Up the hill, down the hill....
Departure time: 12 noon, EST
Method of transport: Bike/foot
Distance traveled: 25 miles biking round trip, plus 1.5 hours hiking RT
Hills: too many to count
Return time: 9:30 PM, EST
Today was a full day bike-n-hike into the county! Chris and I left at noon, heading west to AAA for a map, then back east across town and out into the county via our (borrowed) bicycles. We went by Funk's Market, stopping briefly for some fuel, then out into the hills and farmland. The day was absolutely gorgeous- bright and clear and sunny- giving us a great view of the surrounding lush countryside. We went through a few small towns, with their old rustic houses, separated by long roads sparsely dotted with enormous modern mansions. Almost the entire route was lined with raspberry bushes; however, not ripe for a few more weeks. Our map was sort of confusing, with so many unlabeled turns and twists, and no marked destination (which was Tucquan Glen, the creek we hiked down and back). We stopped by a corner drugstore to ask directions, memorizing a chant of turns and signposts that would guide us to the burned-out biker bar, which Chris would recognize and recall the rest of the way... Finally, after 3 hours and 40 minutes we made it! I thought my legs would give way as we pulled up to the shady, wooded entrance, marked only with a No Hunting on Sundays signpost and a warning about No Overnight Camping. We conquered so many hills! It was extremely difficult and tiring to push our way up to the top of each, but the reward of sailing down the other side and coasting partway up the next was encouraging enough to keep moving.
Then we began the hike, which was luckily horizontal, except for the winding path up and around certain tree patches and our erratic wandering across the water, at first trying to jump from rock to rock, then just wading clumsily through. Once we got our feet wet, there was no turning back from the soaked and wrinkly toes that were to become, and our only concern was to watch for water snakes and try not to twist an ankle or trip and fall in...
We stopped on a cluster of large, flat rocks near a waterfall and the chimney remains of a once-present cabin, at last resting and eating some lunch. There were tons of bugs flying and crawling around us, but neither of us seemed to care as we downed our sandwiches, baby carrots, and sugar snap peas. Then, I began my attempt at capturing photos of the water flowing with my new camera- it can be set to manual, but I'm still learning to adjust the shutter speed with the aperture in order to get both sharp and blurry images. Lots of experimenting; luckily I had a empty 512 MB card to fill...
Last summer was my first time at the falls, when we came in the evening and I saw my first bunch of fireflies. We made it to the same small waterfall (which is actually just a pinch in the rock that makes the water shoot out faster), and then walked a bit more down the riverbed. Chris reverted back to the 6-year old boy of his childhood, who runs and jumps in search of bugs and sticks and who knows what else to play with, leaving me to get lost in my attempt at photography... He did spot a snake in our path, which I'm glad he spotted and kept a close eye on, in case it got any nearer to us. It eventually slithered down into the water, trying hard to swim upstream but instead was blown back until it got to the other side where it could wait patiently for its next move.
The way out was much quicker than the way in- why is that always the case?- and we reached our bikes locked to the signposts at 6. Now for the journey home; I was nervous I wouldn't make it up all those hills we joyfully flew down, but the only way home was to bite the bullet and ride. So we did- for another couple of hours- stopping briefly to rest and read on a blanket in a green patch of grass, but covered in so many bugs it was impossible to get comfortable. By the time we got back to Funk's it was shut, and the excitement of being just so close to home (still 6 miles away though) was enough to keep us from falling over and giving up. The sun had set, and we were two bikers without lights, dodging our way between the row of parked cars and those moving...
When we finally got home, totally exhausted, Chris threw some burgers on the grill and I heated some black beans and salsa, settling at the table in the yard with his dad to talk about the day's adventure and whatnot (politics, always politics), until calling it an early night and heading for bed. I spoke on the phone with my uncle Cam for awhile, catching up on events and plans; also toying with the idea of driving home from Seattle to deliver a car to Brandon, which would be awesome. I crashed pretty early- just about 12:30 or so, but had a hard time sleeping and woke at 5 am, unable to doze back off. Surprisingly, Chris got up, too, and we decided to have an early showing of Harry Potter 3, staying in bed as the sun eventually rose. So here I am wired, he's back asleep, and I'm contemplating what to do with the rest of the day. Its cloudy today; perhaps a good time for journal making?
Method of transport: Bike/foot
Distance traveled: 25 miles biking round trip, plus 1.5 hours hiking RT
Hills: too many to count
Return time: 9:30 PM, EST
Today was a full day bike-n-hike into the county! Chris and I left at noon, heading west to AAA for a map, then back east across town and out into the county via our (borrowed) bicycles. We went by Funk's Market, stopping briefly for some fuel, then out into the hills and farmland. The day was absolutely gorgeous- bright and clear and sunny- giving us a great view of the surrounding lush countryside. We went through a few small towns, with their old rustic houses, separated by long roads sparsely dotted with enormous modern mansions. Almost the entire route was lined with raspberry bushes; however, not ripe for a few more weeks. Our map was sort of confusing, with so many unlabeled turns and twists, and no marked destination (which was Tucquan Glen, the creek we hiked down and back). We stopped by a corner drugstore to ask directions, memorizing a chant of turns and signposts that would guide us to the burned-out biker bar, which Chris would recognize and recall the rest of the way... Finally, after 3 hours and 40 minutes we made it! I thought my legs would give way as we pulled up to the shady, wooded entrance, marked only with a No Hunting on Sundays signpost and a warning about No Overnight Camping. We conquered so many hills! It was extremely difficult and tiring to push our way up to the top of each, but the reward of sailing down the other side and coasting partway up the next was encouraging enough to keep moving.
Then we began the hike, which was luckily horizontal, except for the winding path up and around certain tree patches and our erratic wandering across the water, at first trying to jump from rock to rock, then just wading clumsily through. Once we got our feet wet, there was no turning back from the soaked and wrinkly toes that were to become, and our only concern was to watch for water snakes and try not to twist an ankle or trip and fall in...
We stopped on a cluster of large, flat rocks near a waterfall and the chimney remains of a once-present cabin, at last resting and eating some lunch. There were tons of bugs flying and crawling around us, but neither of us seemed to care as we downed our sandwiches, baby carrots, and sugar snap peas. Then, I began my attempt at capturing photos of the water flowing with my new camera- it can be set to manual, but I'm still learning to adjust the shutter speed with the aperture in order to get both sharp and blurry images. Lots of experimenting; luckily I had a empty 512 MB card to fill...
Last summer was my first time at the falls, when we came in the evening and I saw my first bunch of fireflies. We made it to the same small waterfall (which is actually just a pinch in the rock that makes the water shoot out faster), and then walked a bit more down the riverbed. Chris reverted back to the 6-year old boy of his childhood, who runs and jumps in search of bugs and sticks and who knows what else to play with, leaving me to get lost in my attempt at photography... He did spot a snake in our path, which I'm glad he spotted and kept a close eye on, in case it got any nearer to us. It eventually slithered down into the water, trying hard to swim upstream but instead was blown back until it got to the other side where it could wait patiently for its next move.
The way out was much quicker than the way in- why is that always the case?- and we reached our bikes locked to the signposts at 6. Now for the journey home; I was nervous I wouldn't make it up all those hills we joyfully flew down, but the only way home was to bite the bullet and ride. So we did- for another couple of hours- stopping briefly to rest and read on a blanket in a green patch of grass, but covered in so many bugs it was impossible to get comfortable. By the time we got back to Funk's it was shut, and the excitement of being just so close to home (still 6 miles away though) was enough to keep us from falling over and giving up. The sun had set, and we were two bikers without lights, dodging our way between the row of parked cars and those moving...
When we finally got home, totally exhausted, Chris threw some burgers on the grill and I heated some black beans and salsa, settling at the table in the yard with his dad to talk about the day's adventure and whatnot (politics, always politics), until calling it an early night and heading for bed. I spoke on the phone with my uncle Cam for awhile, catching up on events and plans; also toying with the idea of driving home from Seattle to deliver a car to Brandon, which would be awesome. I crashed pretty early- just about 12:30 or so, but had a hard time sleeping and woke at 5 am, unable to doze back off. Surprisingly, Chris got up, too, and we decided to have an early showing of Harry Potter 3, staying in bed as the sun eventually rose. So here I am wired, he's back asleep, and I'm contemplating what to do with the rest of the day. Its cloudy today; perhaps a good time for journal making?