Through the Woods

Our hike today with San Antonio Hill Country Hikers started on the Government Canyon State Natural Area trail at precisely 7:45 a.m. One of the attributes I like about this group is they start on time...no dilly-dallying.

We headed out into the frontcountry on easy trails to warm up before heading uphill into backcountry. The first part of the hike was on wide, flat trails. When we ventured into the backcountry, the trails became narrower and a lot rockier. Thankfully, most of the hike was in the woods. Woods = shade!

Hill Country Hikers at one of the park overlooks.

Trail distances. (Click photo to enlarge.)

Trail map. (Click photo to enlarge.)

Shade!

Nice logo on the spur trail signs.

Well, not quite. Paul took us down to an overlook.

View from the overlook toward park headquarters.

Brief break.

Paul describing the lay of the land.

Our group with Paul, our leader.

Gone to seed.

Nice tree trunk arch frame.

Straw flower.

Horse crippler cacti.

Mountain lions inhabit area.

Saying our good-byes.

We hiked six miles this morning and learned a lot about Government Canyon: There are at least 40 miles of hiking trails, more acreage has been added to the park, and new hiking trails will be constructed; wild pigs live in the park as do rabbits and mountain lions.

There was talk of going out for pancakes after the hike and I was game, but a solid plan didn't materialize by the time we left. Instead, we stopped at Taco Cabana and each had egg and potato breakfast burritos with salsa from the Salsa Bar and a bottle of orange juice. What a great protein replenisher after the hike.

This afternoon our 5th wheel refrigerator stopped working. It's a Norcold and the display window is giving us a symbol like an "n" or upside down "u." We have tried turning it off, waiting a minute, then turning it back on. No go. We bought a bag of ice and put the most critical items in our Coleman cooler with the ice. Tomorrow I will call about our warranty and see when we can have the refrigerator fixed or replaced. Looks like we'll be eating out quite a bit until then ** or ** buying lots of ice!!



Movie review: Last night, we watched our Netflix selection, Side Effects, starring Jude Law, Rooney Mara, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The plot was very convoluted and involved prescription anti-depressants, a murder, medical ethics, and mental instability. Our rating was so-so, maybe 2-1/2 stars.

Now we're kicking back and relaxing. Thought about going to the San Antonio Missions baseball game, but the wind kicked up, clouds moved in and there's a chance of showers or thunderstorms. Don't want to sit exposed in a stadium with lightning bolts flashing around us.

Have a good week. Travel Bug out.

CHS '65

Saturday evening was my 45th high school reunion. Salem Central High School (now Westosha Central) class of '65. The reunion was held at the Brat Stop - a hang out for years.
Our class reunions have been a bit non-traditional. Previously we held 25th and 36th year reunions. All have been held at the Brat Stop. Very informal fundtions. The next one (for our 50) is being planned to be a gala affair.
My grade school classmates (Ilene and Ron - that's right, there were 3 in our 8th grade class) were both in attendance. Some of my closest high school friends - Pete, Jack, Susan, & Barb) were there.
When I headed to my mom's apartment, I was tired and with a headache. My brain was overloaded, I should have headed home earlier, but it was worth it.
Organizers used our high school senior photo on the name tags.

Tranquil Pool

Tranquil Pool, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

While hiking along a stream in Las Trampas Regional Wilderness, I came upon this little cascade and pool. The creeks in Las Trampas are something else, descending from rugged canyons into the flat valleys below.
Anyone else have some waterfalls nearby?

The midnight century

The other thing that happened on Friday evening (or perhaps Saturday morning) was the midnight century at Ipswich. Actually, I almost didn't make it -- I was worried that Friday evening's downpour would flood out the train from Nerang, but that didn't happen, so I was on my way. I would have liked an hour or two to sleep before the ride, but time constraints put paid to that as well.

The ride itself got underway at a pretty frantic pace -- largely due to the high proportion of 30-40km riders who wanted to ride a century at that same pace. A couple of minor climbs in the Grantham/Laidley/Forest Hill areas put paid to that situation. Actually, I came into my own a little in that stretch. I'd been struggling with the pace early and even thought about dropping back before Rosewood, but once we hit the hills I started to feel better. By the first checkpoint at Forest Hill I'd somehow become ensconced in the really fast group, probably not ideal considering I was doing this thing on a Hybrid.

It was an interesting exercise in trying to hold the pace, but the group was surprisingly patient anytime someone felt the need to slow for a couple of minutes or so, and it was an absolutely beautiful night to be out. I really need to do more rides at that time of night, and build up some conditioning for riding at that time. 2-4am seems to be the hardest, as it's right at the bottom of the sleep cycle. That said, we just wound our way through localities like Coominya and Lowood, eventually on to Fernvale for the second checkpoint.

By now the sun was coming up, and my legs were really complaining. After the feed here, I basically abandoned my plans to stay with the really fast group and just set off at my own pace. With the sun now rising, I started looking for pictures to take from the ride, just a souvenir of the experience.



Perhaps surprisingly, I actually caught a couple of riders from the really fast group, who had also decided to ease off the pace a bit after 125km. We actually ended up riding together just for the sake of it. We basically regrouped in Marburg just to check the route, and one or two other things. Between here and Rosewood was the most beautiful part of the entire ride, the climb of the Marburg Range. The views here are surprisingly good -- surprising because the summit is still less than 200 metres above sea level.





After passing through Rosewood (again), it was now just a route-finding challenge. The one downside of this ride was spending the final 10km winding through the suburbs of Ipswich to get the distance, personally I would have preferred to have spent that 10km winding through somewhere else. On the other hand, this last 10km was hilly enough to put the ride over 1,000 metres of climbing, so perhaps it's not worth complaining.

The three of us found our way back to Queens Park, where there was already a barbecue on for the finishers. I was actually a little surprised that the kiosk next door wasn't open -- I would have thought they might have done some trade on a Sunday morning at that time, but then, it was Ipswich. The finish actually seemed a little low-key, but that's probably a good thing, and to be expected with people who have been up cycling all night. All in all, however, it was a thoroughly enjoyable ride, and I'll certainly be back for it in 2006.

Hopefully it's on the Saturday night this time -- I still harbour an idea of riding to the start of the ride, just for the challenge. Turning it into a 300km ride would be very, very interesting.

Red Roses and a White Picket Fence

I've always loved red roses on a white picket fence, and now I have one thanks to Cindy S.   I don't think it'll bloom all summer, but I sure am loving it right now.  

Snake Bite!

I wasn't really bitten by a snake. Read on.
This evening, I took the Schwinn, in fixie mode, on the Keystone for a short ride. I'm not able to commute to work by bike this week, so I'm trying to make sure I get some rides in. Right after getting on the trail, I noticed poor handling and looked down for a flat.
Sure enough, the rear 25mm tire was all squishy. I stopped to check, and dang it if the tire had no air in it.
I turned the bike over and pulled out my shiny Ace Hardware 15mm wrench and pulled the rear wheel off. I used a lever to pop out the bead, but was able then to get the tire and tube off by hand.
I had an extra tube, but had never used a glueless patch kit and wanted to give it a try. The weather was nice, and I had plenty of light left, so why not? I used my mini pump (also never used) to connect up to the Presta valve, gave it some air, and found not one, but two tiny holes next to each other.
Snake bike! I guess this is a pinch flat.
I had a nasty nail puncture last year on my hybrid, but the pinch flat was new. I am not sure how I got it, but I do know there's a bad gap on a bridge joint near where I get on the trail. I'm not used to hopping and popping obstacles in fixie (where I can't brace on the pedals), so maybe that was it.
I got the warm fuzzy about cycling when a handful of people, including one guy who "pedals" a recumbent using his arms, slowed and asked if I needed help, a tube, or CO2 cartridges. I do the same, so it all works out. I even helped a retired gentleman change a car tire once while out on a commute.
I didn't need any help, and in a few minutes, had the pressure up, good enough by feel, to remount the wheel and continue riding a bit. When I got home I saw that I had reached 60 PSI of the recommended 90 PSI maximum and topped it off with my floor pump. The patch seemed to work well enough to span the two tiny holes and hold pressure. My mini pump has settings for high volume or high pressure, so if I had been more patient, may have been able to get to 90 on the mini pump, but 60 was good enough to ride a bit.
I'm curious to see if the patch holds over the next few days. It sure beats the messy glue and rubber patches I used as a youth.
In the meantime, I'll be sure to watch out for more snake bikes on the Keystone!
Lessons Learned

• Who needs expensive CO2 cartridges? If conditions allow, the mini pump is effective, and free to use, and if I mess up, I just reattach the pump and try again.
  
• Make sure tires are properly inflated. I understand skinny road tires can lose air more quickly than wider, lower pressure tires. Not sure if I headed out on low pressure, but maybe I did.
• Glueless patches seem to work pretty well! At six patches per kit, it's way cheaper than buying a new tube.
• Even for short rides, bring a blowout kit. Sure, I could have pushed the bike two miles, uphill, home, but where's the fun and adventure in that?
• Pack two tire levers. For some reason I only had one. I didn't need two, but if I had, I didn't have it.
• Cyclists are so cool, always looking out for each other.
• Be comfortable fixing flats! I did this some as a kid, and have changed tires and tubes some for riding in different seasons. Anyone serious about cycling, (men, women, and children) should learn how to fix a flat. You will get flats! It's not that hard, and can be done in a few minutes with some practice.
  

Southwick and surrounding woods

About 6 miles. 2 hrs 15 mins. A couple of showers but nothing really wet. As I got home the sun came out.





Lovely walk, with only likelihood of wandering off track right in the last half-mile or so.

Quite up and down. I parked by Southwick church and walked up to the water tower on the Glapthorn Road, but there's a fair sized lay-by at the top. Of course that puts the uphill road walk at the end.





The track starts about 100 yards past the water tower, to the right.

It runs through at least three fields of this crop - is it bamboo? Pandas next?





(I'm told this is a bio-fuel crop)



It was very windy up on the ridge, but the plants were some protection as they were taller than I am.





The hedges around had lots of blackberries.





For much of the way the path runs beside Short Wood Nature Reserve.









After about a mile or so the track comes to a metal gate leading into a large meadow, and today I was treated to the sight of these two little deer.





I was surprised when they came towards me at first, so I tried to get a shot - usual problem of the wrong lens for the job, and the splodges are raindrops! It was a joy to watch them leaping about. The wood behind the deer is part of Glapthorn Cow Pastures Nature Reserve, famous for nightingales in May, and black hairstreak butterflies in June.The cows were in the lower part of the field keeping themselves to themselves.





The track goes across to another gate, then right on a road leading to Provost Lodge. I followed the path between the two big barns and through a gate then downhill. According to my instructions it crosses a stream, but it looked as though there has been no water in the stream bed for some time. The path goes uphill to another gate, past a gap in the hedge. At the gate I went slightly diagonally left towards yet another gate. Then turn left towards an old farm building - this part of the walk is alongside a ploughed field. There is a bit of grass along the edge, but it's a bit rough in places.

At the old building (Tottenhoe Lodge) turn right and carry on going north, with a hedge on your right until you reach a wooden footbridge almost on the road.





There's a bridge which you have to cross - it brings back memories of cycling over to Suffolk almost twenty years ago, as I remember stopping here for a rest, and Harry drawing Crossway Hand Farm on the hill.





I followed the concrete track towards the farm, turning left just before it, and then along the track towards Boars Head Farm. There is woodland immediately on the right, but no public access as it's a conservation area. The track continues as a grassy path just past Boars Head Farm, going downhill and entering the wood, at its narrowest point. There is a clear path to left and right. We go to the right along a gravel track signed with a horseshoe. As I walked along here, I first heard, then saw a couple of jays - are they burying acorns already?

I followed the route straight through, past three paths to the right. The last one of these leads to Shire Hill Lodge, but the path becomes very narrow for a short distance before joining the track .

Soon there is a small plantation of fir trees on the left, and at the end a footpath cuts across the track. I turned right - it's clearly marked as a footpath, but not for horses. The path turns left after another young pine wood. When it joins a gravel track go straight on, not to the right. A little later turn right and follow this path directly to Southwick.





(If you come out of the wood and spot the Water Tower on your right, a little behind you . . . retrace your steps. If you're out of the wood you should have the trees on your right not your left!)

Spot the statue?

You arrive at the church after crossing a footbridge over a stream and following a small lane to the footpath signs and two benches.

No, it's not the leaning tower of Southwick.

Thanks to 20 Best Local Walks, by Nicholas Rudd-Jones, for this route.