We had a splendid hike in the foothills on a warm and windy day. The morning trek to Eagle Hill was noisy due to lots of crunching in the snow, and somewhat slower than expected because the coordinator kept lagging behind to listen to birds (varied thrush! brown creeper!) and look at tracks (lynx! grouse!). Surprisingly, we didn't need spikes thanks to Monday's generous snowfall. After first lunch on Eagle Hill, we ambled back to the Deer Ridge junction with much more conversation because the snow was softer and quieter, as well as our wildlife highlight of the day which was... a wooly bear caterpillar. Then it was time for the 200m elevation gain to Deer Ridge's summit, where we settled down for an extended second lunch out of most of the wind. A swift return to the cars and a quiet drive back to the city capped off a fine day spent in the company of even finer Ramblers. Thanks for coming out.

Participants: Jane, Gordon, Richard, Donna, Ingrid coordinator.

Nice foothills walk

1st lunch on Eagle Hill

2nd lunch on Deer Ridge