Now most of the walks around the thermo features are called hikes and for the sake of simplicity I will also call them hikes. Our hike today is a true hike. We choose to hike the Elephant Back Mountain trail. It is rated as a moderate loop trail of 3.6 miles. It is an easy hike until you get close to the end. I was going to stop at the hard part, I do have arthritis in both knees. We got to the hard part and it did not look that bad, so I set little goals. I made it to the top and the views were great! There are some make shift benches on top where we sat for some time. I was already regretting coming this far but at the time thought it was worth it. We decided to return the way we came instead of continuing on the loop. Continuing on the loop is longer than returning the way we came.

I was in pain starting on out return trip. Getting down the steep part of the train was excruciating. I had to make a lot of rest stops not so much for being tired but to let the pain subside! On the gentle downhill and flat sections, I found easier and no more painful than to rush my pace. The faster I could go the sooner I could get home and soak in a bath tub full of hot water.

According the GPS on my phone we hiked 4.33 miles with an elevation gain of just under 1000 feet.

During the hike back down one of my boots felt like the laces came untied. I asked Sandra to tie them for me but they were not untied, so I figured they just loosened up. Later that night we noticed that an eyelet on my boot broke.

Mark