We were due for a good hike!

Our timing wasn't great though, because we ended up doing it on a Saturday. So there were quite a few other people taking advantage of yet another beautiful day who also planned on getting the same great views.

We decided on the Pigeon House Mountain trail. It's a popular hike because the views at the top are spectacular, and getting to the summit involves a series of stairs and ladders.

It was a rough road getting to the car park. I had read that the last section was not in the best of shape, although they also stated that you didn't need a 4 wheel drive... it was just rough.

And rough it was... especially when you're carrying a camper around.

Even Bundy with his 4 wheel drive can't get over this!

There were two routes I could have chosen to get to the trailhead. I chose the wrong one, and ended up with a big tree down across the road. Even Bundy could not crawl over that! So we ended up retracing our path about 5 kms (3 miles) back to the other choice.

And it was in rough shape too.

Again, not bad enough to need a 4 x 4, but you had to go slow. Then, at the car park, we saw that someone had actually driven a BMW Z4 up here on the same road! I couldn't believe it.

We packed up some lunch, and set off on the trail. There were perhaps 15 cars in the parking area, so I figured we would encounter some people along the way.

The first 1/3 of the hike was uphill every step of the way.

It's not a long hike... only 2.8 kms (1.75 miles) each way.

But, the first 1/3 and the last 1/3 are fairly steep. We encountered a group of about 10 people doing the hike, and maybe 6 of them didn't look like they were in good enough shape. Especially two of the ladies... however, they persevered and we were pleased that they were almost at the top by the time we were heading back down from lunch.

We have always said that anybody (within reason) can hike... it just might take some people longer than others. And of course the more you do it, the better you get at it... at any age!

Halfway up.

Starting to get some good views.

Ruth, enjoying the scenery.

The first ladder.

Heading up!

Yes, there is more to go!

Looking down.

The view from the steps and the ladders.

Scenery along the way.

Me, and the view!

Ruth, and the view!

Both of us and the view!

Many people during our travels offer to take a picture of the two of us together. While we appreciate the thought, I usually decline. It's rare that the photo turns out the way I would have taken it. As an example, the photo above doesn't give enough perspective. I would have taken it showing more sky and a little more of us! Something like the separate photos of Ruth and I further above.

We had lunch at the top.

What a great day.

We made our way back to the parking area and had been gone for two hours and forty minutes including lunch. Not bad.

We could have found a free campground up in the hills, but it still gets cold up there overnight... too cold for us!

So we headed back to the coast and found a State Forest road with a nice free spot for us for the night.

We had a couple of games of backgammon and a glass of wine before the sun went down.

Not sure what's on the agenda for tomorrow... stay tuned!

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