On my new blog:
http://x845.blogspot.com/
A run-hike on the hottest day of the July.
7/05/2013
Mother Bear in Harriman Park
Despite being extraordinarily busy the last few weeks and ongoing, I took some time today to get in some minimal training for the escarpment trail run in a few weeks. It was about 93 degrees with a dew point over 70 -- muggy tough conditions. I hiked up the 700 vertical feet to the woods road, then turned left to the lake. Hard to motivate a good effort in those conditions, but I pushed it as far as I could just by hiking the hills then running the downhills, and flats when I felt like it. Refilled my bottle at the lake but the heat was worse going back, or rather, the heat actually was slightly better, but once the heat breaks you, it feels much harder.
After over two hours of moving in the heat I was well on the way back. I had just crested the final ridge, running the trail downhill, about 30 minutes from home. Senses drawn away from the focus of trail running off to my right. I saw three, no four moving black blobs off in the woods -- Bears. One big one and three smaller ones; cubs. Wow and not far away, 75 meters maybe. Stop look. Don't take your eyes off the mother bear as you pull out your camera. If she charges you drop. Finally get the camera out -- is she going to be pissed off that I'm lingering here, looking her way, her cubs scampering away in the other direction. She stares intently at me as I line up the camera and zoom it for a shot. Nice full size Female bear from what I can tell. I didn't linger further and began sidestepping away down the trail. The bear didn't show any movement, so I turned and started my normal trail running, now away from the bear. No noise of movement from the bear, which I would have heard. The cubs were too far away and obscured by brush, but here's the mother: (click to enlarge)
After over two hours of moving in the heat I was well on the way back. I had just crested the final ridge, running the trail downhill, about 30 minutes from home. Senses drawn away from the focus of trail running off to my right. I saw three, no four moving black blobs off in the woods -- Bears. One big one and three smaller ones; cubs. Wow and not far away, 75 meters maybe. Stop look. Don't take your eyes off the mother bear as you pull out your camera. If she charges you drop. Finally get the camera out -- is she going to be pissed off that I'm lingering here, looking her way, her cubs scampering away in the other direction. She stares intently at me as I line up the camera and zoom it for a shot. Nice full size Female bear from what I can tell. I didn't linger further and began sidestepping away down the trail. The bear didn't show any movement, so I turned and started my normal trail running, now away from the bear. No noise of movement from the bear, which I would have heard. The cubs were too far away and obscured by brush, but here's the mother: (click to enlarge)
6/15/2013
Moving on...
Latest Pictures (click to enlarge): 17 year cicadas all over
Ramapo river cresting it's banks
Toad hatchling, half a centimeter in size
I've enjoyed sharing some pictures and experiences through the medium of this blog, and hope that a few people enjoyed some part of it. My long awaited move to a new home has finally come, and I'm looking forward to exploring new trails and new pathways in life. The local trails that I've come to love in recent years have been wonderful and inspiring. They've offered up the bounty of nature that the forest reveals through each unique season, from the dry hot times of summer, to the cool refreshing colorful fall, to the many looks of winter but breathtakingly beautiful when blanketed with pristine snow, to the amazing rapid bloom of all life in spring. The forest is indeed magical.
I've learned many things from this wonderful time of hiking and trail running the past few years. When in the past I always enjoyed nature, rarely did I slow down much to really observe it. I was more of a trail runner then, though I would always hike sometimes, with hiking's slower pace, pausing for views, stopping to eat, and enjoying the camaraderie of friends on the trail.
But the alone time has been great. Stopping whenever I want to take a picture, to observe animals and insects large and small. Many times stopping at random spots just to think, but more often stopping to write ideas down -- ideas on my writing projects, reflections on current life, and pathways of life to explore in the future. The run-hike came naturally out of all that, blending the best of hiking and trail running, which really can only be done alone because you change your pace at your own whim. I've written about that elsewhere in this blog. Check it out and try it.
I will continue to write about nature, trails, and hiking in some form, though maybe not on this blog. But I say now: get some maps, explore some new trail routes and combinations, and get out there as much as you can because each season will reveal itself to you beautifully. Plan out loops for your hikes or runs (or run-hikes) because loops are often the most satisfying (to me at least), but doing an out-and-back on a great trail can be just as fun. For fitness, don't hesitate to try doing double loops or laps, back and forth on the same trail -- challenge yourself to do a faster time each lap or loop!
Get a map and learn navigation basics, and then you're free to explore more. Don't hesitate to make a random change of direction to explore that other trail you always pass, or turn around to go back to explore that side trail you've always wondered about. Planned trail routes are great and are the stuff of learning the ropes of nature exploration, but taking that turn onto another trail and exploring it can be great fun, and you never know what you'll find out there. Just as in life, following the same old pathways all the time becomes habit, but new learning, inspiration, and perspective comes from exploring new pathways, and that's true for both trails and life.
To the many wonderful people I've met or passed by on the trails, and to those who have come to find this blog, I say: continued happy trails out there. I'll still be out there on new and sometimes old trails as much as I can. Enjoy and explore!
Ramapo river cresting it's banks
Toad hatchling, half a centimeter in size
I've enjoyed sharing some pictures and experiences through the medium of this blog, and hope that a few people enjoyed some part of it. My long awaited move to a new home has finally come, and I'm looking forward to exploring new trails and new pathways in life. The local trails that I've come to love in recent years have been wonderful and inspiring. They've offered up the bounty of nature that the forest reveals through each unique season, from the dry hot times of summer, to the cool refreshing colorful fall, to the many looks of winter but breathtakingly beautiful when blanketed with pristine snow, to the amazing rapid bloom of all life in spring. The forest is indeed magical.
I've learned many things from this wonderful time of hiking and trail running the past few years. When in the past I always enjoyed nature, rarely did I slow down much to really observe it. I was more of a trail runner then, though I would always hike sometimes, with hiking's slower pace, pausing for views, stopping to eat, and enjoying the camaraderie of friends on the trail.
But the alone time has been great. Stopping whenever I want to take a picture, to observe animals and insects large and small. Many times stopping at random spots just to think, but more often stopping to write ideas down -- ideas on my writing projects, reflections on current life, and pathways of life to explore in the future. The run-hike came naturally out of all that, blending the best of hiking and trail running, which really can only be done alone because you change your pace at your own whim. I've written about that elsewhere in this blog. Check it out and try it.
I will continue to write about nature, trails, and hiking in some form, though maybe not on this blog. But I say now: get some maps, explore some new trail routes and combinations, and get out there as much as you can because each season will reveal itself to you beautifully. Plan out loops for your hikes or runs (or run-hikes) because loops are often the most satisfying (to me at least), but doing an out-and-back on a great trail can be just as fun. For fitness, don't hesitate to try doing double loops or laps, back and forth on the same trail -- challenge yourself to do a faster time each lap or loop!
Get a map and learn navigation basics, and then you're free to explore more. Don't hesitate to make a random change of direction to explore that other trail you always pass, or turn around to go back to explore that side trail you've always wondered about. Planned trail routes are great and are the stuff of learning the ropes of nature exploration, but taking that turn onto another trail and exploring it can be great fun, and you never know what you'll find out there. Just as in life, following the same old pathways all the time becomes habit, but new learning, inspiration, and perspective comes from exploring new pathways, and that's true for both trails and life.
To the many wonderful people I've met or passed by on the trails, and to those who have come to find this blog, I say: continued happy trails out there. I'll still be out there on new and sometimes old trails as much as I can. Enjoy and explore!
6/07/2013
Seventeen Year Cicadas Emerge
I've been having a great springtime hiking and trail running. The eastern forest of southern New York bloomed magnificently this year, in little over a month's time. Ample rains have made it like a rainforest, and such a stark contrast to the bleakness of late winter after the snow melted away.
Then I noticed, first about two weeks ago just starting, the high decibel song of cicadas, few at first, then more and more, and suddenly thousands of small holes in the dirt on the trail. The 17 year cycle cicadas were emerging!
Nature is so amazing. Cicadas are somewhat interesting but it's the timing that makes me think. In a human life you only have a chance to see these things a few times, only 6 times if you live a very long life. The next cycle for these is 2030! What a different world it will be that far along into the 21st century. Where will I be? What will I be doing? It puts human lifespan into perspective.
Some Pix -- Click to Enlarge:
Some random lizards
The 17 year cicada (2013 version - there are others)
Cicada burrow holes
The laurel is flowering!
Then I noticed, first about two weeks ago just starting, the high decibel song of cicadas, few at first, then more and more, and suddenly thousands of small holes in the dirt on the trail. The 17 year cycle cicadas were emerging!
Nature is so amazing. Cicadas are somewhat interesting but it's the timing that makes me think. In a human life you only have a chance to see these things a few times, only 6 times if you live a very long life. The next cycle for these is 2030! What a different world it will be that far along into the 21st century. Where will I be? What will I be doing? It puts human lifespan into perspective.
Some Pix -- Click to Enlarge:
Some random lizards
5/19/2013
Outdoor Week Ending 5/19/13
Things have been great out on the trail, and I've been very fortunate to be able to get out there as much as I have -- over 14 hours per week for the last 8 weeks. Most of my time on the trail is hiking, with about 20% running. I'm finding a great balance between my enjoyment of hiking and the fun of trail running, without the push to have to train for events.
Some recent pictures (click to enlarge):
Shawangunk ridge looking south from sky top tower
Slide, Cornell, Wittenburg mountains from 20 miles
Spring growth exploded between mid April to mid May
Ahhhh springtime at last
Some recent pictures (click to enlarge):
Shawangunk ridge looking south from sky top tower
Slide, Cornell, Wittenburg mountains from 20 miles
Spring growth exploded between mid April to mid May
Ahhhh springtime at last
5/01/2013
Racing and Hunting Madden the Mind
Twelve
The five colors blind the eye.
The five tones deafen the ear.
The five flavors dull the taste.
Racing and hunting madden the mind.
Precious things lead one astray.
Therefore the sage is guided by what he feels and not by what he sees.
He lets go of that and chooses this.
The above is from Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching, Gia-fu Feng and Jane English, (c) 1972
I first read this book a few years after it first came out, when I was about 14, I puzzled over all 81 verses, but some in particular caught my attention, as if I was closer to grasping some faint understanding of those, while not having a clue about most of the others. I'm not saying that I understood verse twelve more than the others, but as an avid sports enthusiast, I did take particular note of "racing and hunting madden the mind".
Now it's 35 years later, and I don't claim to understand any more than I did back then, but I come back to that one sentence now, and it makes a little more sense to me. I grew up athletic and loving sports of all kinds. Basically, I was a jock when I was young, and I was pretty competitive. Racing was fun! Now, while racing can still be fun sometimes, it's no longer a goal or end of itself.
For many years I used racing as a goal to motivate myself to train, and often enjoyed the adrenaline-pumping thrill of the race itself. I will probably feel the same way again, and I have one race I plan to run this year, the big one I've done for the last 8 years: the escarpment trail run.
Now overall I have less desire to race, and more desire to run and hike freely, without much plan or restriction, staying fit not to race, but to be more free. Health and fitness lead directly to more freedom, and the ability to roam and go places on foot expresses that freedom. As for racing maddening the mind, it can come to define your athletic pursuit to the point where you don't enjoy it very much; that much I can say. I'm enjoying my hiking and running as never before.
For last week -- over 17 hours of roaming on my feet. Click on Pictures to enlarge:
This is the creek I fell into recently -- upside-down in the middle of that waterfall
The five colors blind the eye.
The five tones deafen the ear.
The five flavors dull the taste.
Racing and hunting madden the mind.
Precious things lead one astray.
Therefore the sage is guided by what he feels and not by what he sees.
He lets go of that and chooses this.
The above is from Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching, Gia-fu Feng and Jane English, (c) 1972
I first read this book a few years after it first came out, when I was about 14, I puzzled over all 81 verses, but some in particular caught my attention, as if I was closer to grasping some faint understanding of those, while not having a clue about most of the others. I'm not saying that I understood verse twelve more than the others, but as an avid sports enthusiast, I did take particular note of "racing and hunting madden the mind".
Now it's 35 years later, and I don't claim to understand any more than I did back then, but I come back to that one sentence now, and it makes a little more sense to me. I grew up athletic and loving sports of all kinds. Basically, I was a jock when I was young, and I was pretty competitive. Racing was fun! Now, while racing can still be fun sometimes, it's no longer a goal or end of itself.
For many years I used racing as a goal to motivate myself to train, and often enjoyed the adrenaline-pumping thrill of the race itself. I will probably feel the same way again, and I have one race I plan to run this year, the big one I've done for the last 8 years: the escarpment trail run.
Now overall I have less desire to race, and more desire to run and hike freely, without much plan or restriction, staying fit not to race, but to be more free. Health and fitness lead directly to more freedom, and the ability to roam and go places on foot expresses that freedom. As for racing maddening the mind, it can come to define your athletic pursuit to the point where you don't enjoy it very much; that much I can say. I'm enjoying my hiking and running as never before.
For last week -- over 17 hours of roaming on my feet. Click on Pictures to enlarge:
This is the creek I fell into recently -- upside-down in the middle of that waterfall
4/22/2013
Boulder Confidence
A good week -- 18+ hours.
This was the most fun part of it... Four minutes of trail running on one of my favorite trails. This short section is almost all large boulders, with a vertical drop of over 100 feet. Less than a week earlier I fell into a stream and was very lucky to come away almost unscathed. With the minor incidental damage largely healed, my confidence was fully back to enjoy this radical section of trail once again. This is very much like a more urban sport called free running.
This was the most fun part of it... Four minutes of trail running on one of my favorite trails. This short section is almost all large boulders, with a vertical drop of over 100 feet. Less than a week earlier I fell into a stream and was very lucky to come away almost unscathed. With the minor incidental damage largely healed, my confidence was fully back to enjoy this radical section of trail once again. This is very much like a more urban sport called free running.
4/10/2013
Spring Finally!
The last two weeks have seen a transition from very seasonably cool windy days to a few almost summer-like days this week! I managed a good amount of time hiking and trail running the last two weeks -- 15:48 and 15:58 respectively. Much more hiking that trail running, because that's what I wanted to do at the time! Here's a few photos:
3/26/2013
Outdoor Weeks Ending 3/24/13
The last two weeks I was more busy than usual but still managed to get outside for 9 hours 26 minutes the previous week, and 6 hours and 40 minutes last week. Fresh snow just prior to the official start of spring time and seasonably very cool temperature slowed things down some, but it was still beautiful outside on most days. Just a few snowy pictures for the last two weeks!
3/11/2013
Outdoor Week Ending 3/10/13
Almost 12 hours, 3200' of climb, mostly hiking with a little trail running. For some reason I was run down early in the week, but felt a little better and did some running on the weekend. Seasons all have their character, and now I'm looking forward to springtime. Wet feet, sloppy snowy and now muddy trails, and gray skies are getting tiresome. Had a minor fall yesterday on some ice, put a nice scrape on my bare leg. Nature always refreshes and inspires though, if I go prepared and relax into the environment.
Pix, click to enlarge:
All melting fast,
then a mid-week 8 to 10 inches of fresh snow, breaking trail,
Pix, click to enlarge:
All melting fast,
then a mid-week 8 to 10 inches of fresh snow, breaking trail,
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