The Easter Hike 2023

Sun among the still dormant trees

Our holiday hikes were initially started with the expressed intent of exhausting the children and the dogs so we could take a nap before dinner. It still works beautifully, but we're down to one dog. 

Who you have  likely heard of.

Jasper at the picnic

Sanders Hill is a favorite holiday hike since moving to Maine. It's about a 20 minute drive, so we rarely hike it on non-holidays. And it can be long or short, and is usually uncrowded. Well, to be fair, all of our Maine hikes are uncrowded except those we tramped in Acadia National Park.

It also covers all sorts of terrain, and about 2 miles in, there is a creek crossing that is just tear-inducing beautiful. There is still a fair amount of snow there, as well as some ice. I donned my crampons about halfway in, but John and Jasper went au naturale. Ok. John did have shoes on. It was cold enough to keep our jackets on, but warm enough to sit in the sun by the swollen creek and listen to the water and the birds.

Our initial plan was to rock hop through the creek to the picnic bench pictured below. It is on an island in the middle of the creek. John and I could have made it (she said with utter confidence), but I was concerned that Jasper would end up in the drink. So we found a flat-ish rock streamside, and settled in for our lunch of cheese, rosemary buns (compliments of John), fruit, Easter candy, and wine. Oh. And dog biscuits.

Picnic Table in the Wilderness

It was a wonderful way to celebrate the coming of spring, even if it is coming more slowly than I would like. But I remind myself that this happens every year, regardless of where I'm located. Some say that March is the cruelest month, but April gets my vote. Even now, I'm contemplating pruning the fruit trees and starting the yard cleanup; but I know that we have more cold weather ahead. And of course, in our rushing of the seasons, we've de-acclimated enough that the cool will feel cold. No matter. I've survived it for 68 years, I'll survive another.

I'll close with a video taken from our picnic spot. Happy Rebirth, Happy Spring, Happy Happy Everything. At this very moment, at least. . .