I slept in a bit on Wednesday, waiting for daylight, hoping to get some actual miles in my feetz, and pics on my SD card after days away from the woods due to a multi-day ice storm.
I headed out around 8 AM and was disappointed to come to the park gate and see roadblocks with CLOSED signs up due to the number of downed trees and the service roads being solid ice. “Well, I’ll be gahdamn!” I mumbled as I turned around in the entrance way, followed by, “I CANNOT BE STOPPED!!
No, I did’t go around the gates and help myself to the park after being asked not to, I’m not that big of a dick. I had Plan B already in my noggin.
I remembered seeing an IG post by the director of the local nature preserves, canceling New Year’s events but telling people the preserves are open, but to be careful, and micro-spikes would be a must.
With that, I headed a bit further west to the Sylvan Solace Preserve. There is not a ton of trail there, but a couple of figure-eights could get me a few miles.
I was surprised to see one other car in the lot when I arrived in the icy parking, but happy to see that I am not the only nut out in the still icy woods looking for a mental rub and a tug.
The day was dark and grey for what seemed like the 10th day in a row, but I happily lumbered down the pockmarked, icy trail in search of critters and nature nubbins to photograph.
To be honest, I was seeing shit. Then, as I stood overlooking a huge tree that had fallen across nearly the entire width of the river, I looked up to see a beautiful bald eagle cruising downriver with purpose. A shot was impossible, but it was beautiful to see.
I was only able to get 3 miles in before tiring of repeated loops, and made my way back to Escape II in the lot.
Thankfully, just as I approached the car, I saw a few black-capped chickadees in a nearby tree. The first critters I saw in 3 miles (other than the eagle) and they were steps away from my car. I’ll take it!
I also took a shot of a hunting blind across the road. I’ve done so in the past, but I just love the way it sits out there in the field.
I was stoked to get out for some miles and pics on the last day of 2025, and I hope to kick off the new year the same way. It’s a must.
2025 started badly, still on the heels of my dad’s death in December, as well as Jake the Dog’s passing 14 hours later. Then continued to suck with the passing of my mother-in-law in March. Somehow, the year rallied with B’s graduation in May, and I eventually found myself feeling better mentally than I have in years, which has made life better for all the folks in my life and has me ending the year in a much better place. More on that in the near future.
My plan for 2026 is to keep on keepin’ on; do my best to tune out the noise of the world, spend more time in the woods, keep fit (OK, fat but fit, but still), and continue working on my photography.
I’m going to end this post with my final stats from The 2025 Ignorance Is Bliss Tour. I also threw in some oddball stuff, too, due to me being an oddball.
For the record, this is NOT to be taken seriously. I am NO athlete (that ship sailed long ago), just a chubby, beer-loving goof who loves to hike in the woods with his camera.
THE 2025 IGNORANCE IS BLISS TOUR FINAL STATS:
Woodsy Lumbers: 228
Distance: 1,260.31
Average Distance Per Lumber: 5.52-ish miles
Average Distance Spread Over The Year: 3.45-ish miles
Other Activities:
Bike rides: 1
Distance: 27.25 miles
Treadmill/Trainer: Don’t really log or care.
Social/Travel Activities:
Nights Out: 0
Restaurant Meals: 3
Trips taken not related to funerals or death-related duties: 0
I also watched the news 0 times, read World/US news 0 times, and have gone more than a year without hearing King Fuck Face’s voice. It’s BLISS, and I don’t regret it at all. Because, anytime I do see something, I’m like “yep, I told you so, now go fuck yourselves.” My life is 100% better, not stewing over things that I can do NOTHING about.
See you on the other side of 2025.
Later.