14 Miler in Charlottesville

Today, part of our marathon team joined Team Charlottesville for a hilly and tough 14 miler. Enough of it went through scenic and rural areas that I decided to link the description and photos in my racing for a cure blog.

It was a fun outing, but tiring. It was nice to meet teammates from other parts of Virginia.

Hollywood Rapids

Our 11 mile team run today felt like a hike at times, passing on to Belle Isle and past the impressive Hollywood Rapids.

So I am linking to that post from my hiking blog for the many photos I took during this fun outing.

Gray Day at Back Bay

Despite yesterday’s cold 12+ miles marathon training, my legs were only slightly fatigued today. I guess I am slowly getting back in shape. So I decided a short hike in Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge was in order.

It was a cold, gray day there, but not nearly as cold as yesterday – probably 20 or more degrees warmer. Even so, sleet spit at times, and there was a bit of a wind chill. I didn’t bother to bring a camera or binoculars, figuring that I didn’t want to mess with the former, and really not the latter either. Most of the trails, especially the dike trail to False Cape, are closed through March, and there are limited chances to see wildlife. Turtles, snakes, and frogs are hibernating deep within the mud. Many of the more exotic birds have migrated for the winter. So I treated this as a hike for a little bit of exercise, with a remote chance of running into interesting animals or great scenery.

I could hear the haunting calls of hundreds of snow geese well out into the bay. Even without binoculars, I could see all the white dots in the distance. The distinctive calls of Canada geese blended in, along with some ducks quacking in the icy marshes. I spotted a belted kingfisher flying over one small pond, hearing its rattling call before I actually spotted the bird. I marveled that an animal could survive in this weather, solely on being able to catch small fish with its mouth.


Everything was grey – sky, water, horizon – but not my mood. It rarely is, and especially not when messing around in the outdoors, getting some fresh air and exercise. So while the exotic wildlife was not to be seen and the wind blew a bit, it just was fun to be outside for a few miles.

Snow Geese

I was at the beach for a couple of days, and today dawned cold and clear. After the rain of yesterday afternoon, and a tough ten miles for training Friday morning, it seemed like a good morning for a short winter hike. I was a little stiff and sore from the miles yesterday, and so took it at a very easy pace, hiking about 3 miles.

I was in Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I saw a pretty buck on the drive into the refuge - maybe the same one that I watched a couple of months ago. I parked the car - the only one in the parking lot. Shortly after starting my hike, I could hear the sounds of geese in the distance. Their calls got louder and louder. I startled about 20 ducks in the marsh, and they flew off, quacking as they flew.

When I reached an area with open views, I could see snow geese by the hundreds or even the thousands in the distance. They were from a couple of hundred yards to about a half mile away. It was quite a sight, and a beautiful sound to hear them all calling.





After hiking down to the observation blind - two lonely mallards were the only things I saw - I headed out for a little beach combing. Looks like Harry Potter (or maybe it was Lord Vol... er, He Who Shall Not be Named) got there first:

I found deer tracks all over while hiking, including these on the beach itself:

I also found the egg case of a whelk (the long thing that looks kind of like a snake skin or a backbone) and of skates. The egg cases of the later are sometimes called "Mermaid Purses":

Some Really Bad Advice

If you get Backpacker Magazine (highly recommended), you may have seen a little feature in the November 2008 issue whereby different staff members shared “honest-to-God dumb (I would say incredibly stupid) tips we’ve heard.” I thought I would share a few of these, along with my comments. Many of these are good ways to remove yourself from the gene pool, or at least make you wish that you had done so.

Rub snow on cold digits. (Nothing makes frostbite better than more cold!)

Spritz yourself with bear spray to repel grizzlies. (Great idea! Make sure to get some in your face, too! Bears are never attracted to unusual smells. Plus, nothing like a little pepper to make food taste more zesty!)

Swill whiskey to stay warm. (This really helps. Not only will the alcohol affect your circulation in such a way that you will cool faster, but you will get too drunk to notice when you freeze to death.)

Sleep with an axe in bear country. (Huh??? I guess bears really fear the smell of an axe.)

Burn ticks off with a match. (Just make sure you have a high tolerance for pain.)

Store food in tents to frustrate bears. (It is a known fact that bears do not understand how to use zippers, plus their claws are so long that they don’t have much manual dexterity, so this would really frustrate them. If you want to go one better, stow the food in your sleeping bag while you sleep – they will never figure that out!)

Leaves of three, wipe with me. (My guess is that if you try this once, you will never do so again.)

Scratch poison ivy till it bleeds then pour gas on it. (Sure, and if you still have that match from burning the tick off, use that at the very end. The effect is spectacular!)

Pitch your tent next to a bluff for the best views. (That way, when you get up to pee during the night, you can have a great last view on the way down.)

Pitch tent near campfire for warmth. (Great idea, but make sure you have an asbestos lined sleeping bag. An asbestos tent would be even better.)

When waterless, drink your urine. (Wow, what a great idea! Make your stressed kidneys work even harder by recycling all those toxins!)

Follow the trail, not the map. (What do those map makers know, anyway? Do you like being in the wilderness? This is a good way to make your stay there much longer or even permanent.)

Some Walkabouts in Richmond

Between Saturday morning marathon training for Team in Training and just general busy times, hiking in the mountains is a memory right now. But if you want to read about some combined walks and runs in Richmond, some with photos of the miles spent outdoors, you can see my main blog, Racing for a Cure.

Or you can go directly to these posts:

Saturday's (12/20) jingle bell run down Monument Avenue

Seven miler on 12/13 (no photos with this one, forgot my camera)

Training in Spider Land on 12/6

An Inspiring 50 Miler

If you want to be inspired and amazed, and read about an incredible story of human endurance and perseverence, go to this post on my primary blog, Racing for a Cure.

It is the story of my two friends, Holly and Amanda, and their nearly unbelievable 50 mile race done this past November 22, mostly in Maryland.

If you want to read about about an amazing non-human ultramarathoner, go to this post on my other blog.

Two Short Hikes Around Back Bay

I was back near Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, and took a couple of short 3-4 mile hikes.

Hiking at Dusk
My first hike was Friday near dusk. Since the paths to False Cape are now closed until April, I could only hike a few miles - along some of the "boardwalk" paths through the marsh, then the mile out and mile back to the blind in the refuge. I didn't see any wildlife close up, except for the snout of a large turtle sticking out of a pond, but did see a rather nice sunset.

This boardwalk trail led to a pretty marsh view:


Pretty clouds over the marsh:


While hiking to a point with nice view of Back Bay that I like to visit, I could see that it wouldn't be too long until sunset:

After hiking a mile or so down to the wildlife observation blind, I got back to open vistas in time to see the last of the setting sun - so peaceful!

Beachcombing

My second hike was Saturday afternoon, a cool and breezy gray day. I looped through part of the dike pathways, then walked out onto the beach and headed south for about a mile. I saw an American coot in one of the impoundments, and some sanderlings and gulls along the beach. That was about it for wildlife that was identifiable.

American coot:

Sanderlings making their living along the shore:

Gulls along the wave line:

Lonely beach on a gray day:

Hiking with Aja

The other day, I went for a hike with my grand-daughter, Aja. It was our first hike together, and I hope there will be many more between us in the years - dare I say decades? - ahead. She just turned two, and is full of wonder and interest in the world.

The hike was of course short - 0.8 kilometers out and back along a nature trail through a cedar swamp. She wanted to be carried at times, which was fine. She listened to chickadees calling, and tried to imitate them. She shook little trees, calling out "wiggle, wiggle, wiggle" as she did so. She tripped over a few roots, and looked at moss. She felt the needles of the northern white cedar, and looked into a small stream, fruitlessly, for animals. She looked at large holes drilled in dead trees by pileated woodpeckers.

Aja on the trail!

I wish we could all look at the natural world through the eyes of a child. If we did, I think that we would take a lot better care of the earth, our only home, and the only home of all of our fellow species.

"If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in." Rachel Carson

Taskinas Creek Trail - York River State Park

Today we hiked in York River State Park, on a picture-perfect fall day. It is fairly flat and was a perfect way to get a little exercise on the day following my first running in a while for Team in Training yesterday, which resulted in slightly sore legs. Much of the hiking was along a natural area in the watershed of Taskinas Creek, which is part of the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Reserve. We also hiked in the woods near Woodstock Pond. The fall colors are near peak, and although no wildlife was seen, it was an afternoon of beautiful and serene scenery. Here are some photos from the hike:


Overview of winding Taskinas Creek and marshes




Views of Taskinas Creek and foliage


Taskinas Creek flowing into the York River


Taskinas Creek Nature Trail

Carpet in Mother Nature's Living Room



Nature's Fall Glory

Pretty little butterfly


American Beautyberry (Team in Training colors!)