This past week has been one of those randomly hot stretches that August likes to throw at us enough to make you break a sweat just walking to the mailbox. However even in this heat, you can feel it: cooler weather is just around the corner. The mornings are a little gentler, the evenings a little softer. It’s coming and I’m more than ready for it.
Lately, I’ve been making the most of the outdoors anyway, slipping in a bit more hiking and swimming at the creek, enjoying my time when I’m not in the newsroom outdoors. There’s a particular kind of peace you find on a trail, the crunch of gravel under your boots, the smell of sun-warmed juniper, the way the wind shifts when you round a bend.
We’re fortunate here. In the time it takes someone in a big city just to get on the freeway, we can be standing in the middle of quiet wilderness. A few minutes from town and you can hear nothing but the sound of your own footsteps or the chatter of a creek. That kind of access is a gift not everyone gets. And soon, the season will shift. Those crisp mornings and cool nights will arrive, bringing with them prime weather for camping, fall hikes and hunting season.
Whether you’re out with a rifle, a camera, or just a handful of trail mix, it’s a time when the outdoors calls a little louder.
It’s still hot now but before long the mornings will be cool and the nights will carry a good chill. Mid-to-late September has always been my favorite time of year and the heat this week has made me that much more excited for the days ahead.
