Thu, Oct 15 2020 - Thursday Morning Semi-Fitness Hike at Island Ford (View Original Event Details)
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It was . . . an unusually special morning at Island Ford today.. Primarily, it was a celebration for Bunnie's 200th AOC event! That made it special. What made it unusual was the convergence of 3 separate groups of AOC members who all began their separate hikes from the middle parking lot. First, we had our official Thursday morning AOC group; then, there was a group led by Bunnie's husband Allen, who were comprised of folks wanting to celebrate Bunnie's achievement but couldn't get on the AOC hike. We'll call them the "renegades." And finally, there were the "Renegade Guys" who've been hiking together but are being ultra-safe about mingling with anyone outside their group for hiking.
Since we were all in the parking lot together before separating into our individual groups, we took several photos of the totality! (We still practiced safe distancing and avoided hugging each other - - so no need to remind us about COVID19.)
The trails were underwater in a few places along the river and on the lollipop trail, so our route was altered several times. At one point, we came upon the Renegade Guys who warned us about the impossibility of continuing to the lollipop loop. After turning around, we soon met up with the renegades who were behind our group going in the same direction. They continued on their route planning to turn around when passage became impossible.
Gosh, with so many folks in the parking lot at the beginning of the hike, it was like old times in the AOC when we were allowed to have 20 members on a hike! Our waiting list was a lot smaller back then!
We had a three-way tie up the warm-up hill this morning: Russ, Gary L., and Dawn all stepped across the finish line together - - a first! Michelle discovered that the Visitor Center was open, so we have a wonderful "open door" photo to show that bathrooms are once again available! (Masks required in the Visitor Center!)
Steve F. took some pre-hike photos with his really spiffy camera and Lee took some photos at the upper parking lot during our water break. Both are contributors to this week's photo album. ~ Joyce
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