I took the weekend off from lumbering just ’cause I wanted to, but I wish I hadn’t.
The weather was dark, glum, and morose all weekend, the football sucked, and unsurprisingly Spurs blew another lead to draw 2-2 with Wolves. I hate them. My time would have been much better spent walking in the woods with my camera, but the ache of “new muscles” used whilst hiking three days on mushy snow and a tired mind from a week of grief, travel, and holiday “merriment” had me thinking differently.
The good part of the weekend was that 50˚ and an all-day rain melted any shred of snow, and the trails were completely bare come Monday morning.
I pulled into the lot Monday morning at 7:45 and was the only car in the lot. However, the two spent condoms I stepped over in the lot on my way to the trails told me that someone had a good Sunday night, even if it was dreary and rainy. I’m not judging them for parking lot fornication (good for you, buddy), but I am judging them for littering.
The trails were soaked, and the wet leaves made for nearly silent footsteps as I plodded along, feeling much quicker without inches of wet snow beneath me. Oddly, despite the trails being wet, there was no part of the trail I would have felt bad mountain biking on. The ability Michigan soil has at draining in these parts is insane!
Roughly three miles in, I ran into the Guy My Imagination Accused of Living in The Park and his dog. We exchanged dog-related small talk as we passed, and as he moved on, he said, “Have a happy New Year, and be safe if you go out.”
This exchange brought a huge smile to my face, given that I have NO idea what his name is, and just a few months ago, I would take alternate trails if I saw him due to my aforementioned wild imagination. Oddly, I do know and remember his dog’s name because her name is Lola. She’s a friendly, rambunctious Pit Bull-ish dog who walks miles every day. My Lola is an English Bulldog and does NOT walk miles every day but eats like she does.
I didn’t have much luck with the camera today, but I did get an OK-ish shot of Blue Jay in a tree as I walked by. I also had a cool encounter with a pileated woodpecker at around mile 4.
As I crested a hill, the unseen woodpecker let out a loud call from a tree right above me and quickly flew off to another nearby tree. It was so close I could hear the wind from its wings when it took off. I got a crap shot of it in the dark woods, but I like the memory better than the noisy photo.
I made it back to Escape II (Electric Boogaloo) with 5.25 miles in my feet, happy to get back to a somewhat normal week.
Just one more day remains in The 2024 Lumber Through Hell Tour, and then it’s on to my yet-to-be-named 2025 tour.
Later.