In which I have a pity-party, but riding in the sunshine helps
Seems like most of my friends are at the Mt. Adams Endurance Ride this weekend. They've got 159 riders registered, the trails are fabulous, and the weather will be spectacular.
And I can't go.
Waaaaaa-hhhh!
Times like these, there's only one thing to do:
Take the pity-party out for a ride.
Fiddle was ready for something a little more strenuous than usual, so I hauled out to a trailhead that I haven't used much with her.
In fact, I haven't ridden much at this location in almost 6 years. 
I still feel sorry for myself, but not as much. Thanks for the ride, Fiddle!
And I can't go.
Waaaaaa-hhhh!
Times like these, there's only one thing to do:
Take the pity-party out for a ride.
Fiddle was ready for something a little more strenuous than usual, so I hauled out to a trailhead that I haven't used much with her.
In fact, I haven't ridden much at this location in almost 6 years. Navigation was a bit of a challenge.
...and then we'd go through a place where the trees looked really different than they did six years ago (the trees in the photo below used to be much taller)
On the other hand, the trees in the photo below used to be much shorter!
With such clear skies, the GPS was actually helpful for routefinding today, which helped a bit. I also dropped breadcrumbs...
(little pieces of bright pink surveyer tape).
We were out for about 3 hours, and covered almost 12 miles of territory including some very impressive climbs and scrambles. 
But ahhhh, the views from the top were fabulous!
Some of the trails were flagged...but the flags sometimes started in the middle of nowhere and then abruptly stopped. Not very helpful! 
Some of the old familiar trails had also been closed by the loggers. We used to run up this steep logging road--more than a mile of 6% uphill grade, and an excellent place to do a little anaerobic conditioning. Not any more! Now the road is full of tank traps. 
You have to walk through or around them.
On the other hand, the trees in the photo below used to be much shorter!With such clear skies, the GPS was actually helpful for routefinding today, which helped a bit. I also dropped breadcrumbs...(little pieces of bright pink surveyer tape).
We were out for about 3 hours, and covered almost 12 miles of territory including some very impressive climbs and scrambles. But ahhhh, the views from the top were fabulous!
Some of the trails were flagged...but the flags sometimes started in the middle of nowhere and then abruptly stopped. Not very helpful! Some of the old familiar trails had also been closed by the loggers. We used to run up this steep logging road--more than a mile of 6% uphill grade, and an excellent place to do a little anaerobic conditioning. Not any more! Now the road is full of tank traps. You have to walk through or around them.It was such a pretty day. 
I guess I should stop feeling sorry for myself and enjoy the trails, and my lovely companion.
I guess I should stop feeling sorry for myself and enjoy the trails, and my lovely companion.
I still feel sorry for myself, but not as much. Thanks for the ride, Fiddle!
Hifive, pity party buddy. :-/ Oh well, our weather's lovely too, and we have happy horses and time to do what we love. It's (almost) all good!
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