This is the first winter where the cold has really bothered me. I’m getting old. Never before have I ever let the cold weather stop me. I’d hit the trail, hike, whatever in the cold. But something changed this past winter. If it was under 40 degrees, I was inside. Ugh. It was a really lazy winter. Annoying but whatever. I can’t go back and suck it up, and I’m not sure I would. We’ll see how I handle next winter.
It wasn’t until March that I really started being active outside again. I wanted to get out but start with easy. I wasn’t sure how the body would feel if I went from mostly indoors to an uphill hike. We agreed on Pratt River Trail, again. We had been for the first time two years ago, in March of 2021. It was the bridge, TikTok influenced me to go check it out. We did and it was mostly flat and easy. Perfect for my first hike of 2023. And we could go for a while or cut it short—we had options.
We met at Safeway in North Bend as usual, and then set off in Karann’s car for Pratt River Trail. We knew where we were going this time. It was quiet, the parking lot was maybe a quarter full and there were very few people around. No complaints.
After the bridge, we set off on the trail for a just under three miles before turning around to make it a close to six mile hike. That felt about right for the day.
Driving back we stopped at the Mine Creek area to sit by the river a bit before calling it a day.
First hike of 2023, check.
jumpingraccoons.com 