Still More Photos of the Hike

Slept like a baby last night, all that fresh air and exercise is good for a soul.
Woke up rearing to go again though so took off for a bit of a run.
I was reading yesterday that hiking three hours with a 10 lb pack on, burns something like 2,500 calories.
That's a good workout, where you can use up that many calories. We had our meal of whole wheat tortilla rolled up with peanut butter and raisins on the trail along with water to drink and a snack bar. So we did manage to put some of those calories back in.
When we got into town we did go to Taco Bell, we were still hungry.
These are pictures showing some of the difference in the early part of the trail. After hiking up a simple sloping trail you come to this easy meandering trail that goes along a beautiful pasture. Bails of hay dotted the landscape, like giant pieces of shredded wheat. On the other side of trail was the river.
Later the trail changes and becomes more of a challenge. The trail is all up hill, not an even spot to be found and studded with loose rocks that crumble under your footing. That's where you get the heart rate up a bit. Then the trail becomes a bit narrow and right on the edge of the mesa. Not anything scary though. The view is spectacular and the reward of the climb well worth the effort it takes..
However, its never a crowded trail.
The only sound you hear is the wind blowing up the river canyon. Its almost as if you can hear the voices of the ages whispering to you on the wind.
Making you wonder about life so long ago.
We talk some on the trail, about a million different subjects. We seem to talk about what the native folk eat when they lived along this river is always part of the conversation. Fish of course and game, acorns ground and rinsed and made into meal, there must have been some roots near by to be used and there are berries in season and nuts. It seems like such a limited diet to us. We also talk about how life must have been in those times and feel the loss of such a culture now in this area.
For us, this is nice slow paced exercise and enjoyment of the great outdoors. Where nature is the teacher.