I don't usually love canyon-style hikes (down first, then up) because it can be hard to pace yourself, and whereas one* might find it tempting to bail out early on a summit, you have no such option when up is where the car is.
We didn't see many other people on the trail, which was somewhat surprising given what a glorious day it was. We did, however (or perhaps as a result) see some fun wildlife.
- At our first break on the way down we noticed, after a moment of standing there, that there were honey bees everywhere and they seemed to be coming and going from a large tree right near us. "A treehive!" exclaimed Eric excitedly. We did not try to get any of the honey even though (/because) in my black t-shirt I could easily have been mistaken for a bear.
- Woody woodpecker made an appearance during a long flat stretch as we loped along a ridge. We heard the characteristic wood-pecking not far away and saw there on the tree ol' Woody knocking his head against the branch. Very cool, and only slightly disappointing that we didn't hear his characteristic "Ha-ha-ha-haaa-ha!"
- A large-sounding rustling noise in the brush put us both on the alert. Insurgent? No - a small buck deer who had scampered up a hillside as he heard us approaching. Once he was about 15 feet up the hill from us he stopped and turned and looked at us, looking very comfortable. Eric waved. "He thinks he's hidden," he observed. "We can see you!" he called to the deer. Deer just stared at us. We waved again and then headed on our way when it was clear the deer wouldn't be providing any further entertainment.
- Towards the end of the hike we passed a group of four young Asian men who were sashaying delicately down the trail giggling and squealing. "Gay-sians!" whispered Eric after we said hello and passed. At first I thought he said "Geishas" which I also thought was funny.
*Not me, but other people.
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