Posts Tagged → random

Smiling in The Freezing Rain

I’m having a good week of lumbering, with over 19 miles in so far. It’s also been a busy week, so I’m going to TRY to keep this short.

Tuesday’s hike was a 6.35-mile loop. I didn’t see too much critter activity, save for a few deer hiding in the woods, and a red-winged blackbird hanging out amongst the reeds and willows.

Later in the day, I watched Spurs embarrass themselves and their supporters, losing 5-2 in the first leg against Athético de Madrid in the Champions League. I hate them.

WEDNESDAY

“I probably didn’t miss much. I think 35˚ with pouring rain might be one of the worst conditions to do anything in.” — Me, 2.19.26

Come Wednesday, I was eager to get back in the woods, but also apprehensive due to waking up to freezing rain with heavier rain on the way. Fuck it, I’m going.

And I’m so glad I did!

The roads were fine getting to the trail, and the rain had slowed to a slight mist when I took off down the muddy path to the trails.

It was just before legit sunrise, and combined with the clouds and the ice on the trees, made for some seriously gloomy conditions. But the trails were free of ice and snow, and I had a spring in my step as I lumbered silently over wet leaves and mud.

Around mile 3, the misting rain picked up to a steady cold drizzle. Wearing a knit bobble cap was probably not the wisest thing I ever did, but for the most part, I was staying warm and dry. I even utilize the rain cape that came with my Cotton Carrier Skout G2 Sling to protect my camera, and it worked like a champ!

With three miles in and the rain picking up, I thought about heading back to the car. But then I once again said, fuck it, and continued on.

Soon, I was nearing a section of trail with exposed dead trees along the river where I have seen birds of prey many times. I had my camera ready as I crept around the corner, looking up at the trees opposite the river. Then, BOOM! There it was! A large bald eagle was perched on a branch with the freezing rain falling, and hadn’t heard me (thank you, muddy trails!).

I fired off a few series of shots before it finally heard or saw me and flew off. I couldn’t believe my luck! I’ve got a few eagle shots over the years, but these are by far my best images. The light was, of course, horrible due to the rain, but I am still geeked up.

Along the way, I got a few more shots and it felt good to be back doing regular loops. Of course, there are two different storms heading our way over the next few days that could dump up to 10 inches of snow, or an inch with a bunch of rain. Really hoping for rain!

“I’m so glad I went, I would have missed that shot! I think 32˚ with freezing rain pouring down might be the best conditions to do anything in.” — Me, 3.10.16

I was so stoked that I decided to keep hiking rather than head back to the car. I was pretty cold and wet by the end, but had a smile on my face and 6.45 miles in my feetz as I drove home. I even found myself saying out loud, “I’m so glad I went, I would have missed that shot! I think 32˚ with freezing rain pouring down might be the best conditions to do anything in.”

Later.

Hidden Deer and Hermit Birds

The weekend into Monday, Ma Nature teased mid-Michigan with thoughts of Spring, but as I’ve said many times since moving here in 2010, you can’t really rely on Spring to bring consistently warm days until early May—maybe.

So, I was not surprised to venture into the woods wearing gloves and carrying around the regret of not wearing my “winter” jacket (actually a Bontrager cycling jacket with easy-to-access rear pockets, but don’t tell anyone) instead of the lightweight rain jacket (also a Bontrager cycling jacket disguised as a hiking jacket. Shhh!). At least my hands were warm as random snowflakes flitted around in the air.

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Back in The Woods

After a few days out of the woods and in the Not So Stankment on the treadmill, it was awesome to return to lumbering outside on Thursday morning and doing 5.28 miles as the flakes fell. And the temps were 20 degrees warmer, which felt like a heatwave compared to -2˚ earlier in the week.

The lumpy snow and ice continue to make for slow speeds as well as doing a number on my ankles, knees, and hips, but compared to past winters where I was dealing with such things as raging plantar fasciitis in both feet and a painful corn that wouldn’t heal on a pinky toe, things aren’t too bad.

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Attempting Normalcy

While we were away in Pennsylvania, the central Michigan area picked up another few inches of wet snow on top of what we already had on the ground, and that made for some tricky hiking conditions on Christmas morning.

Wifey would be joining me for the early morning lumber, and we debated whether to take the snowshoes with us or not. We settled on sharing my trekking poles and using hikers, and that proved to be just fine, with only minor slipping here and there.

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