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Took a walk today

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    • Traffic Jam wrote:

      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.
      Look at the bright side, now you have a reason to plan another trip! :)
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

    • Traffic Jam wrote:

      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.
      So you must have parked in the little lot at the top of the falls and hiked down the falls trail? There are a couple of different ways to get to the Priest, the most direct being to park on road at the Tye River where the AT crosses and hike south. You can also drive further up the road and park by the fish hatchery and hike in that way. Anyway if you go again, if you have enough time, take the side trail to Spy Rock- if you can climb it you will have 360° views.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference

    • jimmyjam wrote:

      Traffic Jam wrote:

      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.
      So you must have parked in the little lot at the top of the falls and hiked down the falls trail? There are a couple of different ways to get to the Priest, the most direct being to park on road at the Tye River where the AT crosses and hike south. You can also drive further up the road and park by the fish hatchery and hike in that way. Anyway if you go again, if you have enough time, take the side trail to Spy Rock- if you can climb it you will have 360° views.
      I parked at the bottom, hiked up the falls, then did the flat section to the parking lot for the meadows. I was supposed to park in the meadows lot to do the Priest/falls loop.

      I considered the option to park at Tye River but read that it had known, car break-ins.

      It was a fun trip…camped at Devils Backbone and enjoyed their beer and the cidery across the road. Will definitely do that again.
      Lost in the right direction.

    • Traffic Jam wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      Traffic Jam wrote:

      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.
      So you must have parked in the little lot at the top of the falls and hiked down the falls trail? There are a couple of different ways to get to the Priest, the most direct being to park on road at the Tye River where the AT crosses and hike south. You can also drive further up the road and park by the fish hatchery and hike in that way. Anyway if you go again, if you have enough time, take the side trail to Spy Rock- if you can climb it you will have 360° views.
      I parked at the bottom, hiked up the falls, then did the flat section to the parking lot for the meadows. I was supposed to park in the meadows lot to do the Priest/falls loop.
      I considered the option to park at Tye River but read that it had known, car break-ins.

      It was a fun trip…camped at Devils Backbone and enjoyed their beer and the cidery across the road. Will definitely do that again.
      The road to the meadows area is a couple of miles up the road from the falls parking area. It's definitely a high clearance gravel road, but your subaru would have no problem. On the way on that HC road there are designated primitive campsites. Don't know about the breakin safety up there, but a couple of years back Slingshot and I and another guy left a vehicle there in the meadow parking lot and had no problems.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference

    • In the next town over...







      The boardwalk goes through a nice wetland. Parts of it were underwater because of the Beavers, but I kept going anyway. The water was ankle deep and icy. I turned around after a bit because my wet, cold socks started chaffing my feet. Oh well, good for a couple of miles to finish up 2021. See you next Year!

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

      John Greenleaf Whittier

    • IMScotty wrote:

      In the next town over...







      The boardwalk goes through a nice wetland. Parts of it were underwater because of the Beavers, but I kept going anyway. The water was ankle deep and icy. I turned around after a bit because my wet, cold socks started chaffing my feet. Oh well, good for a couple of miles to finish up 2021. See you next Year!


      Beavers are amazing, but can also be quite destructive.
      Seen trees like that on AT in MA between Great Barrington and Goose Pond. Also on other trails, but that one stands out in my memory the most.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

    • Our county park system has a program called "Coffee With the Birds" where you sit around a park's nature center for an hour watching birds at their feeding stations through the big picture windows. The park's naturalist is there to ID birds and answer questions about bird watching. Then he gives a 30 min PowerPoint presentation about some bird watching topic (today it was winter ducks).

      While my wife (the bird watcher) attends, OMO (not a bird watcher) walks the park trails (4 miles in 90 minutes). Today the trails were all packed ice from the 15" of snow we had last week but with trekking poles, the mostly flat trails along the Pigeon River were not bad. It was sunny but cold, 10 deg with zero wind chill, but I was plenty warm with my REI puffy and new bamboo/wool/spandex base layer top and neck gaiter. I was eager to test the temp limits of my new gear I've been getting so I can plan 3 (or 3+) season treks.

      bamboolthermics.com/

    • My first hike of 2022…stringing together a series of local trails.

      I tested a new layering combo but don’t think it’s going to work for me. I planned to test some gloves too but after cleaning snow off the car, my hands were freezing so decided to wear my wool and angora mittens which were perfect.
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      Lost in the right direction.

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

    • Traffic Jam wrote:

      My first hike of 2022…stringing together a series of local trails.

      I tested a new layering combo but don’t think it’s going to work for me. I planned to test some gloves too but after cleaning snow off the car, my hands were freezing so decided to wear my wool and angora mittens which were perfect.
      it looks like you have more snow on the ground than I do here on Long Island.

    • LIhikers wrote:

      Traffic Jam wrote:

      My first hike of 2022…stringing together a series of local trails.

      I tested a new layering combo but don’t think it’s going to work for me. I planned to test some gloves too but after cleaning snow off the car, my hands were freezing so decided to wear my wool and angora mittens which were perfect.
      it looks like you have more snow on the ground than I do here on Long Island.
      Same here. Looks like the perfect amount of snow TJ, which is just enough to make everything look pretty.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”

      John Greenleaf Whittier

    • The weather is gorgeous so I had to go hiking… about 7 miles (?) in Frozen Head. My watch says I hiked 9+ but it’s known to be inaccurate. My right arm and knee are sore from the bike wreck so I made a bargain with myself that if the knee starts hurting worse, I’d turn around but it did fine.

      It was really great to be outside listening to my feet crunching through the leaves and the birds singing, and feeling the warmth of the sun.

      I recently bought a Klean Kanteen insulated food canister which I used for the first time. It works great and my vegetable soup was hot and delicious. It’s not practical for backpacking due to the weight but I’ll definitely carry it again on day hikes.
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      Lost in the right direction.

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

    • max.patch wrote:

      76 degrees -- I took a walk with the lawnmower for the first time since last fall. Does that count? :)
      It's soon time here. I imagine that I'll be mowing twice per week by the end of March. Steps is steps...
      Trudgin' along the AT since 2003. Completed Sections: Springer Mountain to Winding Stair Gap NC, Fontana Dam to Clingmans Dome, and Max Patch NC to Gorham NH

      "The days I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations...those are pretty good days." Ray Wylie Hubbard

    • No more mowing for me. I'm moving into a 55+ community where they take care of all the exterior maintenance, painting, grass cutting, trash pickup, landscaping, snow removal. Makes it much easier for me to take care of my wife and to get away when I can.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference

    • jimmyjam wrote:

      No more mowing for me. I'm moving into a 55+ community where they take care of all the exterior maintenance, painting, grass cutting, trash pickup, landscaping, snow removal. Makes it much easier for me to take care of my wife and to get away when I can.
      I hear ya. That's in my future too. I hate every second I spend doing yard work and other home maintenance stuff.
      2,000 miler

    • max.patch wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      No more mowing for me. I'm moving into a 55+ community where they take care of all the exterior maintenance, painting, grass cutting, trash pickup, landscaping, snow removal. Makes it much easier for me to take care of my wife and to get away when I can.
      I hear ya. That's in my future too. I hate every second I spend doing yard work and other home maintenance stuff.
      In my mid to late 50's, when I was still working, I started to think about hiring the mowing to be done. We have a half acre, but a fair bit is a shop and 150 feet of driveway to the shop. Here in Texas, there's a fine line of waiting for the dew to semi-dry, getting out there and going full bore until you get it done before it hits 90. But then I was also planning to retire early and was thinking "yeah....then you'll have all week to mess with this". So far, I'm still mowing it (rider, then a push mower for some areas where the rider doesn't fit, then a walk behind edger....remember all that driveway, then a string trimmer and a leaf blower). But I see most of my neighbors have it done. There's one guy who does four of the 11 yards on our dead-end street. Pretty funny as he zooms back and forth across multiple yards before turning around.
      Pirating – Corporate Takeover without the paperwork

    • guess I have it lucky, it's my job to keep the mower running and my wife's to push it around. That was her decision when she got tired of me mowing down her plants. She plants stuff randomly around the yard and if I didn't notice it it would get mowed down, my motto has become "if it's green and grows cut it with the mower" .

    • Several times when hiking on the Arkansas River Trail I have passed a sign for a trail going up to Emerald Park. So yesterday I decided to take it. Next time I will have to zoom in so you can see the dome of the state capital building better.
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      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

    • Had a great time hiking in Chickamauga National Battlefield park near Chattanooga and got another cancellation in my National Parks book.

      The views are fantastic, the hiking is fun (and steep), and the history is interesting. It was windy and chili…colder than I was prepared for but warmed up on the climb back.

      (You can see the Smokies…zoomed in a bit)
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      Lost in the right direction.

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

    • Traffic Jam wrote:

      Had a great time hiking in Chickamauga National Battlefield park near Chattanooga and got another cancellation in my National Parks book.

      The views are fantastic, the hiking is fun (and steep), and the history is interesting. It was windy and chili…colder than I was prepared for but warmed up on the climb back.

      (You can see the Smokies…zoomed in a bit)
      My son and I car camped there in the early 2000s with his Cub Scout Troop one year. We all hiked the next day although I don't remember the section we did as particularly steep. I'm sure the Troop leader picked one of the easier hikes. The small museum is also wandering through. Since it got down to about 30 degrees during the night -- below freezing -- the boys earned their Polar Bear patch.
      2,000 miler

    • Kathy and I took a walk today. She had today off work for some non-Us holiday as the school district where she drives the bus has students who's families are from all over the world and I no longer work Mondays. Kathy had a particular trail she wanted to walk in NY's Sterling Forest State Park that we'd never been on before. We started walking about 11:30 in the morning and hiked the Wildcat Mountain Trail. 2.5 miles later we had gone over Wildcat Mtn. and came to the intersection with an Orange blazed trail. We stopped there to cook up a hot lunch and have a look around. There, in the middle of the woods there was a earthen dam, creating a small pond, with water running over the overflow area. It makes me wonder what was going on here, years ago, that people would put so much effort into making the dam so that they could have a pond. The day was kind of gloomy, gray and overcast, with fog ,and rain that was on and off. Neither of us had much ambition today so we just retraced our steps over the mountain and back to the car. The weather today was so overcast that even the birds were grounded. We didn't see even 1 all day. The only wild life we saw were 7 small red efts. A quick stop for a couple of slices of pizza and then we were on the road for the drive home.

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      Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    • Just finished a short 3 mile walk on the Loop before it got too hot.

      Never knew these things existed; but I saw one today.

      i.ytimg.com/vi/GUpd2AfsFU4/maxresdefault.jpg

      In looking for a pic I see they also have other models with 2 front wheels. I've tried an eliptical machine at the Y but never really got used to the motion. In seeing the bike come toward me from a distance I immediately wondered "why is that front fork so tall?"

      ETA: lol, now the ads are following me on FB. :) Sorry, not buying one.
      2,000 miler

      The post was edited 2 times, last by max.patch ().

    • Kathy and I went to our local county park for a walk, 2 or 3 miles in the pouring rain.
      As you can imagine we didn't see any other people today.
      My rain gear did a good job keeping me dry. I had a Seattle Sombrero by Outdoor Research on my head, a Marmot PreCip jacket on top, and a pair of L.L. Bean rain pants below. The bottom edge of of my pants legs did get wet because the puddles were pretty deep. Amazingly my feet were kept dry by a pair of light weight Columbia boots that had a heavy coat of polish. Thats 2 weekends in a row that we were out in wet weather.

    • Took the dog for a walk in the park to see the late spring flowers. There were Solomons Seal (false and regular), Triilim (nodding and regular), Violets (violet and white), Jacks-in-the-Pulpit (or is that Jack-in-the-Pulpits?), wild geranium and phlox.
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    • Took a Walk Yesterday. Climbed Carrauntoohil, the highest mountain in Ireland, for the second time in my life.

      The trail starts out innocently enough. Don't be fooled by the elevation (3407 feet), it is a 'real' mountain. The climb seems to be way more popular than when I first did it 14? years ago. I saw plenty of hikers heading out for the day as I started my hike. I got a very late start at 4:00 PM. Normally I would not start a climb so late, but the days are long here in the summer.



      After the easy part you get to the 'Devil's Ladder.' This loose scree covered chute is the hardest part of the climb. You have to pick your way slowly and carefully. The rocks move, the Irish do not seem to believe in trail work, people just hike where they want.


      View from the top of Devil's Ladder. You can see the trail between the two Loughs. I would have enjoyed this view longer, but with my late start I am time-restricted. I promised myself a 7:00 PM turn around time no matter what.




      The Sheep seem to have no problem climbing mountains. The range freely. The paint marks identify the owner. I think some of these sheep end up pretty far from home.



      Looking back towards the saddle. Devil's ladder arrives at the saddle on the left hand side. After that you climb a rocky cone to the summit. There does not seem to be an official trail, people walk where ever they want resulting in a spider web of paths to choose from. There were some cairns so I tried to just hike from cairn to cairn.

      I have to say the local hikers preferred walking on the alpine meadow rather than sticking to the rocky trail. This bothered me. I don't suppose my saying something would have changed their habits, however.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”

      John Greenleaf Whittier

    • Continued:


      Looking back at the saddle. Carrauntoohil is part of the McGillicuddy Reeks. My connection to this mountain is thanks to my wonderful departed mother-in-law. She was born in Glencar, Kerry at the foot of these mountains. She was such a strong, hard working woman. There were no opportunities in Ireland for her, so as a young girl she left for America.


      Selfie near the summit.


      The summit of Carrauntoohil. I arrived ten minutes before my turn-around time. Unfortunately as soon as I arrived, the clouds started moving in. There are lots of cliff faces around the summit. With the poorly defined pathway, this would have been a problem in low-visibility, so I quickly moved on.


      Clouds moving in.



      Heading back down. The Devil's Ladder was harder to come down than it was going up.
      I arrived back at the trailhead at 9:50 PM. Believe it or not, the sun was just setting. Still plenty of light.

      I'm at an age where I have to say goodbye to many things. I suppose this is my last visit to the beautiful Kingdom of Kerry. I was blessed to be able to stand at the top of Ireland once again.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”

      John Greenleaf Whittier

    • odd man out wrote:

      Ive wanted to trek in Ireland too. Have you hiked the Done Peninsula? Ive heard that is also very nice.
      I have not hiked the Dingle Peninsula, but I have been there. Beautiful place, and the town of Dingle has perhaps the best Pub scene in Ireland.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”

      John Greenleaf Whittier