On. Sat. Oct. 8th, hikers met at the Knights of the Golden Circle parking lot. Sam Morales, the leader, took 15 other hikers with him We only had 1 new hiker, who was from Marion, IL. We went to various formations, including Buzzard rock, Rhombus rock, a small window, Whiskey cave, ate lunch at Gorilla rock, then into a “Narrows”/slot canyon, Mushroom rock and a slot cave, the Buzzard Rock Arch, and last, the Knights of the Golden circle.  The trails were Very dusty, due to the extreme lack of rain. We met several horse riding groups. The weather & temps were Perfect for hiking. About the only moisture we saw, was in the rocks of the stream of the slot canyon/Narrows. We also did a “Mini Trash Blast”, and 1 hiker, David Files pulled out a trash bag and carried it all thru the hike, with just about everyone finding something during the day to “contribute”. He later took the full bag, approximately 25 lbs. to the dumpster at Garden of Gods. 

     One of the things, over the years, that I have recognized, is that by hiking, people who otherwise would probably not have ‘gotten together’, people end up meeting & making new & diverse acquaintances, who end up discussing & talking about a variety of subjects. Just today, I heard 2 hikers discuss wine & spirits making. I just don’t get to learn about these types of things in everyday life. Our next hike, Sat. Oct. 15th, meets at the Benham Trail head parking lot. We will be condensing down into 4-5 vehicles from there to move about 1 mile. Sam Morales will be the leader on this hike.

Until then, “See ya on the Trail”, 

Respectfully submitted ,

Chris Drone