Moonlight Magic

I'm having a lazy Friday morning. I thought I'd "keep up" with my regular blogging routine. (Anyone noticing a pattern?)

Tonight I'm going on a full moon hike. I used to go ever so often when I lived in the local mountains but hadn't been in years. I went in May and loved it so much. It felt sacred. I made a commitment to go four months in a row so tonight will be my third trip. My kids have gone with me the last two times and tonight em and her kids are planning to go. My hiking buddy, Karen, is coming and bringing a few others so we'll have a bonafide "group" tonight.

I call it a Full Moon Hike but a more accurate term might be a sunset/moonrise hike. From the trailhead it's about an hour hike to this magical spot on the ridge of a mountain. On the night of the full moon the sun sets in the west and the moon rises in the east very close to the same time. The sunsets are gorgeous and when that big full moon comes up over the next faraway ridge it just takes my breath away! I feel so connected to everything.

We usually stay up there for a while then make our way back down the trail. That moonlight is so bright that even though we bring flashlights, the kids and I opt to hike by the light of the moon only. It gets a bit tricky when the trail curves around a hill and blocks the light or when you get into heavy tree cover but that is half the fun. Your eyes adjust if you give them a chance so it's not like you're plunged into total darkness.

I'm looking forward to this adventure and it's worth the four hour round trip drive to experience true magic.