more partying
Mid-afternoon, when I was trying to convince myself to go hiking, missytas called in a bit of a panic looking for a ride to the airport, since cdtwigg had just gotten screwed by AirTran's stupid insistance on making anyone who uses some reservation system get paper tickets (he forgot them at home since, after all, who the hell uses paper tickets anymore?)
So, threw my hip pack in the back, and drove them off to the airport. Everyone who was anyone was going to the north side (to see the game, maybe?) so everything was backed up going downtown, but we made it to the airport with time to spare.
Afterwards, since I was all of 10 miles away, I drove on to Racoon Creek SP to hike. I discovered there that they have finally, at long last, gotten themselves an accurate trail inventory: the maps no longer indicate trails that start and end in the middle of the woods and connect to no other trails, nor do they indicate trails that demonstrably don't exist, and they seem to indicate all the trails that do exist (at least, every trail junction I came to existed on the map). Sadly, I did the hike in shorts, and it's really a long-pant hike. I have dozens of cuts from blackberry bushes and wild roses, and general irritation from rubbing against plants for a few miles. Oh, and then there was the beautiful moment when I identified the plant which had grown into a little patch on the trail that now surrounded my bare legs... as stinging nettle. Shortly after my visual identification, I got tactile feedback (there was plenty more, too, but never again so dramatic an exposure).
I had fun anyway, especially in the wetlands where I saw two ducks, a great blue heron (so majestic!), a mammal (beaver?), two other mammals (man and dog), fish, a red-wing blackbird, and heard what I presume were frogs. Elsewhere I heard a woodpecker, saw many other unidentified birds, the mandatory chipmunks, and deer. None of these were nearly so tame as the Rainier fauna.
Sadly, no pictures: I was late for a party, so I was half-running the whole way. Perhaps starting out on an 8-mile hike at 5:15pm was insane, but I managed it in 2h45 (just under 3mph, fairly consistently all hike long).
Afterwards, home, shower to clean my poor, poor legs (and to make me not stink), and party at foxxydancr's where I stood by the fondue pot and ate way too much chocolate.
So, threw my hip pack in the back, and drove them off to the airport. Everyone who was anyone was going to the north side (to see the game, maybe?) so everything was backed up going downtown, but we made it to the airport with time to spare.
Afterwards, since I was all of 10 miles away, I drove on to Racoon Creek SP to hike. I discovered there that they have finally, at long last, gotten themselves an accurate trail inventory: the maps no longer indicate trails that start and end in the middle of the woods and connect to no other trails, nor do they indicate trails that demonstrably don't exist, and they seem to indicate all the trails that do exist (at least, every trail junction I came to existed on the map). Sadly, I did the hike in shorts, and it's really a long-pant hike. I have dozens of cuts from blackberry bushes and wild roses, and general irritation from rubbing against plants for a few miles. Oh, and then there was the beautiful moment when I identified the plant which had grown into a little patch on the trail that now surrounded my bare legs... as stinging nettle. Shortly after my visual identification, I got tactile feedback (there was plenty more, too, but never again so dramatic an exposure).
I had fun anyway, especially in the wetlands where I saw two ducks, a great blue heron (so majestic!), a mammal (beaver?), two other mammals (man and dog), fish, a red-wing blackbird, and heard what I presume were frogs. Elsewhere I heard a woodpecker, saw many other unidentified birds, the mandatory chipmunks, and deer. None of these were nearly so tame as the Rainier fauna.
Sadly, no pictures: I was late for a party, so I was half-running the whole way. Perhaps starting out on an 8-mile hike at 5:15pm was insane, but I managed it in 2h45 (just under 3mph, fairly consistently all hike long).
Afterwards, home, shower to clean my poor, poor legs (and to make me not stink), and party at foxxydancr's where I stood by the fondue pot and ate way too much chocolate.