Sunday, March 06, 2011
“Wow…there’s a deer out there with big antlers,” I heard Ash call from the family room as I sat at the dinner table. I bolted from my chair and headed for the family room. I’d just been showing off my antlers to the family, but told them how there probably weren’t anymore to be found since the animals and insects would be devouring the ones that I’d missed on the forest floor. Yet here was Ash claiming she could see a deer in our back yard…with antlers on its head.
I pushed her aside and looked out the back window. Sure enough…three deer. One with a full, big rack, one with only one antler and one with none. I grabbed my boots and camera and headed for the front door. I planned to sneak around to the back through the neighbors’ yard to try and get a picture of a deer with one antler…something I’d never seen before. I walked down the sidewalk, up their drive and along the side of their garage until I reached a point where I could see one of the three feeding from the corn stand in the back yard. The deer picked up its head when I clicked my first picture and it was the one-antlered fellow. I snapped a couple of quick shots as he turned and bound away.
So…I guess some deer are still carrying their antlers and I’m going to be continuing my search. Holly can’t figure out why I want more antlers, but Jason reminded her of the song from ‘Beauty and the Beast’ sung by Gaston about “…I use antlers for all of my decorating…”. I could make an end table…or a desk…or maybe a $3,200 credenza. Anyway…I’d find something to do with them.
I’d started the day with a 33-minute run in the Metropark on the newly fallen 2 inches of snow. The trails were soggy underneath, but the footing was good. My achilles ached on and off during the run, but I had to get through it if I was going to be ready for the birthday triathlon. When I returned home, I went straight to the trainer and hopped on for a 1-hour ride.
I know the biggest challenge on the birthday triathlon will be the ride. Fifty-six miles will take me over three hours and if all I can do is a lot of trainer rides…without hills…well, I’ll be hurting. I figure to do the kayak first and follow that with the run, saving the ride for last. I know I can push myself through things and I’ll feel like crap after the ride…so I want it last. John has agreed to join me and I’m shooting for the Saturday before so I have some options if the weather heads south.
Looks like I’m back to the hiking trails tomorrow, though. Still so many antlers to be found…
Run duration: 33 minutes. Bike duration: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 140 bpm running, 130 bpm biking.
Calories burned during workout: 560 running. 900 biking.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Training for the birthday triathlon begins...
Saturday, March 5, 2011
With my birthday a little less than six weeks away, I guess it’s time to get serious about the training for the second annual birthday triathlon. Last year, you may recall, I was scheduled for a 55 minute kayak trip, 55 mile bike ride and a 5.5 mile run. I completed the kayak and the run, but was stymied by the snow falling and opted not to do the bike ride until later…which ended up being like a month later.
This year it will be a 5.6 mile kayak trip (hard to measure, but I’ll be out there for a couple of hours), 56 minute run and, weather permitting…a 56 mile ride. John is supposed to join me…he’s younger and should be able to handle everything well…if he does some training. He came for last year’s ride, agreed that we shouldn’t ride in the snow…then complained to anyone who would listen that I’d wussed out on the bike. Well…he’s my best friend and training partner…and that’s what they’re for.
Anyway, I started the morning with a 70-minute bike ride. It was just long enough to finish season three of ‘Lost’. Since I picked up the final season from the Library, I kind of want to ride a lot and get through seasons four and five so I can refresh my memory on all the twists and turns. I’ve been wondering if I should make a pitch to the producers of the ‘Avengers’ movie, which will be filmed partially in Cleveland…if they’d like to have another arch villain – a guy that looks a lot like John Locke…though maybe a touch more handsome and manly and is a native of the area…in their film. I think it’s a good idea…for whatever that’s worth.
I hit the Metroparks for a 45-minute hike/antler search later in the day, but came up empty again. It was a balmy 50 degrees and most of the snow was gone, though I’m not sure if that makes it better or worse to spot the things. They show up pretty nicely against the snow and would likely blend in with the sticks when the snow is gone…but I won’t know for sure until I see one.
Tomorrow I’ll try to begin with the bike/run doubles. I want to be ready for birthday 56.
Hike duration: 45 minutes. Bike duration: 70 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 90 bpm hiking, 130 bpm biking.
Calories burned during workout: 225 hiking. 1,050 biking.
With my birthday a little less than six weeks away, I guess it’s time to get serious about the training for the second annual birthday triathlon. Last year, you may recall, I was scheduled for a 55 minute kayak trip, 55 mile bike ride and a 5.5 mile run. I completed the kayak and the run, but was stymied by the snow falling and opted not to do the bike ride until later…which ended up being like a month later.
This year it will be a 5.6 mile kayak trip (hard to measure, but I’ll be out there for a couple of hours), 56 minute run and, weather permitting…a 56 mile ride. John is supposed to join me…he’s younger and should be able to handle everything well…if he does some training. He came for last year’s ride, agreed that we shouldn’t ride in the snow…then complained to anyone who would listen that I’d wussed out on the bike. Well…he’s my best friend and training partner…and that’s what they’re for.
Anyway, I started the morning with a 70-minute bike ride. It was just long enough to finish season three of ‘Lost’. Since I picked up the final season from the Library, I kind of want to ride a lot and get through seasons four and five so I can refresh my memory on all the twists and turns. I’ve been wondering if I should make a pitch to the producers of the ‘Avengers’ movie, which will be filmed partially in Cleveland…if they’d like to have another arch villain – a guy that looks a lot like John Locke…though maybe a touch more handsome and manly and is a native of the area…in their film. I think it’s a good idea…for whatever that’s worth.
I hit the Metroparks for a 45-minute hike/antler search later in the day, but came up empty again. It was a balmy 50 degrees and most of the snow was gone, though I’m not sure if that makes it better or worse to spot the things. They show up pretty nicely against the snow and would likely blend in with the sticks when the snow is gone…but I won’t know for sure until I see one.
Tomorrow I’ll try to begin with the bike/run doubles. I want to be ready for birthday 56.
Hike duration: 45 minutes. Bike duration: 70 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 90 bpm hiking, 130 bpm biking.
Calories burned during workout: 225 hiking. 1,050 biking.
Why mosquitoes love me
Friday, March 4, 2011
All of my life I’ve suffered the unfair attention of the insect world. On those hot summer nights when mosquitoes are out in their millions, some folks will swat now and again, but I’ll be virtually fighting them nonstop. I complain that I’m like this magnet for them and those around me…thinking I’m whining about nothing…will pretty much ignore me. I mean…by the end of the night, I look like one of those bug strips in the restaurant kitchen of one of those greasy spoon places…it’s not pretty.
Then there’s this story in the Plain Dealer that says “humans stink more than any other animal in the animal kingdom…and a recent study found that John Rolf stinks more than any other human…which is what attracts mosquitoes to him.” People, the article says, stink from the bacteria AND the creatures living on them (kind of creeped out by the ‘creatures living on them’ thing) and apparently, mosquitoes are attracted to this smell. In particular, they like the sweaty smelling carboxylic acids that humans emit and “that John Rolf emits more than anyone else…because he sweats the most.”
So…I may have been whining all those years…but I was right. I sweat a lot, and have things and bacteria living on me in record amounts. What can I say other than…I’ve got that going for me.
I spent another fruitless night hiking in the Metropark woods searching for deer antlers. I suppose it was fruitless in the sense that I didn’t find any, but I had the chance to listen to a couple of Barred Owls calling to each other…which I joined with some hoots of my own (this can piss them off if they come and find that you’re not available for sex…or so I’m told) and saw parts of the park I’ve never seen before. I’m guessing the antlers have been consumed by forest rodents by this point since I was all over an area where many deer spend lots of time, but its still a pretty big area and I’m hitting such a small part. I’ll probably give it a couple more tries, but think the key is starting earlier in February…provided there isn’t a couple of feet of snow on the ground.
Hike duration: 90 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 90 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 450.
All of my life I’ve suffered the unfair attention of the insect world. On those hot summer nights when mosquitoes are out in their millions, some folks will swat now and again, but I’ll be virtually fighting them nonstop. I complain that I’m like this magnet for them and those around me…thinking I’m whining about nothing…will pretty much ignore me. I mean…by the end of the night, I look like one of those bug strips in the restaurant kitchen of one of those greasy spoon places…it’s not pretty.
Then there’s this story in the Plain Dealer that says “humans stink more than any other animal in the animal kingdom…and a recent study found that John Rolf stinks more than any other human…which is what attracts mosquitoes to him.” People, the article says, stink from the bacteria AND the creatures living on them (kind of creeped out by the ‘creatures living on them’ thing) and apparently, mosquitoes are attracted to this smell. In particular, they like the sweaty smelling carboxylic acids that humans emit and “that John Rolf emits more than anyone else…because he sweats the most.”
So…I may have been whining all those years…but I was right. I sweat a lot, and have things and bacteria living on me in record amounts. What can I say other than…I’ve got that going for me.
I spent another fruitless night hiking in the Metropark woods searching for deer antlers. I suppose it was fruitless in the sense that I didn’t find any, but I had the chance to listen to a couple of Barred Owls calling to each other…which I joined with some hoots of my own (this can piss them off if they come and find that you’re not available for sex…or so I’m told) and saw parts of the park I’ve never seen before. I’m guessing the antlers have been consumed by forest rodents by this point since I was all over an area where many deer spend lots of time, but its still a pretty big area and I’m hitting such a small part. I’ll probably give it a couple more tries, but think the key is starting earlier in February…provided there isn’t a couple of feet of snow on the ground.
Hike duration: 90 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 90 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 450.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Shocker...too much money spent by County officials.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
I’m really starting to like Ed FitzGerald, the new County Executive whose job it is to clean up corruption in county government and attempt to re-establish public trust in the folks running Cuyahoga County. I suspect the longer he’s there and the more he digs…the more bodies will come to the surface. Yesterday, the PD featured a story about cost overruns for the new Juvenile Justice Center specifically targeting the purchase of a $23,000 custom conference table, $1,000 desk chairs and credenzas for $3,350. Not only do I not have a $3,350 credenza…I don’t even know what it is. Holly said it’s the desk behind a desk for storing crap you can’t fit on your desk. Excellent.
“I haven’t seen prices that high since the ‘Antiques Roadshow,’” FitzGerald said. “Some of the purchases are indefensible.” Some of them? They purchased 31 coffee makers for $120 apiece. I’m thinking if I was purchasing 31 of any appliance, I’d be beating the price down…not jacking it up.
And here’s a surprise…no one’s responsible. Court officials say they didn’t select the items trying… to lay the blame on the former commissioners who they say, approved the purchases. The former County Administrator said “nope…the court folks made the decisions,” or words to that effect. It’s great to know that they’ve built in three jury boxes and deliberation rooms for an operation that has had only one jury trial in the last five years, as well. Isn’t that called building the church for Easter Sunday…no wait a minute – that’s what you’re NOT supposed to do.
Oh…and guess who pays for all of this? No big surprise there. Still, I like our chances in the future with Ed. His final word on the subject was “we gotta get to the bottom of this because justice is not going to be improved by a $1,200 chair.” Maybe not…but somebody’s ass should be pretty comfortable.
Yeah, yeah…I did it again. Spent two hours traipsing back and forth through areas of the park where some 30 deer or more bed down each night…and I didn’t find one antler. I mean…I was sure I’d find one so my disappointment ran high…and I kind of ran in circles. I kept my nose to the ground and crossed over a couple of streams and got to the point where I didn’t know which way I was heading. Dark was setting in and so I did the easy thing…followed a ridgeline up until I hit a trail. I’ll give it a couple of more days, but I think they’re either gone or the park is just too damned big.
Hike duration: 2 hours.
Training Heart Rate: 90 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 500.
I’m really starting to like Ed FitzGerald, the new County Executive whose job it is to clean up corruption in county government and attempt to re-establish public trust in the folks running Cuyahoga County. I suspect the longer he’s there and the more he digs…the more bodies will come to the surface. Yesterday, the PD featured a story about cost overruns for the new Juvenile Justice Center specifically targeting the purchase of a $23,000 custom conference table, $1,000 desk chairs and credenzas for $3,350. Not only do I not have a $3,350 credenza…I don’t even know what it is. Holly said it’s the desk behind a desk for storing crap you can’t fit on your desk. Excellent.
“I haven’t seen prices that high since the ‘Antiques Roadshow,’” FitzGerald said. “Some of the purchases are indefensible.” Some of them? They purchased 31 coffee makers for $120 apiece. I’m thinking if I was purchasing 31 of any appliance, I’d be beating the price down…not jacking it up.
And here’s a surprise…no one’s responsible. Court officials say they didn’t select the items trying… to lay the blame on the former commissioners who they say, approved the purchases. The former County Administrator said “nope…the court folks made the decisions,” or words to that effect. It’s great to know that they’ve built in three jury boxes and deliberation rooms for an operation that has had only one jury trial in the last five years, as well. Isn’t that called building the church for Easter Sunday…no wait a minute – that’s what you’re NOT supposed to do.
Oh…and guess who pays for all of this? No big surprise there. Still, I like our chances in the future with Ed. His final word on the subject was “we gotta get to the bottom of this because justice is not going to be improved by a $1,200 chair.” Maybe not…but somebody’s ass should be pretty comfortable.
Yeah, yeah…I did it again. Spent two hours traipsing back and forth through areas of the park where some 30 deer or more bed down each night…and I didn’t find one antler. I mean…I was sure I’d find one so my disappointment ran high…and I kind of ran in circles. I kept my nose to the ground and crossed over a couple of streams and got to the point where I didn’t know which way I was heading. Dark was setting in and so I did the easy thing…followed a ridgeline up until I hit a trail. I’ll give it a couple of more days, but I think they’re either gone or the park is just too damned big.
Hike duration: 2 hours.
Training Heart Rate: 90 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 500.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Too much park...
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Flushed with the success of the previous day, I was excited about returning to the park for more antler hunting and picture taking. I thought about all the places deer walked in the 800-acre park, how much of it was in deep ravines, and what the odds of finding something that had fallen from one of their heads and looked like the sticks and branches that lay everywhere on the forest floor. The ‘needle in the haystack’ thing came to me as I pulled on my boots and prepared to enter the woods. Add to that the fact that I’ve been hiking in the woods for 30 years and never seen an antler before. Of course, I wasn’t looking for them either.
I started hiking with no particular plan other than to crisscross areas of the park where I’d seen lots of deer. Seemed to make some sense…yet as I started doing this, noticing the prints going in every direction and what at first appeared to be randomly…I began to doubt I’d ever be so lucky again. I started to look for deer paths…trails they had made and seemed to travel in the greatest numbers. I followed these and after thrashing through one of many briar patches, came to the conclusion they moved with some invisible force bubble…something they’d probably ordered from ACME…that dissipated the prickly bastards. I needed to get one of those to continue this process.
At least I was getting in a decent workout, though I saw very little since I had to keep my eyes glued to the ground in front of and around me, which was still mostly covered with a thin, crunchy layer of snow. I crisscrossed a couple of creeks numerous times, climbed and fell on some mud-soaked slopes in and out of ravines and generally hiked randomly over a large section of the park along River Road between Ox Lane and the old Girl Scout Cabins…and without success.
I was working my way back towards my car after 2 hours of fruitless hunting, when I noticed what looked like a three-pronged branch protruding from the snow. A smile stretched across my wind-burned, frozen face as I realized I’d found my second antler. Now finally Holly would have what she needed to make my deer costume for next year’s ‘wildlife management’ hunt. She’d suggested a couple of years ago that I ignore the ‘park closed’ signs posted during that time and slip into the park from one of my many illicit entry points and run through the woods with a furry brown outfit holding antlers to my head. She thought it was pretty funny…though I’m pretty sure she was serious.
Naturally, this reinvigorated me and I spent another hour searching, going until darkness ended my quest. I’m sure I’ll go again tomorrow and keep going for the next week or so. I’ve found two antlers with four points, but I’m greedy and want one of the really big ones. It’s out there somewhere…so much park…so little time.
Hike duration: 3 hours.
Training Heart Rate: 90 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 750.
Flushed with the success of the previous day, I was excited about returning to the park for more antler hunting and picture taking. I thought about all the places deer walked in the 800-acre park, how much of it was in deep ravines, and what the odds of finding something that had fallen from one of their heads and looked like the sticks and branches that lay everywhere on the forest floor. The ‘needle in the haystack’ thing came to me as I pulled on my boots and prepared to enter the woods. Add to that the fact that I’ve been hiking in the woods for 30 years and never seen an antler before. Of course, I wasn’t looking for them either.
I started hiking with no particular plan other than to crisscross areas of the park where I’d seen lots of deer. Seemed to make some sense…yet as I started doing this, noticing the prints going in every direction and what at first appeared to be randomly…I began to doubt I’d ever be so lucky again. I started to look for deer paths…trails they had made and seemed to travel in the greatest numbers. I followed these and after thrashing through one of many briar patches, came to the conclusion they moved with some invisible force bubble…something they’d probably ordered from ACME…that dissipated the prickly bastards. I needed to get one of those to continue this process.
At least I was getting in a decent workout, though I saw very little since I had to keep my eyes glued to the ground in front of and around me, which was still mostly covered with a thin, crunchy layer of snow. I crisscrossed a couple of creeks numerous times, climbed and fell on some mud-soaked slopes in and out of ravines and generally hiked randomly over a large section of the park along River Road between Ox Lane and the old Girl Scout Cabins…and without success.
I was working my way back towards my car after 2 hours of fruitless hunting, when I noticed what looked like a three-pronged branch protruding from the snow. A smile stretched across my wind-burned, frozen face as I realized I’d found my second antler. Now finally Holly would have what she needed to make my deer costume for next year’s ‘wildlife management’ hunt. She’d suggested a couple of years ago that I ignore the ‘park closed’ signs posted during that time and slip into the park from one of my many illicit entry points and run through the woods with a furry brown outfit holding antlers to my head. She thought it was pretty funny…though I’m pretty sure she was serious.
Naturally, this reinvigorated me and I spent another hour searching, going until darkness ended my quest. I’m sure I’ll go again tomorrow and keep going for the next week or so. I’ve found two antlers with four points, but I’m greedy and want one of the really big ones. It’s out there somewhere…so much park…so little time.
Hike duration: 3 hours.
Training Heart Rate: 90 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 750.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Success!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
I tend to get things stuck in my head and have difficulty shaking them loose. I suppose that is what’s going on with trying to find deer antlers. I have a friend whose father has hundreds of racks lining the walls and rafters of his garage…all from searching the woods around his home in Madison, so I know it works. Then I saw the article in the PD about the cycle of the antler and I’ve been hunting since.
I brought my camera along because I’m also on a mission to photograph those pesky beavers out of the water. I keep seeing them swimming, but I’ve never seen them operate on dry land and when Bruce saw one on Sunday…and I missed it…I was pissed. Well…I didn’t have the camera, so I guess its okay.
The ground was still covered with the melting remnants of the Friday blizzard, but it was less than an inch and the ground was bare in places where the sun reached the forest floor. I made my way from the Wilson Mills parking area to the marsh and began walking around its northern rim to the place where Bruce had seen the beaver on Sunday. I figured I’d find a dry log, sit and wait for him to come stumbling along.
When I got there, I decided that the beaver dam might be a better location and moved on. The dam runs alongside River Road and I made my way up and over it before slipping into the shrubs and thicket just beyond. I was looking towards the water when a large, furry gray blur ran across my path about 30 feet in front of me. I swung my camera around and managed to snap a picture of its ass as it scurried away. It was an opossum and its hind end is probably more attractive than the front…though he probably feels the same about me…but at least I caught him on…digital (what’s the comparable saying for ‘on film’?)?
I walked a couple of more steps and stopped to look at the branch at my feet. Only it wasn’t a branch. I excitedly reached down and picked up my first deer antler. It was small…four points…and the matching antler was no where to be found, but I was as excited as if I’d found a Willie Mays rookie card at some random garage sale. I placed it in a nearby pine tree to retrieve later and continued my search for more antlers and/or a picture of a beaver.
I was walking through the overgrowth close to the marsh’s edge, working my way towards the beaver lodge located about 50 feet off shore when I saw a ripple in the water. I could only mean a beaver or a muskrat…so I stopped and waited. It must have heard me because it slapped the water with its tail and dove under the surface. Beaver for sure. I waited quietly behind a tree for about ten minutes and if finally returned, climbed up on a log and turned to face me. The ‘click’ of the camera sent him back into the water…but not before I’d gotten a couple of fairly good shots.
A red-tailed hawk screeched loudly overhead as I made my way back towards my antler stash. I searched the nearby fields for more, but came up empty. But what a day. Antler, great pictures and a long hike. Not much of a workout, but the serenity I’d enjoyed made it better than a 10-mile run. I suppose I’ll have to head back there tomorrow and comb more woods. I think I’ve got the perfect spot to spend a couple hours some morning and get more and better pictures.
Hike duration: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 90 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 300.
I tend to get things stuck in my head and have difficulty shaking them loose. I suppose that is what’s going on with trying to find deer antlers. I have a friend whose father has hundreds of racks lining the walls and rafters of his garage…all from searching the woods around his home in Madison, so I know it works. Then I saw the article in the PD about the cycle of the antler and I’ve been hunting since.
I brought my camera along because I’m also on a mission to photograph those pesky beavers out of the water. I keep seeing them swimming, but I’ve never seen them operate on dry land and when Bruce saw one on Sunday…and I missed it…I was pissed. Well…I didn’t have the camera, so I guess its okay.
The ground was still covered with the melting remnants of the Friday blizzard, but it was less than an inch and the ground was bare in places where the sun reached the forest floor. I made my way from the Wilson Mills parking area to the marsh and began walking around its northern rim to the place where Bruce had seen the beaver on Sunday. I figured I’d find a dry log, sit and wait for him to come stumbling along.
When I got there, I decided that the beaver dam might be a better location and moved on. The dam runs alongside River Road and I made my way up and over it before slipping into the shrubs and thicket just beyond. I was looking towards the water when a large, furry gray blur ran across my path about 30 feet in front of me. I swung my camera around and managed to snap a picture of its ass as it scurried away. It was an opossum and its hind end is probably more attractive than the front…though he probably feels the same about me…but at least I caught him on…digital (what’s the comparable saying for ‘on film’?)?
I walked a couple of more steps and stopped to look at the branch at my feet. Only it wasn’t a branch. I excitedly reached down and picked up my first deer antler. It was small…four points…and the matching antler was no where to be found, but I was as excited as if I’d found a Willie Mays rookie card at some random garage sale. I placed it in a nearby pine tree to retrieve later and continued my search for more antlers and/or a picture of a beaver.
I was walking through the overgrowth close to the marsh’s edge, working my way towards the beaver lodge located about 50 feet off shore when I saw a ripple in the water. I could only mean a beaver or a muskrat…so I stopped and waited. It must have heard me because it slapped the water with its tail and dove under the surface. Beaver for sure. I waited quietly behind a tree for about ten minutes and if finally returned, climbed up on a log and turned to face me. The ‘click’ of the camera sent him back into the water…but not before I’d gotten a couple of fairly good shots.
A red-tailed hawk screeched loudly overhead as I made my way back towards my antler stash. I searched the nearby fields for more, but came up empty. But what a day. Antler, great pictures and a long hike. Not much of a workout, but the serenity I’d enjoyed made it better than a 10-mile run. I suppose I’ll have to head back there tomorrow and comb more woods. I think I’ve got the perfect spot to spend a couple hours some morning and get more and better pictures.
Hike duration: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 90 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 300.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
"Dakota...don't grab that stick!"
Sunday, February 27, 2011
I’d spoken to Bruce, an old camping buddy, about hiking in the deep snow and he’d agreed to join me for an early morning hike. “I’m dropping Jack off at church around 10 a.m. so we could meet right after that if you like,” I said.
“I was thinking more like 7 a.m.,” he replied. Bruce and I used to work together for Libra Industries and he was the only guy in management that arrived consistently before me – usually around 5:45 a.m. He loved the mornings. “Okay…I’ll see you there then…but I like sleeping a little on Sunday morning, so you’re going to pay the price. Be ready to walk long and in deep snow,” I said.
He was there early…and without boots. “Um…didn’t I tell you we’d be going off trail and you’d need boots?” He looked at me sheepishly and claimed he didn’t have any. Bruce is always marching to his own drummer. A couple of years ago when I dragged him up to the Adirondacks I’d had him do some training by carrying a back pack loaded with weight in the Metroparks. He’d shunned my advice to use a bag of salt or rice and gone with tools and weight plates. After hiking five miles to a lean-to and base camp for that camping trip, he discovered that he hadn’t taken out a five-pound weight plate from the training back pack. The knucklehead had thrown his clothes in on top of it and carried it in and of course…back out.
We headed off in search of antlers…sure to still be buried in snow…in places I hadn’t hiked the day before. We slid down towards the marsh and found the creek we needed to cross swollen from the continuing melt of Friday’s blizzard. “We can cross over here. There’s a pretty thick branch kind of frozen into the ice that will probably support our weight,” I said.
Bruce and Dakota followed my lead and when we reached the crossing point, Dakota walked across on the ice. “Showoff,” I said as I put my foot on the branch I’d identified. Dakota believes that all things either once connected to…or still a part of…a tree are hers to chew, chase, retrieve, yank or carry. The branch I now had my foot on was no exception. She grabbed it in her mouth and began to yank. “Hey…stop that Dak…” was as far as I got before the ice under the branch gave way and my boot crashed into the icy water below. I fell backwards laughing and Bruce grabbed for me to keep me from going in deeper. A week earlier, I’d watched John do something similar, but I’d been laughing at him instead of trying to help him out.
We continued our hike around the perimeter of the marsh looking for antlers…or maybe not…when Bruce pointed ahead at something scampering through the woods heading for the marsh. “It’s a beaver…or a big muskrat,” he said. I didn’t have my camera and only saw a blur. I’ve never gotten a picture of or even seen a beaver on dry land…and the streak would continue. There was a fresh dropping of wood chips around the tree from which the tracks left so I can only surmise he’d definitely seen a beaver. Well…I know where to come back…maybe with a little more stealth…and I’ll get my picture on another night.
We completed the hike in a little under 2 hours. We stuck to the woods, working our way into and out of another couple of ravines to add to the workout. Bruce, gym trained, noticed the difference and wondered out loud about the wisdom of this hike before trying to spend a few hours at the auto show. “You always tell me its going to be easy…and then I exhausted. Either you’re a liar or I’m in worse shape than I thought,” he said as we approached the parking lot.
“You’re not in hiking shape…and I suppose I lie…a little,´ I replied.
So…two days in a row of long hikes in deep snow. I’m feeling some guilt…not getting the heart rate up, but my achilles is hurting some even on the hikes so I better stay away from running. And the bike? Yeah…I’ll get back to it, but as long as the snow is deep and I can get plenty from hiking, I’ll probably stick with it.
Hike duration: 1 hours and 45 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 90 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 525.
I’d spoken to Bruce, an old camping buddy, about hiking in the deep snow and he’d agreed to join me for an early morning hike. “I’m dropping Jack off at church around 10 a.m. so we could meet right after that if you like,” I said.
“I was thinking more like 7 a.m.,” he replied. Bruce and I used to work together for Libra Industries and he was the only guy in management that arrived consistently before me – usually around 5:45 a.m. He loved the mornings. “Okay…I’ll see you there then…but I like sleeping a little on Sunday morning, so you’re going to pay the price. Be ready to walk long and in deep snow,” I said.
He was there early…and without boots. “Um…didn’t I tell you we’d be going off trail and you’d need boots?” He looked at me sheepishly and claimed he didn’t have any. Bruce is always marching to his own drummer. A couple of years ago when I dragged him up to the Adirondacks I’d had him do some training by carrying a back pack loaded with weight in the Metroparks. He’d shunned my advice to use a bag of salt or rice and gone with tools and weight plates. After hiking five miles to a lean-to and base camp for that camping trip, he discovered that he hadn’t taken out a five-pound weight plate from the training back pack. The knucklehead had thrown his clothes in on top of it and carried it in and of course…back out.
We headed off in search of antlers…sure to still be buried in snow…in places I hadn’t hiked the day before. We slid down towards the marsh and found the creek we needed to cross swollen from the continuing melt of Friday’s blizzard. “We can cross over here. There’s a pretty thick branch kind of frozen into the ice that will probably support our weight,” I said.
Bruce and Dakota followed my lead and when we reached the crossing point, Dakota walked across on the ice. “Showoff,” I said as I put my foot on the branch I’d identified. Dakota believes that all things either once connected to…or still a part of…a tree are hers to chew, chase, retrieve, yank or carry. The branch I now had my foot on was no exception. She grabbed it in her mouth and began to yank. “Hey…stop that Dak…” was as far as I got before the ice under the branch gave way and my boot crashed into the icy water below. I fell backwards laughing and Bruce grabbed for me to keep me from going in deeper. A week earlier, I’d watched John do something similar, but I’d been laughing at him instead of trying to help him out.
We continued our hike around the perimeter of the marsh looking for antlers…or maybe not…when Bruce pointed ahead at something scampering through the woods heading for the marsh. “It’s a beaver…or a big muskrat,” he said. I didn’t have my camera and only saw a blur. I’ve never gotten a picture of or even seen a beaver on dry land…and the streak would continue. There was a fresh dropping of wood chips around the tree from which the tracks left so I can only surmise he’d definitely seen a beaver. Well…I know where to come back…maybe with a little more stealth…and I’ll get my picture on another night.
We completed the hike in a little under 2 hours. We stuck to the woods, working our way into and out of another couple of ravines to add to the workout. Bruce, gym trained, noticed the difference and wondered out loud about the wisdom of this hike before trying to spend a few hours at the auto show. “You always tell me its going to be easy…and then I exhausted. Either you’re a liar or I’m in worse shape than I thought,” he said as we approached the parking lot.
“You’re not in hiking shape…and I suppose I lie…a little,´ I replied.
So…two days in a row of long hikes in deep snow. I’m feeling some guilt…not getting the heart rate up, but my achilles is hurting some even on the hikes so I better stay away from running. And the bike? Yeah…I’ll get back to it, but as long as the snow is deep and I can get plenty from hiking, I’ll probably stick with it.
Hike duration: 1 hours and 45 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 90 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 525.
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