Pictures from outdoor exercise.
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I was out filling my yard debris cart; that didn't take really long. So I decided to start another project.
The previous owner of my house had installed flagstones along the front window area. I have owned the house for 17.5 years, and the previous owner had rented it out many years before she sold it. She had moved to the Southwest for grad school and then back east for romance. I've known her a long time - she is a fellow river rat.
Anyway, the flagstones had slowly gone subterranean. In 30 years, soil had developed on top of them, and maybe they had settled. In the past, I had dug out some of the soil and pressure washed them. Today I dug them all up. I found sand and landscape fabric underneath, so they did the job right. I probably should add some more sand, but I'm lazy. I got the flagstones arranged ~fairly level~ but not professional type level. I am going to let them settle naturally and see how they turn out. I may end up getting some sand, but for now I have a stone path again.
Yes, that means that after my morning coffee, I neglected to eat breakfast. Bacon and eggs coming up! The eggs came from my neighbor's chickens. Nice, strong shells and tasty fresh eggs. The bacon was cooked in the oven at 375 for 20 minutes, then another eight minutes at 350. Came out perfect. I have another four strips that may or may not last until tomorrow.... And I have a few more ounces of grease in my new jar. I was almost out, otherwise I wouldn't have even bought bacon the other day. Nothing like smearing bacon grease on a big russet potato before baking it for an hour. Mmmmm....
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A smiling breakfast!0
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I think there's lots of people who smile when they see bacon
On Friday afternoon, and again this afternoon, I knelt in my canoe for three hours and bothered the bass. Too much fun! I didn't take a camera or even a phone, so these pictures are just the small area I paddled back and forth on. I come back to the same boat ramp. Too much fun catching four and five pound bass on light tackle. On Friday it got to be almost no fun because they were biting so much. I took a beer with me each day but never even bothered to open it.
Friday I went by myself. There was lots of river traffic since it was gorgeous and warm. Almost more people than I see in the grocery. I stayed in a SMALL area.
Today a friend came down after about a half hour and fished from a paddle board. Wow. He had fun, and then went around the back side of the island for exercise. I fished a bit longer and tried to climb up, but no dice. I was in a whitewater canoe, so it spins a lot. Every forward stroke requires a correction stroke, and that saps forward progress. I had to go over to a shallow area to avoid strainers, and I couldn't get all of my paddle in so progress was REALLY slow. Eventually I got spun and decided it wasn't worth it. I could have hopped out and dragged maybe 15 yards over the shallow spot, but now I have dry wetsuit booties so I can go back tomorrow if I want with dry feet.
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I hope no-one hassled you re: Kung-Flu self isolating...1
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There's a nice park right there on the west side of the river that's almost 300 acres. Friends in my neighborhood aren't fond of running the bark paths there anymore because there's too many people huffing and puffing. This is because so few trails are open. It has come to their attention that being on the river can help make more distance.
There's also been a lot of folks out on the water. Most of them seem to be paddling safely, and not just with respect to physical distancing. Everyone's wearing PFDs. Doesn't seem to be drunkenness. Just people out moving.
As I got to the ramp, there was a guy wearing a bandana that was taking a canoe of a truck, and he said out loud, "This sure isn't as easy as it was when I was 70." I recognized his voice. Hadn't seen him in years! We had a nice chat from a safe distance and caught up a little. On the way back I ran into a retired hydrologist that lives in the neighborhood that I've been in touch with but not seen in a year or so. We had a nice chat, and he was curious about my boat.
See, we can still have community and get out safely while doing all we can to not be vectors of disease.
Fishing was great. I forgot how much fun CATCHING was. Actually, it got a little old on Friday. When it slowed down today, I really wanted to catch just ONE more. Oh well. There's always tomorrow......1 -
I had a fun afternoon yesterday.
I've been taking my canoe down to the river about a half mile from my house to ferry across and fish. It's been fun, but I wanted something different. We can't do shuttles right now because you would be in the same vehicle. I thought about driving about ten miles upstream (have to go a couple miles downstream first to get to a bridge to cross the river), paddle back down to the river a half mile from my house, then use a bicycle to go get my truck. There was one minor logistical issue if I took my canoe, but I could do it by carrying my dolly in the boat. I also know that there's an extremely low chance I'll get run over, and I don't want to put any more pressure on the medical response community, so I never did it.
But yesterday, I attached the wheels to my canoe and started walking upstream on this side of the river.
It's about two miles to another little access in a huge eddy right near where a side channel comes back into the main stem on the upstream end of town. So my first activity was a two mile "walk." Actually a drag... To the water.
A little gear change, take apart the cart, and lower the boat to the water. I hope in and start the second part - a paddle back to where I normally start and stop.
I did make one stop about halfway on a gravel bar to stretch my legs, shore fish a bit, and look for cool rocks.
Then I got to the take-out, hitched the boat back to my waist, and hoofed it home.
Fishing was slow. It got really windy; a front was coming through. I had gone out to target bass, specifically smallmouth. They are spawning, and the hens like to bite things. The wind blew me around so much and put the fish off the bite, but it was still a good day on the water. I did find one spot at the edge of an eddy where I could hold in place - I used my throw bag and a couple wraps around a rock. I could toss small spinners on the seam of the eddy, and I caught a few cutthroat. That was fun.
I might do this again, but it was a bit of a challenge to tow the canoe. I had to keep it close enough behind me to keep the ends from dragging that every now and then the boat would bite my ankle. Oops. But it IS doable.3 -
Sounds like a great workout, if nothing else.0
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I did hitch up my canoe today, but I did something different. I drove it somewhere first.
I put all my stuff in my truck, and I put the canoe on top. Oh my, that cart strapped to it SURE makes it heavier and more awkward, but I did leave it on since I was going to use it before putting in.
I drove through town and parked at the second to last paved parking space near the river. I took the boat down and put my stuff in the boat. When the load was balanced, I tied the bow line around my waist and started walking. I walked across the river and up to an old quarry pond near the bypass.
I hopped in the canoe and fished around the quarry a little while, then paddled into the East Channel. I worked my way down to the river, and none of the fish even bothered me. All this is part of where I usually paddle from home across the river. The difference was that once I got to the river, I went downstream just under two miles, and that's where I left my truck.
I observed some groups that I judged not to be observing our physical distancing guidelines. I tried to give them wide berth. I loaded up my boat, came home, mowed the lawn, took a shower, fed the cat, made a martini, and walked over to my neighbors to enjoy it in their front yard 12 feet apart.
I'm not sure I'll do it again. Driving down there to do this river section. Instead of the neighborhood, I have to walk on a highway. Most of the extra portion of river is not so scenic for a number of reasons. If I really want to paddle farther, there's a place I can take out that's maybe less than a mile from home. I might piece that together with the two mile upstream hike and end up with a decent river float and three or so miles of dragging a boat around.2 -
Sounds like a great day!! Well done!!
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I posted this in another group. If you're a member of both, please excuse the repeat.
I took a friend out paddling. He's also my fishing buddy. He's been wanting to try out one or both of my whitewater canoes, so off we went. I fished a little bit while he paddled around, then we tried to go all the away around the island.
The water is up a bit, so the place I couldn't get around last time was passable. I would make a move, find an eddy, duck in, and keep an eye on him over my shoulder. All was good. Then I made a move he couldn't quite make, but he doesn't have muscle memory yet. He keeps thinking about his other paddle craft (board and sit-on-top kayak). It took me two tries. I sat in the eddy and looked at it. I could see the ONE spot you had to hit to get to a little eddy behind a log (and just in front of another one). Well, I hit it on the second try, then turned on the power to get up to the next eddy. He got out and dragged the boat. Fine.
We looked at the next (last) obstacle. I didn't see how I could get past it. He tried. There was a deep spot that wasn't obvious from looking. I tried, but my initial idea of NO-GO was correct. So we dragged over maybe ten yards or so of river rock to get to the other side. As long as we were out, we stretched our legs. It looked like trout water, so I took the rubber worm off my line and put a 3/8 ounce Vibrax spinner on and made a few casts. Well... wild cutthroat. I wish I had taken my trout rod; it was too easy to drag it in with my bass rod. But I figured the bass rod & reel are cheaper and I'd feel less bad about losing them (I was in a boat I usually don't fish from, and I didn't know if I might need to give my entire attention to rescuing my pal). Next time! Made a few more casts, and got another one. Nice. I put the rod down and started bringing him to shore by hand - I want to take the hook out without even taking it out of the water. As it got to shore, tension on the line slacked, and he spit out the hook. Perfect!
Well, it started raining again, so we got back in the boats. The rain didn't last, and we practiced some eddy turns and surfing a tiny wave on the way back down. When we got back to the ramp, I asked if he wanted to try the other canoe, so we played around with that, too.
Thank goodness he wanted to go. It kept me from raiding the pantry and gaining another pound!
If I remembered to turn my device on before we left the ramp, we would have appeared to start and stop in the same place. No way to start where this map suggests:
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An annual event I go to was cancelled today. So I have 30 hours of approved leave I won't be using.
A trip I usually take in August seems to be cancelled. So I have 60 hours of approved eave I won't be using.
I will be taking a month off next year to float the Grand Canyon. But that is NEXT year.
As such, I'm trying to sneak in a river trip this spring. I have approved leave! But... I think it will be cancelled.
We are having the warmest spring weather of the year today. All this comes together to mean... take a few hours off at the end of the afternoon and take out the canoe.
It was too windy to fish. Or paddle. So what!
Cast a few times with a #4 brass-colored Bud's spinner, and this little gal came to my boat.
Switched out to a swimming plug for a while, then picked up my other rod with the rubber work (Texas rigged). This li'l girl came to see me.
The wind kept being a pain, so I went up the east channel for a while. I came back down and tried to climb the back side of the island. Not at this water level in the boat I was in. Oh well. So back around the bottom, climb up, and ferry back to the ramp. I was shocked I was out 2.5 hours. It was just going to be a short paddle.
Saw lots of college kids on tubes that were not observing the Governor's request for physical distancing. Also saw people behaving responsibly. Then... small bioregion because of this: A couple weeks ago I saw this guy rowing a wherry. I asked him if he built it himself. He was impressed I knew what a wherry was. Well, as I took out a guy was backing a wherry in. I asked if I had seen him a couple weeks ago, and he said yeah. Then I noticed the woman he was with. We used to play Ultimate on a team together a decade ago. I see her around from time to time and I knew she had got married, but I didn't know her guy. It was so funny. She said he had come home that day all excited someone even knew what a wherry was. I bet he was even more surprised I used to be friends with his wife. That boat ramp is proving a magic place to reunite with people I haven't seen in years. I should go back. Maybe tomorrow....
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My friends offered me a ride nine miles upstream yesterday. I took a canoe and my gear over and got it loaded. About 15 minutes later, we went down to the park less than half a mile away and left take-out vehicles. I put on a mask, sanitized my hands, and got in the back seat of their vehicle. This is the closest I've been to another human in six or eight weeks. Short drive with windows open, then we got to the put-in. There sure were quite a few other people there.
I thought it was humorous they wore masks while rigging. So I took a picture. I felt very little risk from the shuttle. I know that we all have been very good with our physical distancing for weeks and weeks. We live a block away from each other. In the unlikely event any of us are shedding virus, I can hope our masks kept them contained.
We spent three hours working our way back home. We stopped to stretch legs and have a snack. One of my friends caught a rare picture of me sitting on top of my pedestal. I usually don't get up from a kneel. It's an old Perception saddle if you know what that is. There is a "seat pan" on top, but it really puts your center of gravity in a bad place. I guess as long as you keep your head between the gunwales, it's all good.
It was the busiest I've seen it on the river. Lots of folks floating on all manner of craft. Lots of people recreating on the banks along the mile or so long path along the river at the edge of our largest park (just under 300 acres or about 150 hectares).
Then I came home and cooked a smallish globe artichoke. I wanted to taste that variety. Even though it was smaller than I normally harvest, there are so many I need to get busy eating 'em. Also ran by the fish monger to get a couple rockfish fillets and cooked one of those.
Not a bad day.2 -
Looks like a great day actually!!
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Yeah! It actually was. Thanks for reminding me. Even good days are a struggle sometimes. I know I mentioned to my pals how lucky we are to live so close to this river that runs through our front yard. It's not pristine, but it really is fantastic. I still need to get some more remote river travel to feed my soul, but this helps. A LOT. Several folks were out for a Saturday-Sunday overnight trip. Maybe I should do that next weekend.1
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I got in a hike today.
A HIKE!!!
IN THE ACTUAL FOREST!!!
Yes, the College of Forestry reopened their research forests on Friday. There was great weather all weekend, and.... weekend. But I went up today. I've been walking around the river trails near my house, but the forest has HILLS.
To be honest, I haven't visited this research forest in years. It's nine miles away to a trail/road junction, and there are several other access points about the same distance away.
It was good to get back in the woods. I used to be a forest scientist/hydrologist. There were lots of wildflowers blooming, many of which I recognized, and some I didn't. There were a few trillium left; just a few. There were larkspur, vetch/sweet pea, bleeding heart, lady slipper orchid, false solomon's seal, columbine, and lots more about to pop. There were a few Pacific dogwood in bloom.
Plenty of poison oak.
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Nice to have your woods trails back!!
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I did a nice hike today. I did the Iron Mountain loop. I had been to Iron Mountain before, but it was ans up-and-back. I thought after all these years the time was right. I waited for Monday, my last weekend day, for a less crowded trail. I parked at the trailhead and walked the gentle trail through Tombstone Prairie before heading up.
Wildflowers, yes. Next week will be good too. I passed a few people on their way down. I only passed one couple on the way up.
Decided to do the optional 0.7 mile up to the lookout because, well of course I would.
Once on top, there were a few people. I looked around for a while, hiked back down to the trail junction, and then back out to my rig. Nice day. About 7.25 miles and about 1960 feet of elevation.
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Gorgeous pictures! What a wonderful place to hike!! Thank you for sharing!!!1
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I realized I could get an image with topo lines. The aerial image made it look pretty flat.
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I did a nine mile hike that included most of the Marys Peak trails.
I started from Conner's Camp and took the East Ridge Trail to the Tie trail, staying lower elevation, about a mile to the North Ridge Trail. From there I went to the upper parking lot, went to the start of the top of the East Ridge Trail and headed down to where you can go back up to the back side of the lower-upper meadow. Then up and over to another 2 mile Meadow View Loop Trail, then up the Summit Loop trail. I stopped at the summit for a beer that had stayed surprisingly cool buried deep in my small pack in an insulating wrap. Nice.
On a clear day to the west, you can see a highway bridge on the coast. There was a marine layer. On a clear day to the east, you can see many volcanoes. Nope. Marys Peak is the highest peak on the Oregon Coast Range. It's not that huge - just a little over 4,000 feet. But since it's a little of an island in the sky, there's an unusual stand of Noble Fir that usually don't grow this far south. Many are old trees. It was nice to walk among them.
There were still some flowers. That was nice too.
I almost extended the hike a few more miles to hike down the North Ridge trail, but decided to just stick with my plan.
One more image from a different camera. It's a 180 degree panorama with west to the left of the image and east to the right.
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