Pictures from outdoor exercise.
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My group has decided we're still going boating.
We snatched up some permits on another river that's about three hours east of here instead of three hours south. We'll do four days in the desert instead of five through the Coast Range. It's a river section I've never done.
There was some confusion when the person getting permits signed up. We will be skipping the last section that has most of the big whitewater. It's probably easier than the Rogue, but still more than the rest of the trip. I'm actually OK with this because as I understand it's a ridiculously busy river section as a day-trip, and our last day will be a weekend day. We will miss the schidt-show and take out above that section. I'll go back some time when I can run it on a non-weekend day.2 -
Well since you don't have pics to show, I'll post one...
As per previous posts, with my renovations done, I have sold my house in Ottawa and I'm in the midst of buying one on the east coast. We will have the house inspection tomorrow. I don't anticipate any issues but who knows? House inspectors usually find something... hopefully it's not anything fatal.
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@UncleMac, I love those colors - subtle but unusual. Looks like a nice place - I hope it all works out.
Obligatory photo from today's outdoor exercise (bike ride), a bench on the Art Path.
Cat Bench should have been number nine not eight.
I heard a rumor they might open the river back up tomorrow. Too late for us. Our inertia is taking us east. And it's just a rumor.2 -
How cute is that? I love it!!@UncleMac, I love those colors - subtle but unusual. Looks like a nice place - I hope it all works out.
Obligatory photo from today's outdoor exercise (bike ride), a bench on the Art Path.
My wife likes the colours although she might want to change the red but that's another day's problem. lol0 -
The deck and pergola (maybe) in the backyard is rather charming.
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Just back from a four-day river trip. It was supposed to be a five-day trip, but that river got closed because of fire. We made a quick switch and got a permit to go run a different river out in the desert.
Nice enough. It was a river trip after all. But I'm not in a rush to go back to that river. I rowed my raft without a passenger and supported four people in inflatable kayaks.
Had a very small and cute Western Rattlesnake in camp one night. It was very afraid of us. It tried to sneak out of the kitchen, but eventually decided to hole up in a nook in a tree until after we left the next morning.
Today I get to clean, clean, clean. All the things in the raft kitchen. The cooler. Dry boxes. And clothes of course. And the raft itself is filthy.
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One of my morning rowing buddies, a guy who just took the learn to row class this season, bought a beautiful new-to-him old wood Hudson racing single from another club member who'd bought herself a new boat. I thought the boat geeks here, such as @mtaratoot, might enjoy seeing it. (I asked my friend if he was OK with me sharing the photo with online friends, with him identifiable in it; he was.)
This boat would be around the usual dimensions, 26 feet +/- long, 12" wide +/- at the waterline, likely something barely over the minimum competition weight of 31 pounds. Needs a little maintenance work, not much, but it's a beauty, if you ask me. (I don't aspire to own one like that. They're beautiful, but high maintenance.)
ETA: We put old socks on the gates of the boats to protect other boats from scratches when we move boats in/out of the closely-set boat racks.
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@AnnPT77
Yep, that's a gorgeous hull.
I am honored you think I'm a boat geek.
A friend who has a business that sells canoes hasn't had one of his own in years. He finally bought one for himself. It's a graphite layup of a 17.5-foot boat that weighs in at 33 pounds. It was a joy to watch him paddle it. It's a little narrower than my Advantage. The main differences is it will haul more cargo, and you can "steer" it with your hips more than you can with my Advantage. He probably would have let me paddle it for an hour over our two-day trip (sorry - no pictures this time), but there was no way I was going to ask. Plus - I'd have to give up my boat to do it!1 -
I haven't been hiking in quite some time. Why? I don't know! I have the time, but I've been just taking it easy, working in the garden, and paddling canoes. I did stomp around in the woods last week one day looking for mushrooms. I found nothing, but being in the quiet forest was nice.
So yesterday I decided the time was right. It was a beautiful early Autumn day - not too hot, but sunny. There was haze in the sky from all the wildfires, but it was otherwise a nice day.
I went up to Marys Peak - the highest peak in the Oregon Coast Range. There's a bunch of trails. I got in a good habit of visiting there quite often a year or so ago and watched the progression of wildflowers. Not this year. Even without the wildflowers, it was great.
I hiked just under nine miles by starting up the East Ridge Trail, then taking the Tie Trail over to the North Ridge Trail, then to the upper parking lot and up the Summit Trail, then back down to the Meadow Edge Loop Trail before descending back down the East Ridge Trail.
Being among the quiet mature forests were great. The Meadow Edge Loop goes through a fairly rare (for this area) stand of mature Noble Fir. The East Ridge Trail does, too.
The view from the top was too hazy to see the Pacific Ocean. At times I've seen car headlights crossing the Yaquina Bay Bridge - with binoculars. On a very rare day, a person can see that AND some of the Cascade volcanoes. There was even some fall color!
I chatted with some ravens on the Meadow Edge Loop. I love doing that.
On my way back down, there was a cute little Douglas squirrel chowing down on a fir cone. He had some things to say to me too. Happy little critter...
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I think the OP was soliciting nice views. Here's one from a recennt bike ride:
I like the pattern of this (it's a fish ladder, in case that's not obvious):
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Lovely scenes are nice, and I soak them in, on bike rides and rows. (I rarely post photos of rows, because I don't take my phone/camera in the boat, usually). Personally, I also enjoy quirky, unexpected things that pop up during outdoor exercise. Here's one, close up & larger context, from a recent bike ride. I don't know what was in the bowl - either bowl. I didn't look. The lichens on the bridge posts are nice, too, IMO.
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Exercise? Well, this is sort of cheating. There was exercise, but it wasn't my body. I'm still recovering and prohibited from heavy exertion, so no real exercise other than walking for a while.
But I did exercise my truck. I hadn't driven it in two months or so. Last time I put the battery charger on it, there was a lot of moisture under the hood and even some stuff growing on the liner under the hood. No bueno. So I determined I should get it out for a good long drive, get it fully up to operating temperature for an extended time to drive off any moisture. Ideally even get on some gravel so I could engage 4WD for a few miles to get that system warm and get lubrication on all the components. I sat in the driver seat and operated the clutch. I didn't feel pain and figured I could drive the truck on the highway but didn't want to do much in-town driving. Today was the day to do it; I took my car to the mechanic for maintenance yesterday and walked home. I actually extended the walk because it's only about 0.75 miles home from his shop. The truck is usually blocked into the driveway by the car. I just bought the car a few months ago from a friend who moved overseas. I really didn't NEED a car, but it was nice to have when I couldn't operate the clutch on the truck, it gets much better fuel economy as long as I'm doing a longer drive, and it's actually really nice to drive. And I can carry three passengers instead of one. I digress. As usual....
My initial plan was to drive to one of two little cities about 25 miles north of here for lunch. I even had a taco shop picked out in each town and a pizza shop in each town. I've been to one of each. But I have plenty of food at home, and I made a change in plans this morning. I ate lunch at home and then went south and made a loop through the wildlife refuge. There's both gravel and dirt roads for several miles, so the 4WD got its workout. I did not see any of the elk herd, but I saw lots and lots of birds. The usual suspects; marsh harriers, bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, kestrels, egrets, herons, shovelers, pintails, coots, mallards, teal, buffleheads, robins, scrub jays.... and the like. And thousands upon thousands of Canada geese.
Then I saw the Trumpeter Swans. They were close enough that I could easily tell through the binoculars they were Trumpeters not Whoopers or Tundra Swans. Very nice.
Then I drove out of the refuge and down some country back roads to another small city and back home on the other side of the river. It was probably about 65 miles. I really don't like driving just for driving's sake, but this was EXERCISE. The truck runs great. I am keeping it. I will use it when I need a truck, like towing my raft trailer. Probably some other times, and I'll go walk to the mechanic to get the car back in a few minutes.
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I did a walk through the park today. There's a large park that's less than a third of a mile from my house. The boat ramp in the park is more like a half mile, but I enter the park sooner than that. There's a lot of trails. I did a little figure-eight today that was 4.0 miles. I crossed my own tracks a couple times, but other than the walk to and from the park, I never really walked the same place twice. I love this 300 acre park. It has sports fields, a riparian forest along the river, and a young forest that was planted 20 years ago as a restoration project when the City acquired the land that was previously a farm. It's been nice to watch the native trees grow.
Farther south from there is a disc golf course, a couple more fields, and a shelter people can rent for picnics plus a playground. There's a paved path that goes through that whole park, then after it leaves the park it continues through some open space that is a wetland to mitigate for a newer neighborhood and it goes out to the current City Limit. The other day I walked all the way to the City Limit and back. I added some extra neighborhood loops to make it a full 10K walk - 6.2 miles. This was shorter, and I mostly stayed in the park
On my way back, I noticed a tree I've probably walked by hundreds of times. It's in the disc golf course, and I play there. But I actually NOTICED the tree today. Something about it spoke to me, so I "brought it home to share."
Something about the butt swell near the base and the stately branches with the unusually azure sky in the background.
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Yup, that's a lovely picture!! Thanks for sharing that!!0
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A bit of a disappointment for my walk today.
I had some errands to do, so I went by a local park that has a boardwalk through a wetland. It's a "mitigation wetland," but it's still a wetland on a natural creek. There is a boardwalk. There were native plants and some birds; a few waterbirds. But it was such a short walk, I had to do two laps PLUS another loop through a neighborhood just to get 1.5 miles.
I won't plan on going back, but I'm glad I went. I've been meaning to go. There's another boardwalk through a much larger wetland far on the other side of town that I visit every year or so. I may go there soon. It was really just for a change of pace from my local park walk, so that's good. No hills of course; it's a wetland.
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Still looks like a decent walk. Better than what I'm getting of late.1
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I walked downtown to get mail today. It's a habit. I took a loop around a small natural area near a river confluence after I crossed over one of those rivers on a multi-use path.
I heard a screech, and looked up to see a Bald Eagle. Not really that unusual, but it was soaring on a clear day. Then it alit on a branch on a tree across the bigger river with another adult.
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Majestic, aren't they?
When I lived in Prince Rupert, the local shops used to sell a postcard picture of a tree loaded with bald eagles... like 20 of them all over one tree. Tourists often asked where the "eagle tree" was so they could see it for themselves. We always said it was not available to the public... which was true but not to protect the eagles or the tree... it was because the tree was in the non-public area of the landfill site...1 -
They are year-round residents; at least many of them.
When I heard the screech and looked up, I thought to myself, "It's too soon for the Osprey to be back." Well, it was. And they weren't.
There's a river on the other side of the Cascades that a friend would always go paddle in October to see dozens and dozens of Bald Eagles while they were migrating. It's a pain to run that river; the shuttle is 90 minutes.1 -
Reminds me of an old TV drama called Northen Exposure. The intro had a beautiful video clip of a bald eagle soaring above a pristine wilderness but the audio they used was of a red tailed hawk.2
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I went out to the coast today to hike. It was about 90 minutes of driving to hike 7.77 miles.
I hiked up Gwynn Creek and then up to Cook's Ridge. That was about three miles or so with about 1200 feet of elevation gain from the ocean. The hike down was steeper, and then I walked out to the ocean to see waves breaking on the rocks and then the mile back to my car.
The hike up Gwynn Creek goes through old growth and older second-growth Sitka Spruce and Douglas-fir. There was one log laying down that someone had marked annual rings on for about 400 years old.
I was sure I had hiked this trail in the past, but now I'm not so sure. Next time I go to that area, I will hike up Cummins Creek, then around the top of Cook's Ridge, and back down Gwynn Creek.
It was a nice day. I was able to take my coat off for the uphill portion. I had to put it back on to come back down. I stopped under a large tree to eat an orange and some cheese, then headed up the ridge. The weather was cool, and the sun really wasn't out, but it wasn't raining. Even the vegetation was dry, so that was nice. I saw one woman right near the start of the hike. She wasn't dressed for hiking, and she was carrying a water bottle in a sling and that was it. Funny - I had water with me as an emergency measure, but I only had a little sip when I stopped to eat. I did have water when I got back to the car. It amazes me how accustomed people are to always having water. I saw one couple near the top of the ridge, and two people up-hiking as I was near the end of the trail. Weekday in the winter and cool out - I almost had the place to myself. I loved that.
I haven't been spending a lot of time in the forest since fall other than near my house. I usually notice how quiet it is. I thought about this today. On the way up, I could hear the creek the whole time. As soon as I was on the ridge, even though I was three miles from the ocean, I could hear it. So not quite so silent. I'm not complaining! I also noticed the other people long before I saw them because they were chatting. I also thought how nice it was to be alone rather than with someone else where I might have tried to fill the space with conversation.
We've got nice weather in the forecast again tomorrow, but rain is coming back soon, and late next week getting quite cold again. I wonder if I'll go hike tomorrow somewhere closer!
On my way home, I had a bit of an adventure. I wanted to explore a different way home. I always had, but never did it. Well, I did. I thought it was all paved. Nope. About 15 miles or so were gravel. Very windy. And it was higher elevation than I thought, so I got into snow. Not much, but I was still a little nervous. I haven't had the "new" 2011 RAV4 in the snow before. It did fine just like I figured it would. I was worried I might get stopped and have to turn around, and then I wasn't sure I'd have enough fuel because of how far I'd already gone. I'm still getting used to the fuel gauge as well as how much fuel economy I get. I got home with a quarter tank left and filled back up for the next adventure.
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Great pictures. That stump... more than 300 years old... remarkable!!0
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I am sure there are trees up there WELL older than 500. There's a Giant Spruce that has a trail named after it nearby, and it's been listed as a Heritage Tree that for sure is over 500. It is more than 185 feet tall with a circumference of 40 feet. You can sort of read on the picture that log was from a tree that was about 400 years old.
The large spruce in the first picture? There were others I saw yesterday much larger. I like big trees; I will not lie.2 -
When I lived on Vancouver Island, we walked through Cathedral Grove... It's nearly otherworldly...I am sure there are trees up there WELL older than 500. There's a Giant Spruce that has a trail named after it nearby, and it's been listed as a Heritage Tree that for sure is over 500. It is more than 185 feet tall with a circumference of 40 feet. You can sort of read on the picture that log was from a tree that was about 400 years old.
The large spruce in the first picture? There were others I saw yesterday much larger. I like big trees; I will not lie.
cathedralgrove.eu/text/01-Cathedral-Grove-1.htm0 -
My GPS wrist-device came in very handy today on my hike. It was about ten miles. It would have been shorter, but I found some additional loops I could take over on the back side.
Today's hike was much more local than yesterday's. Only a five mile drive to the trailhead, then a ten-mile hike up one creek, over a ridge, and down into another watershed. My plan was to hike about four miles up the one creek. There is another hike about seven miles; I figured I'd save that hike for another time. I had been planning to explore both of these trails for quite some time, especially since a local land trust obtained a key property and built a connecting trail.
Well, as it turns out, the trail up the one creek now continues all the way over. The other trail used to go along gravel roads. The new trail goes through many different habitats and trail types from narrow mud to wide gravel road. At the top, I checked my GPS device and saw there was a loop I could do named after a local leader in conservation. Then I decided to add one more little loop that included a STEEP muddy descent down a single track and a huff back up to that first loop. All nice.
From the top and a few other places, I could see several of the Cascade volcanoes as well as the highest peaks in the Oregon Coast Range at the same time. I got back close to my car and had to hoof it a quarter mile up another trail and then back so I could log exactly 10.01 miles. I like palindromes.
Ann inscription on a bench at the top:
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Sit... Let your spirit dance in wonder and rest in beauty...
This land dedicated to all beings by Jim and Jo Moorefield, Christopher, Liana and Lachlan.
Worth highlighting...1 -
Sit... Let your spirit dance in wonder and rest in beauty...
This land dedicated to all beings by Jim and Jo Moorefield, Christopher, Liana and Lachlan.
Worth highlighting...
That's why I captured a picture because it's a very nice thought. There was a nice view from that bench, too.
For 20 years, Jim was the director of a non-profit community development organization in my city that actually serves a multi-county area that served low-income families and seniors, people with disabilities and people experiencing homelessness. He was a City Councilor at one time. He spent over 40 years on community issues and is one of my neighbors.2 -
(snip)
I stopped under a large tree to eat an orange and some cheese, then headed up the ridge. The weather was cool, and the sun really wasn't out, but it wasn't raining. Even the vegetation was dry, so that was nice. I saw one woman right near the start of the hike. She wasn't dressed for hiking, and she was carrying a water bottle in a sling and that was it. Funny - I had water with me as an emergency measure, but I only had a little sip when I stopped to eat. I did have water when I got back to the car. It amazes me how accustomed people are to always having water.
(snip good stuff and amazing photos)
I wish we had that kind of sweeping scenery here, but locally the Good Stuff is more micro, nice habitats, cathedral hardwoods, earthy swamps.
I have to say, I'm one of those water people. In the hotter stage of summer here, I've found I do best carrying a small water bottle, even on a short walk like 5 miles. I sweat heavily, in a most dramatically unfeminine way, even in relatively cool weather with pretty mild exertion. Add some heat or more intensity, and subjective experience is seriously sub-ideal. It doesn't take much more than that, IME, for my objective performance or recovery to suffer.
Some of my friends are less water sensitive than I am. I'm not very food sensitive, but some of my friends are much more food-sensitive than I am. (One has even fainted from what I'd consider quite mild under-eating.) I feel like individuals' experience can be quite variable, in some of these end-cases.0 -
I wasn't planning on doing a bunch of walking today; I figured maybe just did a little.
I walked into town to get my mail and a bagel. I got two bagels. One was a rye bagel with smoked salmon spread I sat down and enjoyed completely. The other was a cinnamon-raisin to go. I walked home and made "candy coffee." Started as decaf, and after I preheated the mug I added a spoon of Dutch process cocoa powder, a half teaspoon of brown sugar, and a teaspoon of good vanilla. I put some salt and some cinnamon in the grounds, and poured boiling water over. It was so good with the bagel. I had to keep stirring to keep all the cocoa powder from settling to the bottom. That walk was Pi miles (3.14)
I did go out to the boardwalk on the wetland in the NE corner of town. I brought my friend. It's only about 0.9 miles all the way around. So short. And there was surprisingly little wildlife. I heard a couple blackbirds but never saw one. We saw one egret and some mallards. I saw a wren and some sparrows. So I suggested we go do another short walk across the other side of town. It was supposed to be a one-mile loop, but we found a bunch of other trails and explored a few neighborhoods in the hills behind the park; that walk turned into 2.22 miles. That means I totaled about 10K - 6.2 miles and change. I guess that's not really a short day, but oh well. Then I walked back to my friend's house so she could give me produce she got from her CSA and buy me a few baked goods from the bakers who live at her community and bring "leftover" items from the shop to sell out of their home for a small discount. I got a nice whole-wheat sourdough baguette, a cranberry hazelnut & Swiss roll, and a chocolate scone. I have the scone left for tomorrow....
We saw this little guy on the longer walk through the park on the NW side of town (it's a Douglas squirrel):
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