With 30% rain predicted until a day before the Emma hike, a surprising 35 tigers and sloths met on Mt. Emma Road west of Old Emma with perfect weather. 18 members, 2 mascots, and 15 guests made a quick car shuttle to Emma's west ridge (high point on Emma Rd.), starting up-slope at 9:30 a.m. With nearly 1000' gain in the mile to the top of Emma, there were troops strung out on the hillside. After a rest, everyone took out again over the disheartening bumps in Emma Ridge, but all eventually signed in on Old Emma. The total hike is only about 4 miles, but is steep enough in sections to convince many that they had not stayed in condition through a winter of inactivity, despite mountaineering day-dreams.
