Sunday, November 28, 2010

A Late Posting on a Late Fall Hike

So, first, my internet connection was toast. I never could fix the wireless connection but finally got broadband working again. Then, there was Thanksgiving travels. Finally, I couldn’t find the USB cable to connect my camera to my computer. Still can’t!

But anyhow, a week ago today, I took a late fall hike along the James River. I hope to eventually post photos of the pretty day, if I ever find that cable. Even though it was late November, there was still plenty of fall color to be seen. The only downside was foot pain. I thought that my neuroma was responding to the alcohol shots, based on the lack of real pain while backpacking. But then, I ran three miles the day before the hike, and from the start of the hike Sunday, every left step hurt. By the end of the hike, it was exquisitely painful, and on Monday, I could barely walk at more than a slow limp for a couple of days.

Back to the hike. It was seven miles, and looped around the river, following the route mapped below:
On the map, I started at the upper left near the Nickel Bridge. If I had $100 for every time I have run or walked over that bridge with Team in Training, I could take a really nice trip. On the map, I went clockwise: past Maymont on the Northside Trail, walking a half mile through city neighborhoods, then back along the river. I passed Hollywood Cemetery, site of many Team in Training early morning runs over the years, then came out on Tredegar Street with its views of the Tredegar Iron Works. I crossed to Belle Isle, also site of prior TNT runs and of city hikes, stopping to admire the Hollywood Rapids. I looped around Belle Isle, and hiked north along the Buttermilk Springs Trail. Many times, it felt like I was deep in a fall forest rather than in a large city. I ended back at the Nichol Bridge two and a half hours after starting and exactly at sunset. The full moon was beautiful that evening.

I got some nice pictures of wild Richmond in the fall, and if I ever find my USB camera cable, I will share them. Promise!

2 comments:

  1. So sorry about your hurting foot. Hope your back to walking/hiking soon.
    Look forward to seeing the pictures once you find that cable!

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  2. I know these trails well, and you're right about feeling like you are in the middle of a wild forest and not a big city. When I decided to quit smoking nearly 25 years ago, I thought that if I exhausted myself by walking and hiking these paths it would distract me from my cravings, plus burn off some of the extra calories I was eating. It worked.

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