The trails are getting there, but not yet, and this week was a combination of stumbling around in the woods trying to stay upright while hiking through slippery melting snow, pounding out laps on the park’s dirt service road, a combination of both, or recovering/being bitter with frosty adult beverages while watching football—until Friday.
RANDOM SOILED LUMBERING VOCAB REMINDER CHART:
Walking from point A to point B: Walking
Walking in the woods/mountains: Hiking
Walking in the woods at pace: Lumbering
Running in the woods: Tripping and Falling
Walking at pace on gravel roads: Gravel Tramping®
Lumbering on the Treadmill: A Cry for Help
I didn’t think there would be a need for a Gravel Tramp® until later in the winter, but I also didn’t foresee us getting over a foot of snow in mid-January, followed by warming temps to make everything a slippery mess looking to roll ankles and worsen pinky toe corns while holding back the urge to dive into the nearby frigid cow shit loaded river and float on to wherever people float on to after doing so.
So yes, Friday was the day that I said fuck the woods and headed out for lumber on some of the gravel and dirt roads I often rode my bike on.
I live just over a mile from where the pavement meets dirt (gravel to many folks), but to be honest, it’s pretty flat at first, and on foot, it takes too many miles to get to the more “remote” areas where there are fewer homes with Don’t Tread on Me flags flying outside and more “Gahd, I hope no one actually lives there!” types of homes. I will take being potentially murdered by meth-making squatters on a remote gravel road over witnessing fake American “patriot” bravado and jingoism any day.1
With that said, I drove out to one of my favorite natural areas to start; I figured if the trails looked good for lumbering, I would hike a few miles there, and if not, I know the roads well from many years and miles of chamois soiling and would bust out a Gravel Tramp®. I guess you can tell what happened.
I did an oddly shaped 5.25 mile out and back lumber, and as with 2023’s first-ever Gravel Tramp®, I had great lumber, and my memory was poked into remembering how much I love(d) riding gravel roads; the lack of traffic (I saw one car over 5+ miles), the tranquility, the photo ops, it all came back to me, only I’m on foot, and soaking in even more. It was just what I needed.
SOILED IMAGE GALLERY
I saw some deer, some of my fave “bandos” (abandoned homes, barns, etc.), birds, barns, Amish buggy tracks, and a random pair of rubber gloves that were NOT at one intersection when I first passed. And as a bonus, my car didn’t get stuck in the deep, soft slush of the small parking area. It was all good, and my mind is planning out a lengthier tramp in the near future, as well as maybe putting my cheeks in the saddle of my gravel bike (Mr. Burgundy) for the first time in well over 2 years.
After the hike/walk/lumber/tramp thing, I got home to get shit done and have some White Trash Italian Meaty Rigatoni; not bad.
The coming days look great for getting out, and I’m excited to get back into the routine of near-daily lumbers and 30-mile weeks again.
Later.