Birth of First Blog Message

Dear Sunday Hikers,

Hey, hey, hey! It came to me that since several of us normally write a report after each Sunday hike, it is a no-brainer that a blog is called for. So please join me to celebrate the birth of our SundayHikersSaipan Blog, add your comments and message every time, sometimes, or never. We will keep the blog as our hiking "club" message board. Let me know your thoughts and suggestions.

Today, July 17, 2011, witness the biggest group hike since the formation of our club. Joining us are Masako and Ben, from Japan. Masako is Hiroko's cousin. They are here for the wedding of their son. What makes their visit so special is that they were here 34 years ago for their honeymoon.

Our original plan of going around the golf course up to Suicide Cliff, down around from GoKart, up FEBC, up to to Suicide Cliff, then Cowtown back seemed too long and too wet. Handy throws in his desire to park at Last Command Post to avoid the "boring" road hike. So we agree to let him have his way. The hike up FEBC is out since it will mean backtracking for over a mile. Then the Suicide Cliff portion is thrown out by popular demand. So we start down to Banzai cliff, with a detour to the Veteran and Public Cemetaries. It is a very interesting visit for everyone. I am surprised that there are so many more gravesites there. Onward to Banzai and Cowtown trail through the rock garden with a stop at the caves. Having skipped the CowTown Beach last week, we decide to take the visitors to the beach to check out the bunker and the surfs. I think they really enjoy that side trip. Instead of walking down on the main road, we veer off to the right and explore the trail that parallels the road and along a barbed wire fence, which by the way are popping up everywhere. Does that mean we are losing hiking grounds?

The hike is very enjoyable, especially because the weather is wonderfully sunny, warm, and breezy, after a whole week of rain and wind. Our temporary plan for next week's hike is to head south, to Nuftan Point starting at Obyan Beach. We're not sure where the trails are, but isn't that part of the fun?