Out for an early Sunday morning hike with co-workers and Riley. For some in the group, it was their first hike – not exactly an easy one to start with, but they did great.

Clicking on a photo will take you to the full gallery, which is posted here:
Black Mountain, September 20 2015

Nice pics! Excuse my ignorance for your local terrain, but where is Black Mountain?

That pic with the dumbbell is priceless. I was laughing hard. Tell Mirian I feel for her as I left a large lens in my pack while climbing in the Adirondacks last week ;-)

Lol, thanks! She was a good sport about it. I posted the photo on IG and I gain the most followers that I ever have in one day!
https://instagram.com/p/79FvzdrOUz/?taken-by=hikinggeek


Here is Black Mtn.
Mapping Support

Ask the young lady if she's seen the "Eiger Sanction". That dumbbell could have been a nice IPA or some other good thing.

If it was a bigger pack, I would've put something else in there. With it being so small, I needed something very dense.

She's one of my gym buddies, so a dumbbell seemed appropriate. I also knew that she wouldn't say anything, even if her pack did feel too heavy, as she would never admit that she was struggling. After the hike, she actually thanked me for the 'life lesson,' and I feel that she's been more open to asking for help when she needs it.

Traditional Xmas fruitcake, soaked in brandy & stuffed with silver coins? First man-made object found to bend gravity.