As Will Shakespeare once said, “All’s well that ends well”.  Our hike around and to the top of Black Hill in Morro Bay (11-7-25) matched the planned route perfectly.  I have placed the track from  2022 and 2025 right next each other below so you can compare.  The new one is on the right.  I know the hike navigators may have appeared to struggle at times, but that was only to make our jobs look harder so we would get more credit for success.   The hike covered 4.2 miles in 2:57.  Elevation change was 686 feet as predicted.  Thank you Barbara for the excellent pictures.  Remember they can be enlarged on mobile devices by touching and spreading two fingers.

 

The large number of hikers (18) combined with variations in hiker fitness and a trail with lots of options and few signs, caused the column to stretch out further than it should have.  No one got lost but Russ has decided to implement a little more formal procedures starting with our next hike.   There will be a sign-in list and each hiker will be asked to designate another as a “hike buddy”.  Buddies keep track of each other on the hike.  We will of course continue to strive to stop the column at turns so every one can catch up and persons getting too far out in front will be whipped.  Since I know only about half of you reading this will get this far (as evidenced by the wide parking dispersal) I will publish a second letter on this subject next week.  

 

Our next hike will be on Friday, November 21.  We will walk about 2 miles on the Bob Jones Trail in Avila to the Sycamore Springs Resort and up the side of the hill to Ontario Overlook.  

 

I regret to report that Hiking Group member Andrew Franklin has passed away at his primary home in Oregon.  Andrew was a fine man who I was honored to know.  A real English Gentleman who graduated from the Royal School of Mines in London right across from Royal Albert Hall.  Andrew had many great stories of his world travels to diamond and gold mines.