Hiking by the light of the moon

This was a first for me.  Eight of us collected near Just Nuisance's grave on the Red Hill road down to Scarborough, for a moonlight hike.  I think mostly everyone else had some experience at this, but not me.

The way up was sublime.  The pace was somewhat snappier than the pace that my hiking groups usually set, which did mean a fair wack of huffing and puffing on my part.  There was time along the way for some photographs.  Here are examples:

And another:

These were taken when we stopped for tea on the way up to the beacon:

And then on and up to the beacon from which we would watch the sun set:

 And the moon rise:

Here are some of my fellow hikers preparing supper and a toast to the last full moon of 2011:

I don't have photographs of us on the way down.  It was quite dark, as the moon spent a fair amount of time hiding behind clouds.  So there was me, with my rucksack, clutching a torch [fortunately not with my teeth], and my vertigo, doing an amazing amount of 'bum' work as we scrabbled down fairly rocky terrain back to the cars.  At one point, our hike leader, Walter, asked if we were okay.  My response was 'I am on the verge of hysteria and I'm crying, but actually, I'm fine :)'.  Mostly that was me, being my normal over-the-top self, but it was actually quite scary.  I was quite relieved to get back to the car intact.

One learns ever so much about people on these hikes, particularly as one of the weaker ones.  Two of the more experienced lady hikers set themselves up, one in front of me and one behind, just to make sure I was okay.  Wow, the kindness of people simply shines through on occasions like this.

Sitting here, the following morning, sipping coffee and reminiscing, I figure I'm up for the next 'easy' one, not that I'm masochistic or anything :).  The views were worth every scratch and stain, and the fellowship of others was worth every vow inside me that somehow I would get down without being too whingy.  Yup, I'd do it again...