When Opportunity Knocks, say YES!

When an opportunity to have some fun knocks, say YES!

On a glorious April Saturday, with sunshine predicted to last the day

My dear friend and I packed a simple tuna salad, carrots, strawberries, and sprouts

   Along with plenty of water and electrolytes, and even sunscreen

   Tennis shoes and for me, my old hiking boots, walking poles , and camera

And we took off for the Greensprings, for an unplanned adventure.

Emigrant Lake is bursting with water, the hills greener than I can ever recall from

  our very wet winter and early spring.  When we reached the summit, we turned left onto the Old Hyatt Lake Road, drove a few miles and took another left onto a BLM unpaved road

leading to a Greensprings Loop Trail, or the Pacific Crest Trail.  We parked where there were only three other cars, and walked to the trailhead after eating our tuna sandwiches.  Having no maps, we didn’t have much but instinct to go by, so we chose the PCT heading north.  The trail was in good shape, the climb gentle with only a few log crossings (lots of Douglas firs were downed by winter storms). We were hoping to see mushrooms, but could only see turkey tails on the ends of a few logs.

With my trusty walking poles, the winter weeks of Endurance Fitness at the Y and maybe 6 sessions of physical therapy, along with my own stretching at home and on Sit and be Fit (TV show for seniors), I was able to actually be out hiking.  Jerry helped me when a log crossing required a helping hand to lift my right leg, but all in all, it was so exhilarating to actually be on a mountain trail, with deep blue skies, white billowy clouds, and a trail barely dry, so gentle on our feet.  Nonetheless, we both were really foot sore on returning to his van, for this was a big 

outing for us both.  Like two kids, we reveled in the stillness, the beauty, the sounds of woodpeckers and a few other brave birds.   Saw only a very tiny blue wildflower, maybe in  the onion family, but spring was alive everywhere, and snow still melting  in the prairie meadows.

   A nap was in order once our shoes were off, and with van doors and windows open, it was cool enough to rest inside on this balmy sunny day.  Amazing how restorative a good nap can be!  Then we explored some more of these back roads, and checked out Hyatt Lake, still with snow on her shorelines, but with more water than we’ve seen in years, enough for a few hearty boats to be out.   We had no traffic this early in the season, seeing only a few folks out hiking, some with their dogs, on this awesome day.  It was after 5 pm when we got to the Greensprings Highway, so we chose an early birthday dinner to celebrate at the Greensprings Inn.  We shared a delicious salmon dinner with polenta, some salad greens, homemade bread and a chicken tortilla soup.  Happily we could enjoy the yummy meal and hearing one another before quite a dinner crowd showed up by six.  And with  only a bit of encouragement from the waitress, we shared a marionberry cobbler with ice cream; best birthday dessert I’ve had in years!  

    We were both tired, but chose to fill our water bottles and Jerry’s 5 gallon plastic container at Tubb Springs before our drive home.  Never have I seen the hills so green, and still snow on Mt. Ashland as we descended into the Rogue Valley.  What a grand day  to be celebrating with a dear friend.  We’d both been homebound too long, and needed a bit of a holiday together!

   Time to stretch, start my morning tea routine, and prepare breakfast.  On returning last night  I was too tired to think, much less write, so rested on my yoga mat with my legs elevated as I watched Doc Martin  and Globetrekkers, and went to bed by ten.  So glad we didn’t both do our home chores instead; they will still be there, but a day like that in the mountains is food for body and soul!