"Will they attack us?"

Sunday, May 6, 2012


Holly got me to start the day early with a walk in the Metroparks.  We were there before 8 a.m. in the chilly, morning air and mostly alone as we hiked my favorite walking trails.  I stopped her at one point so we could both enjoy what I like most about hikes in the early morning or setting sun…the rays filtering through the trees creating the long shadows that make it such a mystical place.  At another point on the hike, I stopped her and with some difficulty, got her to quit chattering.

“Hear that?” I said, standing motionless and pointing off to my left.

She heard the howling in the distance and said, “yeah…what is it?”

“A pack of coyotes,” I answered, though I suspect it was more likely a mother and her cubs.

“Could they attack us...and why are you retying your shoes?"  she asked with concern in her voice.

"Well...if they come for us...I want to be able to outrun you.  They tend to eat the weaker of the species," I said.

I crack myself up.  But why wouldn’t she think this?  They sound so eerie when they howl.  I’ve laid awake nights in the Adirondacks and heard their primeval call and wondered about them stumbling into my camp and thinking of me as a giant snack.  What human wouldn’t?  They don’t though.  Like almost all animals, they keep their distance from the species that exterminated them from so many parts of the planet.  I’ve seen them a number of times in the Metropark and am thrilled that they have made such a resurgence and that there is more of a ‘wild’ nature to the park.  It adds to the anticipation of every hike…what am I going to see…or hear…today.  The answer though is ‘no’ they won’t be attacking us.
We managed another 65 minutes in the woods and the perfect start to a day.  I always seem to get more accomplished when I’ve started a day early and doing a workout.  I spent hours in the yard doing things I’d been putting off for weeks, and still had time to get on the bike and take the long route back to Dan’s to pick up the van.

I did cave in to Holly at dinner, though.  She’d announced we would be having a cookout for dinner and asked me to pick up hot dogs, chips, and ice cream for milkshakes.  I made the reasonable jump, concluding this would be what we would be eating…and that it was loaded with fat.  I grabbed a slab of salmon while shopping and figured I’d grill that and eat a salad while the rest of them were gorging themselves on the delicious fat.  I was in the back digging out weeds when I heard Holly bellowing from the kitchen window.

“Did you get the salmon in the refrigerator thinking you’d be eating it for dinner tonight?”
Busted.  She explained that it would only make her parents feel bad if I had salmon while they were eating hot dogs.  I figured they’d get over it soon enough…but didn’t say that.  I went ahead with her plan and ate the dogs, beans, and drank the shake.  I felt bloated and fat, but after waiting about 30 minutes, headed out on the bike for that 2-hour ride I mentioned earlier.  Sometimes you just have to put certain aspects of your plan on hold to maintain peace in the teepee.

Hike duration:  85 minutes.  Bike duration: Two hours.
Training Heart Rate:  75 hiking and 120 for the bike.
Calories burned during workout:  425 for the hiking and 1650 for the bike.