Following my walk at Reimers Ranch and with the weather still in the 70’s and low 80’s I decided to take a walk at McKinney Roughs which is still my most favorite of all of the local parks. I asked my friend BJ if she was interested but she texted me back to tell me that she was already in the middle of a walk, so maybe another day…

I arrived at the Main Office entrance as I had already decided that I was going to walk Ridge to Woodland and then Bluff Trail Loop. I donned my usual attire and just as I had on the last walk, put on a new pair of hiking socks to soften the trails a bit. They had worked well on the previous hike just a couple of days before. Every little thing helps as you grow older. Walking on the same feet for the past 80 years does tend to put a lot of wear and tear on them.

With all of the right gear on, I walked over to the office and paid my 2 dollars.  I spent a little time  chatting to the young lady behind the desk and then set out along the way. Ridge starts just behind the Dorms and is a really easy walking trail. I followed it until it branches to Woodland and then took it to Bluff Walk Loop. I wanted to get onto Riverside and follow it along the river but it was closed due to flooding. So, I completed the Bluff Walk Loop until I met up with Valley View. There are some nice views of part of the river on Valley View.

I ran into two young guys who were followed by a large man with a very small daughter. I asked if I could take their picture and they were very happy to oblige. I gave everyone one of my cards and the little girl handed hers off to her Father as her tiny hands were full of rocks that she had collected. The young guys introduced themselves as Andre and Josh while the father was Ryan and his daughter, Lucy. As we were leaving, Ryan, who had been carrying Lucy’s carry pack on his shoulders, took it down and she immediately went into very adamant protestations that she wanted to walk and not ride. Being the good father that I assume he is or maybe because she has him wrapped around her little finger at such a tender age, Ryan obeyed her wishes and the last I saw them going around the corner, she was busy striding it out with her tiny legs, determined to keep up with the men. Oh to be young again and have your whole life in front of you.

I continued along the trail and got onto Riverside which would bring me back to the car park. I bumped into two more ladies who as it happens, worked at the Roughs and were taking an afternoon walk on their break. I forgot to ask their names but they very happily posed for a picture.

From Riverside, I got onto Bobcat Ridge which brought me back to the Parking Lot. Altogether, a very enjoyable hike. As per usual, my shirt was soaked which required a change but happily, this time,  I did not have to make any running repairs to my equipment. Just like the other park, Reimers Ranch, everything is brown as we are in the depths of winter and about the only thing green are the cedars and a few of the evergreen type bushes.

Altogether, I covered around  4 1/2 miles of very pleasant walking and burned enough calories for a slice of cheesecake later in the evening.

McKinney Roughs 01-24-2017 from Francis Allcorn on Vimeo.