Tuesday, 26 August

Wonderful sleeping last night. It cooled off and Bob and I had the heat turned down. Zucchini bread and cream cheese with coffee while waiting for the inn to open for breakfast later. Our canoe fishing plans were foiled by the wind. Today seemed like the windiest day of our trip. Breakfast included blueberry pancakes, Bob ordered seconds.

With the cooler weather and wind, we decided a hike would be our activity for the day. Bob and I headed to the Echo Cliff Trailhead only a couple of miles away. The hike was a short climb to some views of Piseco Lake. It started off with switchbacks and my famous last words to Bob were “This doesn’t look as bad as on the map, there are switchbacks.” The trail then headed straight up. The last one hundred feet were a rock climb. Fortunately, the hike was only about three quarters of a mile and the view was well worth it.

A family was at the top. After they left, Bob and I had the view to ourselves and had lunch. Another group arrived and we decided to head back down. The steep uphills are exhausting but the steep downhills are treacherous. We both prefer the climbs to the descents. Back to the car for the return to the cabin.

With most of the restaurants in the area closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, we had picked up supplies for dinner on our trip to the store earlier, on Tuesday. Chili dogs and corn on the cob made for a tasty dinner. The obligatory ice cream for desert. Time for a little packing for our early exit tomorrow morning for the long drive to Mountain Top to drop Bob off. Then a quick two stops in Hazleton for me before making it back to Manassas.