My first hike of April and first hike of Daylight Savings Time was Sunday 4 April 2004, or put another way, 04-04-04.  It started out chilly and got steadily colder.  It was 25 when I finished, with a strong wind and snow.  I got in the woods about 1015 and was back to the car by about 1815, still plenty of light.

I hiked from Paradise Hill Road south of DeRuyter, where I left off heading East last year.  My plan was to hike 8 hours if I could and turn around at about 4 hours, wherever that ended up being.  I averaged 2.2 mph, and 2.4 mph while moving.  The hike was 8 hours, and covered about 17 miles, although it was only 16.8 of map miles.

I saw 3 or 4 pterodactyl-sized wild turkeys ahead on the trail, and that was it for wildlife.  It started snowing and I think the front blew through around 1430 or so - the wind really picked up as I was descending to Ratville Road.  It got worse from there, covering the ground and making it hard to see the white blazes on the trees.

I passed the junction of the new Link Trail, which goes where the sign says.

The low point is Dublin Road, and the last climb up over Crumb Hill after hiking for 7 hours was the icing on the cake.  I was moving slow, but kept moving.

2004 April 04  FLT