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We went on a late afternoon/evening hike today.

 

Instead of going at my "normal" industrious pace of 4-5.5 miles per hour, we took things a bit slower today and topped out around 3.5 miles per hour.  I found the slower pace to be a bit more enjoyable than my normal pace, so I may slow things down more often and see which one works out best for Conker and I.

We caught the tail-end of the sunset as we topped Lower Hogback, and though the sky was rapidly growing dark, we pressed on for anouther 4 miles instead of turning back. I haven't been able to get a picture of it yet, but when it gets dark I turn on the red reflective light that is now a semi-permanent feature of Conker's RuffWear harness.

I had originally planned to do an outskirts hike, one that would take all the outer trails and loops for a total of 12.5 miles or so. Instead, since it got so dark and the clouds were not showing any signs of breaking, we cut our hike short and took the trail straight back to the parking lot instead of the longer way back.

In total we hiked about 9.75 miles. A pretty good hike, and I'd like them to stay in that range or be a bit longer from now on. I have plans for a hike this spring/summer that requires Conker and I (and maybe one of or both of the Girls) to be in good enough shape to hike for at least a week straight, around 10 miles a day, carrying packs.