Content Moved
I have merged my Hiking Journal with my main blog – Stopping the Wind.
Thank you everyone for your kind comments – I am looking forward to even more hikes and photos.
Hike 6 – Missed the Photo Challenge
Trail Difficulty – Easy
Trail Type – Paved
Path Distance – 2.75
Miles Elevation Gain – 0
I never knew what the witch-hazel tree looked like until today.
We were already walking when I realized I missed the Weekly Photo Challenge; Distorted; after I got home I realized that none of the photos matched the theme – so I am going commando.
My foot was still pretty sore from last week so we took it easy. Unfortunately we have not found hiking boots in our small town so I will try to get them next week.
Right away we saw one of my favorite sights – a brand new pine cone.
This pine cone was still soft - a sure sign of Spring.
Since it was a short walk this week we went to the local arboretum; I was still surprised by all the color.
They look like tassels hanging to dry.
Every hike so far we have seen Blue Herons – last week there were six. This week we got a surprise.
A Hungry Blue Heron coming in for a landing.
I thought I had missed the shot until I got home. I just happened to be trained on him when he dipped and brought up a fish.
I almost dropped the camera when I realized I got him fishing.
The fish disappeared pretty fast and satisfied he looked very content.
He almost looks a little mean - but likely just telling us to be on our way.
We finally hit 20 miles – I am looking forward to new boots. The Progress page has a new chart.
With everything we have seen I can’t wait to get on dirt.
Hike 5 – Weekly Photo Challenge, Indulge
Trail Difficulty – Easy
Trail Type – Paved
Path Distance – 4.5 mi
Miles Elevation Gain – 0
With every thread a seed, these pods indulged in propagation
Armed with my third Weekly Photo Challenge – Indulge; we headed off camera in hand.
Homeless people live next to the river where we walk. We have seen them and their tents quite a few times. The gentleman below was very friendly and kind enough to let us take photos of his dog whom we felt was indulging in a free ride.
Indulging in a free ride
We loved how the sky in the water was darker than the sky above; it is getting harder and harder to par the photos down to six.
Indulging in twice the sky
We just planted a Corkscrew willow tree this year – I have never seen one without leaves before and never next to the river.
This corkscrew willow indulged in spirals
We saw more wildlife than any other hike; 6 Blue Herons, a shy Muskrat, a rabbit, and a squirrel that moved faster than my camera. What was most impressive was the evidence of beavers everywhere – especially at the base of this tree.
The tree in the center won't last long thanks to an indulgent beaver who has already taken most of the trunk.
I love how backlighting can make everything look magical – even tumbleweeds.
These tumbleweeds indulged in so much light they looked like clouds
This will be our last Sunday hike on the Urban Trail. We have covered the entire trail and have hiked almost twenty miles since we started. The Progress page has a new chart.
Next week we will be moving to our first real trail with real shoes – I can hardly wait!
The Inca Trail seems closer than ever.
Hike 4 – Weekly Photo Challenge, Down
Trail Difficulty – Easy
Trail Type – Paved
Path Distance – 4 mi
Miles Elevation Gain – 0
Down wind
Armed with my second Weekly Photo Challenge – Down; we headed off camera in hand. Lesson learned this week – Sketchers Shape-Ups are not really good shoes for hiking if you go off the trail.
Down was hard challenge for me, so I decided to use the word in ways that made sense to me – the fluff on these seed pods looked as soft as down.
Soft as down
Growing down
Just Pretty
Down river
Down in the Weeds
Hike 3 – Weekly Photo Challenge, Ready
Trail Difficulty – Easy
Trail Type – Paved
Path Distance – 3.7
Miles Elevation Gain – 0
Ready to burst into flame
I almost canceled the hike today due to being buried in work, but am so glad I didn’t. Armed with my first Weekly Photo Challenge – Ready; we headed off camera in hand. Right away we saw Cat Tails emerge from the remnants from last year.
- Ready to emerge
Ready for Thaw
In the naked branches the vacancies were visible as nests put out For Rent signs.
Ready for a tenant
When I saw this copse of trees they reminded me of sentinels waiting for Spring when they would be the carriers of leaves.
- Ready for Life
The colors were amazing once I started to look – I had always thought Winter was grey and bare. When I saw the cluster of trees off the trail it looked like a pink fairy bower.
- Ready for a Fairy
We added a little to our distance and had a wonderful time – I am glad I didn’t miss it.
Hike 2 – Looking closer
Trail Difficulty – Easy
Trail Type – Paved Path
Distance – 3.3 Miles
Elevation Gain – 0
- It wasn’t until we got home that we saw the three ducks lurking in the background
We knew we wanted to go further than last week, but we didn’t expect to add almost a whole mile. Initially I was disappointed as we spent most of the walk fairly close to the highway that runs next to the path, the seed pods below were my first clue to look closer.
- The seeds of the new year were still clinging to home
Part of the path had a run-off ditch from the freeway. While at first all I saw was dead foliage, I began to see the beauty of the sleeping trees around me.
- The branches and dead leaves created a feathered canopy over the water
Now I started looking everywhere for the hidden beauty of winter; rosehips against snow provided me with an excellent example.
- Even in the grey of Winter, color shouted loudly around us
The lake is slowly beginning to thaw – we stared at the three stones resting on the surface of the frozen water wondering how they got there. No footprints in the snow meant someone had very good aim.
- Time was short for these stones which will soon be at the bottom
The path we are walking on has various stones in memorial to various benefactors. I wondered who placed the silk flowers there and why.
- I could not bear to wipe away the snow to see whose remembrance this was
I can’t wait to get out in the woods, but for now I am seeing parts of my hometown I have never seen before.
Hike 1 – In better shape than I thought
Trail Difficulty – Easy
Trail Type – Paved Path
Distance – 2.6 Miles
Elevation Gain – 0
I was worried the first hike would be boring with all the leaves gone, but there was a lot of beauty.
I was so excited to get away from the computer and start on my first hike. We are very lucky as we live close to a local trail that runs ten miles along a river. You can park at various locations on the trail and walk, bike, or run for however long pleases you.
You can't get much flatter than this for starting out.
My original plan was to keep it short – I didn’t want to overdo it. One of the nice features of the trail was 1/4 mile markers to track your progress. When we got there we discovered the snow had covered all the markers. We decided to try to make it to the next section so I could track my progress. After only walking for ten minutes we spotted a blue heron.
We saw this blue heron right when we started, great way to start the hike.
Halfway there we discovered a Christmas ornament hanging from one of the trees. There was nothing else around it – just a small symbol on a quiet trail.
We saw this ornament hanging on a tree - it must have a story.
The walked seemed a little a little long, but there was so much to look at that I ignored the ache in my legs. Once home I tracked out trail in Google Earth and was surprised to see that we had covered 1.3 miles each way.
This was more a walk on a path than a true hike, but I am still fired up to do it again next week.
