Since this hike in the beginning of September, Treen has passed away. I thought about not writing about Treen's last adventures, but the outpouring of support after she died convinced me to share her love of the outdoors.
One of the best reasons to hike after work is to see the sunset from the top of a mountain. Sure, sometimes it means you have to leave work early, hike fast so you beat the darkness, and then hike down in the dark. But when it works out it's more than worth it.
We sped out of town and got to the trailhead a little earlier than planned. Rather than waiting, we climbed quickly. The trail took us as far as the lake, but then we turned straight up the hill to go to our special spot.
It has no name and no trail goes there. The views are better than a more well-known peak nearby and in the late summer the blueberries are crazy good. You're only competing with the bears. (Don't worry. We've never seen bears, but we have found plenty of sign they frequent the area.)
On the summit we had drinks and waited both for the rest of the crew to show up and for the sun to go down. Nobody else showed up, but the sunset sure did. As it descended from the clear sky through a few clouds and a layer of wildfire smoke the palette changed from blues to reds.
Treen stood on the edge of the cliff and watched it drop toward the horizon. It was clear to me nobody else was coming, but she kept the faith until we started to head down. Then it was all about racing the darkness to at least be back on a trail before the light had faded completely.
This would turn out to be the last sunset Treen would see from the top of a mountain. I'm glad we spent it together.
