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Took a walk today

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    • rhjanes wrote:

      My buddy and I went out to our part of LBJ National Grasslands. He'd reported an issue with a stream that USED to be very cross-able. It is anything but! Lots of debris floated down it and blocked it in at least three places. Making a 3 inch deep stream, 3 feet deep. We worked south to see if there was anyplace reasonably cross-able.....not really, at least not on any orienteering courses we would think people would chose for a route. SO, had to scratch one back country control and then work on a few others to "Make" the orienteers go around the mess. We hiked around 4 miles, started around 10 and finished by 3 (with a lunch break).
      Kathy and I used to do some local orienteering meets. We were getting pretty good at it too.
      Then our best friend, who was part of the orienteering club died and well, it just wasn't the same, so we haven't done one in a few years.
    • LIhikers wrote:

      rhjanes wrote:

      My buddy and I went out to our part of LBJ National Grasslands. He'd reported an issue with a stream that USED to be very cross-able. It is anything but! Lots of debris floated down it and blocked it in at least three places. Making a 3 inch deep stream, 3 feet deep. We worked south to see if there was anyplace reasonably cross-able.....not really, at least not on any orienteering courses we would think people would chose for a route. SO, had to scratch one back country control and then work on a few others to "Make" the orienteers go around the mess. We hiked around 4 miles, started around 10 and finished by 3 (with a lunch break).
      Kathy and I used to do some local orienteering meets. We were getting pretty good at it too.Then our best friend, who was part of the orienteering club died and well, it just wasn't the same, so we haven't done one in a few years.
      It is a fun "Thinking" persons sport. I've been doing it for something like 11 years now. I do some course setting work, run the computer timing sometimes. I usually do the "Brown" or "Green" course, short advanced and medium advanced. I'm SLOW as I never was a runner. But us old people do it with cunning! Knowing all the tricks to navigating back country. Here in Texas, our season follows the Fall/Winter/Spring school calendar. It's way to hot in the summer! COVID changed everything. Last springs events were all canceled. Our events at city and state parks are now "DIY". The course is out there for around 9 days, but there is no "Meet day". You register online, fill out the online waver, which then links to the "Event" map page. You can print off any map and clues you want. We also have reduced the courses. We usually do 6 to 8 courses, now it's one beginner and two advanced. So once you have the map, go out and time yourself and do whatever you wish. Two weeks back at a state park, my buddy and I did "Red" (Longest advanced), BUT, we also changed it. We added in some other advanced controls because they were "on the way" somewhere. Plus, we removed the zig-zagging the actual course had. For private parks (like the three boy scout ranches), we have to do a one day meet with strict COVID stuff in place. Just show up and go, then leave. No awards, no hanging around. Those events we DID do electronic timing. We had some people say "nope, not doing it as even with the COVID rules, there will still be too many people around". Maybe next year, things might be getting back to "normal".

      It's a fun sport. A few things I like is that it is CHEAP! No greens fees, no expensive equipment is NEEDED (but does help, my thumb compass was something like $75), AND the classes are broken down by age! So I'm in the "older than dirt" class with other people my age. We are not "running" against 18 year olds. We've had people in their 80's out! Peter and Miki Snell helped start our club. Peter was a three time Olympic Track and Field medalist and competed into his 70's with us. Miki was around longer than that.
      Pirating – Corporate Takeover without the paperwork
    • Took a walk at a local park. Temps in the low 20s with light snow, but really quite pleasant. Thought about renting snowshoes or xcountry skis, but they were so popular there were none available so I just walked. Because of all the traffic on trails, the packed snow was easy to walk on. We've had lots of snow in the last couple weeks so conditions were great. Walked a bit over one hour do that was probably about 2.5 miles.
    • Kathy and I just got home from a 3 day, 2 night, backpacking trip. I'll do a full report within a few days but the bare statistics are temps between high teens and low 30s, snow averaged 16 to 18 inches deep, some more and some less, and most of the trails we were on were already broken and packed down. And maybe the best of it all was the hot shower when we got home. :)
    • A week ago. last Saturday, Kathy and I threw our backpacks and snowshoes into the car and headed to Harriman State Park. During the drive we decided that we'd park at the Silver Mine parking lot and spend Saturday, Sunday, and Monday in that part of the park. Once we arrived, about 11:30AM, we got our stuff out of the car and noticed that the bindings on all 4 snowshoes were broken. I put mine back in the car and instead put on my Stabilicers. Kathy strapped hers to her pack in hopes of making them work, somehow. We set out northbound on the yellow trail until we got to the start of an old woods road. We then followed the road to where it meets the Long Path. It was there that Kathy tied her snowshoes on using rope and string. The snow on this trip averaged 16 to 18 inches, but the trails were all broken or packed down Then we set out southbound on the Long Path until we got to the Stockbridge shelter. We'd only gone a few miles and it was mid to late afternoon when we arrived. We swept out the shelter figuring we stay there since snow was forecast for the night. Once it got dark we cooked up dinner and then crawled into our sleeping bags and went to sleep.

      We woke the next morning, had breakfast, and slowly started to pack up. 3 young people arrived around 9 and proceeded to make a fire in one of the shelter's fireplaces. Just as we were putting our packs on a group of about 18 adults showed up and hung around the shelter. We hiked down the yellow trail heading back toward Silver Mine. It wasn't long before the young people passed us. Kathy's snowshoe repair failed and she tied them back onto her pack. Before too long we were back at our car and sat in it to have our lunch while we watched kids and adults sledding, snowboarding, and skiing down the big hill across the parking lot. After taking a nice long lunch break we donned our packs and hiked up to the William Brien Memorial Shelter. We again decided to sleep in the shelter as the forecast was still calling for snow. And again no one else was there to spend the night. We cleaned the floor the best we could with our feet/boots and layed out our sleeping bags. we walked around the shelter area to kill time again until night arrived. Just like the night before we had dinner and went into our bags. Both nights Kathy took a Nalgene bottle of hot water into her bag to help her stay warm. My winter bag is warm enough that I didn't need that.

      Monday morning, Presidents Day, we had a leisurely time eating and packing up. Then we took the short walk back to the car where we dropped our packs and then took a walk over to the dam that formed the lake that is there. Then we retraced our steps back to the car, changed our clothes and drove away at about 2PM. While we didn't cover many miles this weekend we did enjoy ourselves and found it a great time to relax and enjoy.

      Harriman, being so close to NYC, draws a lot of people from NY and NJ. That plus the fact that it was a holiday weekend there were many people out hiking in the park. The temperatures ranged from the high teens at night to low 30s Monday afternoon. Even though we kept hearing the forecast was for snow, it never did until we back leaving the park. It may have been foolish to sleep in the shelters but we decided to take the chance. Not only that, we stopped for a post hike meal at the Rhodes Tavern (or is it Rhodes Inn ?) on our way home. Then the drive home was actually easy and uneventful, almost enjoyable.
    • Took a Walk Yesterday. Halibut Point State Park, Rockport, MA


      In addition to fishing, Cape Ann was historically famous for its fine Granite. Lots of old quarries still dot the landscape. This one at Halibut Point is near the ocean.

      The quarry.

      Halibut Point is a gorgeous rocky point. One of my favorite places on the Northshore. It is a small park, but there are enough walking trails to put together a few mile hike.


      Lots of tide pools to provide tiny windows into hidden worlds.

      Safe in their cubby.


      The walk and rocks were icy, my wife almost did a face plant. Still, an excellent, cold and beautiful day on the ocean.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • Spent another day hiking in snow and ice and scrambling over rocks, I’m getting better at scrambling. Strength training has really helped.

      The only time I was scared was coming down the rock in the 4th and 5th pic. The first pic is me sitting for a few minutes, looking down, trying to decide if I could do it with my short legs. I finally went for it and slid down on my butt.
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      Lost in the right direction.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by Traffic Jam ().

    • Today I convinced my wife to take a lap around the pond with me while it is still solid. It was more of a shuffle than a walk, we have to worry about our Old-bones.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • IMScotty wrote:

      Today I convinced my wife to take a lap around the pond with me while it is still solid. It was more of a shuffle than a walk, we have to worry about our Old-bones.
      The lakes don't freeze around here anymore. As kids, the neighborhood lake would freeze solid enough that this crazy teenager in the neighborhood would drive his VW bug across it. We were usually able to play hockey for a month.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference
    • LIhikers wrote:

      We used to play hockey when the sump froze over. I never could skate well so I played goalie using a catcher's mask, a first baseman's glove, and a thick layer of newspapers duct taped inside my jacket.
      We had a tough league, old golf clubs and a crushed soda can for a puck. I was like 12 playing with 17 and 18 year olds. This big guy "Binkie" Garret did a nasty check on me, so the next play I broke my wooden golf club across his shin and left. He never bothered me again. And I was tiny back then. I'm 6 ft now.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference
    • I've decided to get serious about walking again now that I'm off the injured list and winter appears to be over. I've walked every day this week so far. It's easy to do when it's between 68-72 every afternoon.

      Getting a knee injection in a couple weeks which I can't wait to get.
      2,000 miler
    • Took a walk yesterday in East Boston. My wife likes urban hiking because at the end of the trail there is usually a place to shop or grab a bite :)

      View of downtown Boston from East Boston (Jeffries Point)


      Exploring the HarborArts Marina. Lots of hidden outdoor art here.


      Apparently there are rock stackers even in the city.
      A swarm of sailboats.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • IMScotty wrote:

      Nice, slice it open. As long as it is completely white in side it is edible. Puff Balls are the 'tofu' of mushrooms. They take on the flavor of what you cook it with.
      I just left it. Since it is a county park, I thought I should leave it. Plus there are so many poisonous fungi, I'm not sure I trust myself to not get something toxic. It was amazingly firm. It sounded like a watermelon when you thumped it.
    • I have some in my yard, they seemed to erupt from the ground overnight. They don’t look as nice as yours but my app says they’re hard skinned puffballs. Once they open, the spores spread and they become inedible.
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      Lost in the right direction.
    • At moment this happened I thought it was humourous.

      I was day hiking yesterday on a trail on the outskirts of town with a view of the mountains. As I hiked I came to an interesection with another trail with a sign that said Mountain View. Struck me as curious, as it seemed like I already had a pretty good view of the mountains. Maybe, I thought, it was an even better view or perhaps there was a bench to take a rest in front of a scenic view. So I decided to take the detour and find out.

      About a 1/4 mile later I had my answer. I came upon Mountain View....High School. The back of the parking lot to be exact.

      I guess it struck me as funny as it was the last thing I would have expected.
      2,000 miler
    • Unbelievable to still have colors like that in November. It has been a beautiful fall.

      Took a walk this weekend with my wife. More of a bike path, about a 2.5 mile loop. I've always enjoyed this view of 'Deer Island' in the Merrimack River (Mass.) when flying by on I-95, so I wanted to finally enjoy it at a walking pace...

      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • You might notice the tagline at the end of my posts is a quote from John Greenleaf Whittier. Well, the hike we took yesterday was 'Whittier Country.' He wrote a poem about Deer Island shown in the previous post. So after the walk, we decided to make it a Whittier themed day. We visited the family homestead where he was born (in Haverhill, MA) and the home where he wrote most of his works (in Amesbury, MA).

      And we visited his very modest grave...


      Now I'm reading 'Snowbound' to cap off the weekend.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier


    • Be alert when walking in AZ.

      Walked a few miles on The Loop, a 131 mile bike/hike loop in Tucson. Tuscon is a bike town, walkers are tremendously outnumbered.

      The part I walked today was next to a Frisbee Golf course. It was getting a lot of use, but doesn't seem like anything I'd be interested in.
      2,000 miler

      The post was edited 1 time, last by max.patch ().

    • Met up with Time Zone today to hike some trails around Chattanooga and have a picnic lunch, it’s been a long time since we’ve hiked together.

      The tree is Shagbark Hickory…really interesting.

      The little guy wanted to hitch a ride but I scooped him up with a leaf and set him in the grass.
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      Lost in the right direction.
    • I planned to hike the Priest last week via Crabtree Meadows but messed up my navigation and instead, hiked Crabtree Falls…only 6 miles but lots of climbing.

      I really wanted the challenge of the Priest but thoroughly enjoyed the falls.

      Wanted to get my feet on the AT…oh well.
      Lost in the right direction.