 8059
Thursday steps: 8168

. . . when you are on a trail. A few weeks ago (Sept. 27th) my oldest granddaughter and I took part in a trail walk at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. They were opening a new section of the trail and the 10,000 Steppers had been invited out to join in the fun.

We had a great time - met several new people, and walked the trail with one couple the entire way. That was at the end of my first full week on the 10k step program, and I was not quite in good enough shape to do it.

But that couple and Mairi and I had a wonderful time - we made it in fine shape and enjoyed our afternoon together. I was very glad they were there, to be honest with you, because they kept Mairi and me up to pace and were good companions.

Today the 10k steppers were invited to Tsalteshi Trails for an orienteering event. This time I took along the oldest grandson, Sean. He found me a walking stick - actually the handle from his mom's broom - and we headed out for a late afternoon of fun.

The packets were handed out - we checked over the maps and decided we were just going to walk and not worry about finding all of the markers. As we hiked up the first hill I was so glad I had thought to ask Sean to find me a stick. Wow, did that come in handy!

It has been raining all week - the trail was extremely muddy in places - I was glad I had worn my motorcycle boots. (they are gonna have to be cleaned before I wear them again) We quickly decided to follow the organizer's advice to take the short loop back to the school. It is getting darker earlier every night and we were running out of daylight.

Another couple, the Olsons, decided to do the short loop also. So, the four of us kept each other company and visited along the route. Sean did find one of the markers, punched our card, and retrieved a candy treasure for each of us. Yay, Sean. [edited to note: he found 1 Tootsie Roll and 3 boxes of Dots - he offered me my choice and I asked him to offer first choice to the Olsons - one chose the TR and Sean was disappointed, but hid it pretty well. So, tonight Grandpa and I bought him a bag of TRs and asked him to share them with his sisters. Beeg grins from him.]

We were the first four people back to the starting point. While we were not staying for the carry-in dinner, we did go inside the school to check in with the organizers. We wanted to make sure they knew we had made it back safely so they wouldn't worry we were still out on the trail somewhere - with the moose - and the bears. We saw moose tracks - no bear sign, though. (phew!)

Yup, you meet the nicest people on a trail walk. I enjoyed meeting these two couples on these two walks. But, even more importantly, I enjoyed meeting my grandchildren. They were both joys to be with - kind and solicitous - young and energetic - loving the time we were able to spend together. They have each said they would love to do it again. And, they both thanked me for taking them along. What sweeties.

Posted by Purplemoose at November 7, 2003 09:55 PM