Never Assume Anything!

While at lunch with some of my Saddlebag friends this past Thursday, we began to talk about "walking" as a form of exercise.  I have been walking 4-5 miles every morning for quite awhile, just along the county roads near my home.  So Deb said she would like to walk with me sometime,  so invited me to meet her at her house the following morning and we would go for a walk together.  I was all-in for that, a change of scenery would be nice!

I thought since Deb doesn't walk every day like I do, our walk together would likely be a leisurely stroll.  So to make it be more of workout for myself, I donned my backpack (loaded with 17 1/2 lbs. of gear), and away we went. 

Here is my dear, sweet, unassuming friend Deb.....

 You'll notice that she is only carrying a partially filled small water bottle, so again we can't be walking very far or long, right?

I have a question, "How many years does it take for a tree to completely cover a sign that has been nailed to it"?

 We saw this armadillo crossing the road directly in front of us!

When we turned the corner near I-20 there was a large patch of these beautiful purple flowers....

They look like petunias!

 

I suddenly remembered to start taking "gate pictures" to add to my collection for my planned coffee table book called "The Gates of Texas".

By this time we had been walking for about an hour and I asked Deb if we were going to turn around and go back soon.  She explained that we were probably already past the halfway point in an 8-mile loop that goes right back to her house, so it would probably be quicker to keep on going around that loop rather than turn around and backtrack.

 After all we were on a nice quiet road that had a nice canopy of shade trees, like a green tunnel.  Deb asked if I was O.K. to walk 8 miles, even offered to carry my backpack for awhile.  I told her if she could walk eight miles, I'm sure I could too, even carrying my 17 1/2 pound backpack.

Besides I was enjoying getting a lot more "gate pictures"!

However, I cannot tell you how glad I was to see this sign!  I knew Deb's house was on C.R. 313 so we were now on the "home stretch"!

Actually I was feeling pretty good, only my feet were beginning to feel the effects of walking on "hard surface".  I tried to stay in the grass and dirt along the sides of the roads as much as possible to lessen the impact on the soles of my feet.

Yea!  More gates!

 All the neighborhood dogs announced our passing!

The Wagners naturally have a wagon on their gate post!

Two hours and forty minutes after we set out on our morning walk, we were overjoyed to see this little guy!

 He lives in Deb's front pasture!

So happy to see Deb and Patrick's front gate! 

 Eight miles of road walking, carrying 17 1/2 pounds on my back, two hours and forty minutes!  I have not walked that far since last January when we Saddlebags did our 15-mile benefit walk.  I immediately downed about 20 ounces of water, chatted with Deb and Patrick for a few minutes, then headed home, drinking another 20 ounces of water while driving home, because I had planned to mow our yard today.

When I got home I had left-over peas and cornbread for lunch along with a couple large glasses of iced-tea!  This sort of revived me so I headed out to begin mowing.

Now when I mow, I do not use our riding lawn mower, I use our 22-inch push mower.  It is not self-propelled!  It is a great form of exercise......

 ...and I love how neat and manicured our lawn looks afterward!

I pace myself by mowing for about an hour, then take a 20-30 minute break, enjoying some ice-cold watermelon....

...and drinking an ice-cold Gatorade!

 Then repeat this process again after the next hour of mowing.  It usually takes me about three hours of mowing, great exercise by pushing the mower, to do our whole yard!  Well I can tell you that I only lasted through the first two hours of mowing yesterday.  By that time, it hit my body that it had already backpacked 8 miles that morning and after two more hours of pushing that mower in the afternoon, I was pretty well spent! 

I went to bed by 8:20 p.m. and fell asleep almost immediately!  And I slept until 7:30 this morning!  Reminded me of when I was thru-hiking the A.T. and regularly slept 10-12 hours every night!  Nothing like a good workout to make the body rest good!

So thank you to you, my dear friend Deb,

 for pushing me a little yesterday.  I feel pretty good this morning.  Gotta get out there and finish mowing!

Practice Hike

Mary "Titmouse", Stephanie "Tundra", and I "Flame" traveled to Cedar Ridge Nature Preserve yesterday to do a "practice hike" with our loaded backpacks.  What a surprisingly beautiful and challenging terrain to hike in right on the edge of the city of Dallas with great views of Joe Pool Lake in the west!

Today was a learning curve for Titmouse and Tundra in hoisting their loaded packs, how to dress for hiking, what to carry and not to carry, and on and on.  So many little details to consider when it comes to backpacking and "living" in the outdoors!

 First of all, "How do I hoist this thing onto my back"?

 "Is everything I might need to survive really in my backpack"?

 "O.K. Here I go!  Let me put this backpack on!"

                                  "I almost have it!"

               "What do I do with all these buckles and straps"?

We are on the trail by 8:15 a.m. and it is warm and very humid.

As any of you who know me, you know that when it comes to technology I am really a dinosaur.  However, most of my friends are very tech-savvy!  Titmouse pulls a tiny GPS gadget out of her pocket and is trying to figure it out to see if she wants carry it on our upcoming hike on the O.N.R.T.

We begin our hike today along the Cedar Break Trail which is rated as "moderate-difficult".  It is very well maintained with lots of ascents and descents and several nice wooden bridges for when there is water running in these little streams.  They are all dry today though.

                      The trails are littered with rocks...

                              ...and lots of tree roots......

...and even double-bridges!

As I said the day was warm and extremely humid and the many rugged ups and downs were quite challenging, especially for "new" backpackers carrying 20 pounds on their backs.  We saw many other folks on the trail either walking or running.  After walking for almost two hours we reached the top of this steep climb and Tundra was feeling a little queasy and short of breath so when we reached the top there was a nice bench for her to lie down for a few minutes.  She recovered quickly.

 A little later in the morning Tundra's backpack decided to lie down on another bench to rest!

We followed the Cedar Break Trail back to the Cattail Pond Trail and followed it all the way to the pond.  Along the way we came to a nice tower to climb for a great view of the valley below.

 We are looking down onto Joe Pool Lake....

                           Titmouse is having a great time today!

 Like I said my friends are vary tech-savvy so of course they spent time on their smart phones while we were high up on the cliffs surrounding Joe Pool Lake.

We suddenly noticed that the wind had shifted around to the north and with it came much cooler air!  And it began to rain lightly, so we stopped to put our pack covers on.

 

This pergola at Cattail Pond would have been ideal for us to stop for our lunch break had it not been raining.  We decided to continue on from here onto the Fossil Valley Trail which is rated "difficult".

I was impressed with all the trail maintenance that has went into making this trail so nice for hikers, runners, walkers, and it is so close to a major population center like Dallas.  It is owned and managed by the Dallas Audubon Society and the county of Dallas.  No admission, however a donation of $3 is suggested.  I gladly dropped $5 into the donation box because I loved it.  What a great place for a day hike!  Thanks Titmouse for knowing about this place!

 Very tricky at times with rain-slick roots, rocks, and wood on the steep descents and ascents.

We looped on the Fossil Valley Trail back to the Cattail Pond Trail and since it was still misting rain we headed back to the main trailhead where there were picnic tables under large trees that formed a canopy to keep us semi-dry while we ate our lunch.  (The restrooms there also were a huge plus!)

 We immediately donned our rain jackets as it got cooler and cooler.  I think the temperature dropped 15-20 degrees from when we began this morning!  And being wet made it feel even cooler!

Following our lunch break we headed out on the Escarpment Trail and saw this tree with hundreds of tiny white mushrooms growing on its trunk.

 After less than a mile we decided to backtrack on the Escarpment Trail so we could pick up the Bluebonnet Trail.

While on the Bluebonnet Trail we came to another tower to get some great views below us.

 Shortly after climbing the tower we connected to the Mulberry Trail which we took all the way back to the parking area.

As you can see in the photos the Cedar Ridge Nature Preserve is located in the wooded hills overlooking not only Joe Pool Lake but densely populated neighborhoods and city beyond!

I wonder how many of the thousands of folks who live within view of this awesome place even know about it or have ever came here for a visit into these gorgeous wooded hills filled with trails and picnic opportunities.  How fortunate they are to have this so close to where they live and work!

By 2:00 p.m. we were headed out since we wanted to be ahead of some of the afternoon rush-hour traffic   "Bye-Bye Cedar Ridge Preserve"!  What a fun day hiking with friends!

For anyone interested in visiting Cedar Ridge Preserve and want more information, they do have a website.  Cedar Ridge Preserve is located on the southwestern edge of the city of Dallas and just on the northern edge of the town of Cedar Hill where Cedar Hill State Park is located, a Park which Tom and I have visited in the past.