East Applegate Ridge
February is featuring Winter mornings warming to Spring conditions by lunch time. Which is great for getting outdoors and enjoying nature and the company of others.
A day that read 30o degrees on the phone at 7 AM, went past 60o by lunch on top of the East Applegate Ridge Trail (or ART).
Altogether 11 hikers gathered either at Rite Aid or met us at the TH. Again we had a 9:30 start to ward off some of the morning chill.
The day on E. ART was calm, clear and sunny! We had good views of the Little Applegate valley and snow covered mountains in the distance.
Although the ridge seemed dry with dead oak leaves left over from Fall and dormant Oaks on the hillside, still the prominent color along the trail was green with ground cover and grasses springing up all around us.
We stopped for views and pics on our way up to the summit, and stopped for lunch 3.5 miles in when Patricia found us a great spot with both sun and views.
It was wonderful hiking with so many friends and we welcomed Kathleen for her first hike with the AHG Monday Hiking group.
On this day we greeted many outdoors enthusiasts drawn to E. ART by the early Spring weather. We did 7 miles out and back (Jerry continued down to Highway 238 after lunch and completed the entire 11 miles RT).
Hike Leader: Rich Stickle
Photos By: Patricia, Randy, Jerry
