New Quarter Park Hike 2/20/2018

We had a great hike at New Quarter Park today with lots of Tuesday Group veterans as well as a few new faces. Temperatures were mild in the upper 60s to low 70s and we hiked under cloudy skies for much of the day but thankfully no rain. We started the day with doughnuts from Emily's and everyone seemed to appreciate the ability to "carb up" prior to our hike. After circling up and introducing ourselves, Bob asked if he could have his free firearm as I had listed this as a firearm free hike. He was joking of course. But the subject is quite serious as we want all the folks participating in our activities to feel safe knowing that no one in the group is carrying a weapon.

Hiking today were Gwyn, Jennifer, Buck, Steve Ralph, Steve Rosenthal, Steve Babor ( 3 Steves !), Mark, Faye, Curt, Carol, Juliet,Izabela, David, Sharon, Jim, Bob, Carol, Joe & Sadie, Lois, Bill, Sandy, Aubrey & me, Phyllis. We covered a total of 6 miles or so starting from the outer parking lot and then hiking all of the loops. We took short breaks at the canoe/kayak launch near Loop 2 and the fire pit near Loop 4. Shortly before reaching the Point near Loop 7, Bob spotted a doe at one of the overlooks. She stared at us for a moment and then bounded off into the woods, followed by a few more does. Aubrey had to go check them out but decided it really wasn't worth the effort and rejoined the group. We took another short break at the Point, spotting some bufflehead ducks in the water. We finished the remaining few loops and then gathered back at one of the large picnic shelters to eat our lunches and share stories. After lunch we headed back to our vehicles. Another great day for the Tuesday group!

Phyllis

Check out Jim's photos: https://imagesbyjimarend.smugmug.com/Sports/Tuesday-Group-Hikes/20180220-New-Quarter-Park