Summer Hiking Series #1 Makeup Hike - 6-14-2015

TRIP DATE:      June 14, 2015
                  
TRIP LOCATION      Blue Hills
    
WAS TRIP CANCELLED? (y/n):  N

MEETING TIME: 10:00 AM
     
NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS (INCLUDING LEADERS):  6
       
TOTAL HIKING TIME (IN HOURS):    4.5 hrs.
 
LENGTH IN MILES:   7.0 mi.

TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN (IN FEET): 1,545

DIFFICULTY:      B        (A=very strenuous; B=strenuous; C=average; D=easy)
 
LEADER NAME(S):     Bob Vogel
 
CO-LEADER NAME(S):     Bill Sullivan, Marie Peeler
 
TRAILHEAD PARKING LOCATION & DESCRIPTION: South parking lot by Trailside Museum Route 138
 
CAR SPOTTING REQUIRED?: Y (‘Just in case’ car) TIME REQUIRED TO SPOT CARS:  10

WAS TRIP WITHING WHITE MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST? No

WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR HIKE:  Sunny and breezy with temps in the 70’s.

OTHER COMMENTS (problems, views, terrain, etc.)  “Make-Up” hike for Hike #1 of Summer series. Two new hikers from Workshop participated.
 
We hiked the same route as original hike. Trailside/Great Blue/South Skyline. Marie Peeler was having vision problems (cloudy vision in one eye, which decreased her depth perception), related to an ongoing issue from eye surgery a couple years ago. She (and her husband) had decided to bail at Hillside and hike back via Walcott Path. Just before we reached Hillside Steve Drown slipped and fell descending the steep rocks on the South Skyline. He got a small cut on his left arm, which he cleaned and put a Band-Aid on. Also some ‘road rash’ under his shirt. We offered Steve the option of A) Continuing, B) Hiking back to the car with Marie & Jerry or C) Getting a ride back in Bill’s car (which we had spotted at the lot opposite the State Police Barracks.) He chose to walk back with Marie and Jerry.  (I ‘deputized’ Marie as a CL at that point and allowed her to lead the group back. [FYI: Marie, although she hasn’t been around much lately, has been hiking with SEM since 1999 when she moved out here, and has hiked at the Blue Hills a lot.]

Bill and I continued with our one other ‘new hiker’ to Tucker, and back via the North Skyline to Great Blue and Red Dot back down to the S. Trailside parking lot.
 
Marie emailed to confirm that they got back to their cars without issue, and Steve emailed this eve that he is sore and scraped up, but wants to continue hiking.