Six hikers and Luna dog enjoyed a two and a half hour hike on one of our best weather days this fall.  The trip was delayed until the afternoon to let the rain subside and sky to clear.  Starting at the Thompson trailhead, we hiked Thompson Trail to the Heriot Ridge Trail, following it south along the bluffs.  Facing the sun, hikers got a good dose of much-needed Vitamin D.  Slippery rock was negotiated with care, and a few puddles were skirted around.  We stopped near the Hopespring Trail viewpoint for a breather and admired the views to the west, north and south.   A cold wind blowing from the northwest by then kept us moving on.  At the Hopespring Trail junction we turned west for a short distance on the Hopespring Trail, then onto a route south along an extension of the main ridge to Homewood’s High Bluff Trail.   A short climb took us to the top of High Bluff for a rest, snack and view after bundling up against the wind.  We retraced our route north along the ridge at a different bluff level, then had a pleasant downhill walk to Hopespring Road and back to the vehicles.  The glorious sunshine, at times warming us in sheltered areas, was the highlight of trip.

Janis

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Hiking – Heriot Ridge Route – 30 Nov 2016