JM and Mandy Hike (And Other Outdoor Stuff): September 22, 2023

Back from work on the Thursday, and with fall colours nearing their apex, Sam and I decided to head out on Friday for a nice hike. After a short discussion we decided to give Tent Ridge a try. We hit the road around 6:30 and were at the trailhead around 8:15. It would be a cool start (-3 C) but we knew we were in for a beautiful, sunny, and mild day of hiking. Sam has done a great write-up as usual, which can be found here.

The only thing I will add in this post is to echo some of Sam's thoughts about the hike. We ended up doing the route in a counter-clockwise direction. Some of the popular hiking websites recommend doing it the other way for one reason or another. What put us off a bit was the fact that with only one exception, every single person we passed going the other direction felt it necessary to mention that we were "going the wrong way". I would like to bet that none of them had done it both ways and were therefore not speaking from experience. It is likely that the perception that clockwise is the "right way" is due to a couple of scrambly parts on the east leg of the horseshoe. In our opinion, after finishing the hike it makes no difference whether you climb up or down-climb them. We did not have to turn and face the mountain while down-climbing, and we were no more exposed than those that climbed up going the opposite direction. I found it very irritating that people had to comment. They were not trying to help us in any way, and had we not been as experienced as we are, their comments may have rattled us a little, and perhaps added to our stress levels. I would like to mention the two young hikers who overheard one of our exchanges with other hikers, and told us not to be concerned as it was not as bad as everybody was making it out to be. They had actually turned around on a previous outing and had to down-climb the tricky spots. They said we looked capable and it wouldn't be an issue. I was thankful for their comments, and appreciate that they were being supportive, unlike every other group we passed.

Despite the above rant, Sam and I had a great experience together with many spectacular views, and with the satisfaction of completing a challenging hike.