A bad day paddling beats a good day recycling

For those who question the safety of kayaking, we have evidence that staying at home can be far more dangerous. Yesterday, while carrying a bin of recyclables to the alley, Sharon had a close encounter of the sutcherable kind with the top of an aluminum can.



Sharon'a forearm, nine stitches later.

Alec did get to put some of his Wilderness First Aid training to use. And since we were well within two hours of access to medical attention, he didn't have to sew Sharon up himself.

Thanks to our fabulous family physician, Robin Uchitelle, Sharon is on the mend. But she won't be paddling for the next two weeks.

Cuyuna Country

After a frustrating week, FINALLY yesterday I got the car registered. The county was going to send it back to the bank because an error in the lien fee - luckily i was there and paid the fee. Headed back home and packed the car for a trip to Minnesota.
Was a beautiful day today. Would have been nice to be on the trail, rather in the car. But, I made it up to Deerwood, MN. Checked into the motel, started unpacking, and headed to the recreation area to shoot some photos.
Was not ready to head out on the dirt trails with the 500 mile drive. After it warms up in the morning, planning to rides some dirt. One day I want to ride pavement (Cuyuna Country State Trail). if I have time, I an thinking of driving down to Brainard to ride a section of the Paul Bunyon Trail.
Miner Mountain. This is the country I will be riding.

Yellow Daisy

Sorry for the unexplained abrupt halt. I was busy preparing for and then attending the Yellow Daisy craft show.
We had a good show - the weather was warm, but thankfully not in the 100s and not too humid. And I got to meet Dr. Flowers in person!

I should have gone out in the evening and taken pictures of Stone Mountain, but my feet were always too tired by the end of the day. I did make it to the A-loop stage area one afternoon to watch the cloggers for a few minutes.

Girls of the flying feet.

Hillbilly themed dance.

New Mileage Record

While I may have not blogged recently, I have been riding my bikes. Last night was the Xtreme Wheels Full Moon Ride.
Andrew, Blaine, Brandon, and I took off from the shop, heading to Lake Manawa. We had a little head wind on the way (the wind was biting with the temperature being near freezing). Great ride in the woods. Made a full lap at Manawa and headed back to the shop.
The 16.8 mile ride took me over the top on my record annual mileage. My log now shows 2167.85 miles. Still a couple weeks for riding. Will I end up with over 2200 miles?

Good Advice!

Bad News for Insects...

This alien-looking structure is actually the digestive organ of a carnivorous plant. How nice.

How can you not love "hell"?

I decided on Sunday to take a group of friends up to Hell's Hole in Mt Jerusalem National Park. Oddly, I hadn't been there for nine months, despite promising myself I was going to make some wet season visits last summer. Still, there was a small amount of moisture around on Sunday morning in the form of drizzle. It didn't quite make up for it, but it certainly made for an interesting day. I started off by riding out in the dark, something that's become a rather enjoyable habit on the last two weekends, before beholding a beautiful sunrise high on Tomewin in the Macpherson ranges.

This was followed by a ride through the seemingly obligatory mist that collects in the narrow valley at the foot of Mt Warning whenever I ride to Hell's Hole. Just why this should be so I have no idea, but the drop in temperature was at least enough to justify the decision to bring the warm jacket, even if it didn't get a huge amount of use through the day. Still, the mist shrouded mountains, when visible, were a treat, especially on the long climb to the National Park where Mt Warning becomes visible in all it's glory.

The final climb on Middle Ridge road is mind buggeringly steep, steep enough to slow the cars of everyone else down to the same speed as my bike, but yet it didn't seem to be as steep as I remember it, and I negotiated it without too many problems. We set off on the usual downward walk to the creek, before picking our way through the creekside "track" and finally clambering over the rocks to the hole. Today the rock hopping was rather "interesting", with the moisture making things very slippery at times, but the waterfalls and rockpools make all the effort worthwhile.




Mt Jerusalem National Park also has some of the smallest leeches in the world. They can be a problem because you don't always realise you've been bitten. I subsequently discovered another three leech bites after the event that I didn't even feel when they happened. Oh well, that's part of life. I managed to replenish any lost nutrients at the Uki Cafe after the event, and after the seemingly obligatory flat tyre that happens every time I take my MTB out.
Still, it wasn't an insurmountable obstacle, and I was able to enjoy the ride home over Urliup and Bilambil as was once normal. I've been relatively quiet recently with a calf injury that wouldn't go away, and time spent watching the World Cup (Spain will beat The Netherlands 1-0 in the final BTW), but this was a day that was well and truly worth the effort.