Trail Tales

I went out on the mountain bike today and headed back to the pond I had discovered earlier:



Larger View

Yep, it turned out to be a beaver pond and the dam is pictured above. Pretty neat. And that’s one major dam they have there.

This next view is looking off in front of the damn to a lower level of water. The creek proceeds forth from the top left. I don’t know if this lower body of water is just a marsh or if the beavers have a two-tiered system in place. But I thought I could hear the creek running beyond so I think it’s just a shallow depression filled with the water. But I don’t know.



Larger View



Larger View

Very tired, and standing in a conglomeration of very rough brush and crisscrossed sticks, it was hard getting down on my knees to get more at water level for the above shot. But y creaky knees made it down and then up again.

On another part of my trip, I came across a small marsh that had some golden dried marsh grass of some kind. It was very photogenic to the eyes but I found it difficult to capture it with the camera.



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There was still standing water (a swamp) underneath those dried weeds. And the ground was so rough (I had journey off the logging road to get a little closer) that at one point I nearly fell in.

Getting nearer the end of the trip, and soon after encountering the pond, there was this hill to climb. This shows about 60% of it and its steeper than it looks. I had to walk the bike up and it was (and always is) a good bit of exercise. But I made it.



Larger View

Once I was up and over that, it wasn’t too far up to go from there…and then the trip home would be almost all downhill. I saw lots of people. Not one mask. It felt sane.

I’ve seen some beaver dams before, and this one definitely wasn’t done by union workers. It looked really well constructed and no doubt I could have walked across the top of it.

Here’s a panorama shot today that is looking down into a gorge (in the center of the photo). The depth doesn’t really come through. You can see my bike on the far right.

The photos is almost too green. But, really, that’s pretty much what it looks like. It’s a bit of a jungle.



JungleCam

Today rain was forecast. And we did get some early rain but by 11:30 it was partly sunny and promising even better. I was expecting this to be an “old movie” day. Instead, it turned into a bonus day that included some mountain biking.

Any day that I can put 10 miles on my bike in fairly rough country and not get hurt is a good day. But I walked the bike down most of the very steep paths which were criss-crossed with small holes and depressions in between ragged and raised tree roots. Sometimes I will attempt some of the milder tracks. But I didn’t feel good or balanced in that regard today so I didn’t risk it.

Via a different route, I worked my way to the fork on the other side of Lost Creek. This time, instead of taking the right branch (which I had planned to do, and go even further), I took the left branch.

This branch soon led to a very steep incline. But it was just doable. I dragged my bicycle up it. A slip wouldn’t have been fatal. I would have simply slid on my belly for probably 15 feet or so. Maybe I pick up a few scratches. But if I had slipped, I would have had to release the bike and there’s no saying what kind of damage it may have taken.

That was as steep as I felt comfortable climbing. The real problem wasn’t the steepness. It was that the trail was fairly smooth. There were no jagged rocks and such for footing.

Having made it up and over, I was committed. I figure this would run into one of the paved roads that would then take me behind Wildcat Lake. I could retreat if need be but I didn’t look forward to going down that incline. Frankly, I’m not sure how I could have got my bike down it in one piece.

I followed this trail through the deep woods. It finally connected with a wide logging road. I went right for a while on this larger road. I checked the GPS map on my phone and I was going away from the road. Plus, the road then forked into two smaller trails which looked less traveled. I didn’t want to get lost or expend needless energy so I want back to where the trail intersected this road and went left. This was looking better. I was getting closer to the road, at least according to the map.

But this was still quite a ways through the woods. But it appeared to be well-traveled. Finally, I came to the back of a piece of property with a house. It was unclear if the road I was on was now a thoroughfare to the main (presumably paved) road or if I was just passing through someone’s backyard.

Well, as it turns out, I was indeed just passing through someone’s backyard. But because turning around and going all the way back was not an easy option, I decided to just put on my harmless face and push on through. A couple dogs came out to meet me but they were not vicious. I pushed on by a llama in a pen in the backyard, up through the side of the house, and then finally (thank goodness) to the main road.

Whew. After that it was a very pleasant and interesting ride on a road I had never been down. This was very much in the sticks. Finally the road came out onto the road that runs around the back side of Wildcat Lake. I road around this until I came to the road that skirted the front of the lake and that passed by Wildcat Lake County Park. Here’s a view of that:



ParkCam

The weather was nice enough (and given that we are Northwesterners), many people were in their bathing suits. This one rather plump and endowed chick was packing some heavy equipment in that bikini. But it would have been impolite to snap a photo. (I gotta get a telephoto for this thing.)

Here’s a couple shots from the early part of the route:



MeadowCam



YellowCam

I was wondering what those yellow flowers are too. I have no idea. As for the people in the photo, I know not who they are.

Bush 43, hated by enviro-zealots, set up separate receptacles for different types of recyclables in the White House.  Slick Willlie (much praised by enviro-zealots) and his staffers ignored them.

That's a good possibility, but I think there's another issue.  Leftist activists are most concerned with whether or not you support the cause (especially with money, of course).  That buys you absolution for your sins, much as donating to St. Peter's in the Tetzel era (and he was just one example) bought remission from sin.  Indulgences were one of Martin Luther's main targets, and a new Luther would have plenty of targets on the left.

I got my haircut tonight but there was still time to get on the mountain bike and hit Green Mountain. I was on the trail by 7:20. I did one of my favorite routes which is basically up, up, up. And then when you get to the top it’s a coast almost all the way down. But it’s on the side of the mountain where you get a beautiful view of the Olympic Mountains and Hood Canal.

On the way up there was a motorcycle coming up behind me. I could hear him so I pulled over a little bit to the side, especially since I was rounding a corner. There was a harmless looking branch sticking out. I got over to the side a little too far and the branch brushed my leg. And although it looked like just a thin little branch it turn out to be a bit thicker and drew blood.

GashCam

I started crying and immediately called 911 and ending the outing. Wait. That’s what a soy-boy would do. Sorry. I’m still a little groggy from the loss of blood.

Where I got gashed was at the point where I normally take a quick breather on the way up anyway. So I sat on the ground and daubed at the blood wondering how much it would bleed. I put some antiseptic on it and kept daubing a little. The bleeding slowed down so I put some bandages over the top and was good to go. I figured when I started exerting myself again it was bound to bleed. But it didn’t.

Other than that, it was a good ride. It was the first time this year I felt like I had some strength. I think the Wuhan Flu has been riding in the background for months keeping my strength level at 90%. I could go out and climb some hills but I always felt less than 100%.

I don’t know if it’s just getting into better shape or what. But I do believe there has been something in the background draining me a little. I figure I’m on my third or fourth Wuhan Flu mutation by now.