There's quite a nice look-out spot at 15^th and Garfield, right across the street from Lakeview Cemetary. Here I once startled a raccoon, who stood up on his or her hind legs and waved her or his wee little arms at me. I suspect the raccoon wanted a hug. It may have been some sort of a trick; if I had gone in for a hug, the seemingly innocent beast may have coshed me and taken my wallet. I'm not falling for that one again.

But that is neither here nor there. On the easterly edge of this look-out, there is a sign hidden in the vegetation about litter. This sign, I discovered today, marks the beginning of a sinuous walking trail that carries you along the cliffside and then, by way of many sharp and perilous turnings, down to the very bottom, and then spits you out on Interlaken, at a boulder announcing you've been in Boren Park. It's got a nice outdoorsy smell to it, and there's lots of mud to go squishing through. Plenty of ferns. Very vibrant moss. It's easy to forget you're in an upscale residential neighbourhood. A bit precipitous at times, so you'll want to keep your wits about you. But it's good times.

NOTE TO THE READER: Those sharp and perilous turnings one encounters on a mountainside or cliff or what-have-you are called switchbacks, not razorbacks, hogbacks, or barebacks. I get them confused all the time.