Beaverdam Bill Billings Appreciation Day Hike 1/12/2016

Hey guys - a brief beaver dam blog:

It was just a bit nippy as 34 of us gathered at the Beaverdam Park “606” entrance for this hike near Gloucester. But it was sunny and dry and the predicted gusty winds never materialized. Therefore, once we got going, it was fairly comfortable and a beautiful day for a trek with friends. We followed the “loops” out to our lunch spot at the Swan Bridge and the multi-use trail back to our cars. The trail started flat and in the open and quickly transitioned to rolling in the woods with numerous views of the reservoir. Only a few side-steps of the horse do were required.

As our picnic lunch subsided, Stephanie announced this hike to be the Bill Billings Appreciation Hike - for the countless hours he spends almost every week preparing his professional photo documentary of our hikes. These photo collages are beautiful, funny, quirky, artsy and - most of all - demonstrate the eye of the real pro behind the lens. Many hikers secretly brought gag gifts for Bill and no one could have been a better sport (or ham?) about it than Bill. What a hoot!

We ended our 7-mile ramble with a trip to Twisters for - guess what? - ice cream. Pretty darn good. Any calories lost on the hike were replaced - and maybe then some.

View Bill's photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/137344663@N04/sets/72157662950782390/

View Jim's photos: https://jimarendphotography.smugmug.com/Sports/Tuesday-Group-Hikes/20160112-Beaverdam-Hike/