Today Karen and I hiked 5.5 miles in a winding, high loop above Squilchuck State Park. We hiked up to a ridge and walked for miles. With high winds, white clouds were breaking up and zooming across the blue sky. The weather was changing.

"There should be a left turn coming up that will take us back to the park," Karen said. "I haven't been on this trail in two years."

For her trail name, I dubbed Karen "Compass." She has an extraordinary sense of direction and memory of trails. She was right. When we reached the lower trail we wanted (hooray!), we marked the trail turnoff with large branches so we can find it again.

Karen gave directions to mountain bikers. "I noticed you keep it short when you're talking to young guys," I said.

Karen, 70, has been a snowboard instructor at Mission Ridge Ski Area. "You can only tell boys one thing," she said and laughed. "They're already loaded on their snowboards. They take off even though they don't know anything."

"Overweight students have a hard time," she said. "Because of their weight, they barrel downhill much faster than lighter students. When they fall, they get more injuries."

We jogged downhill for 2.5 miles so I could make it to the "Harriet" movie on time.