So, I'd wanted to walk at least 50 miles during my spring break, but after my 3-day marathon, I was tired of driving very far just to go walking, so I headed to nearby Carlyle Lake to put on a few miles.
You know you're in a classy place when you see a sign like this at the entrance.
I did a few miles, but I just wasn't feeling it, even though it was nice and sunny. The trail was boring except for a few recent blowdowns. The trails here do these small little loops that mean you actually don't get very far away from anything, so I didn't do many miles.
I spent the next couple of days not walking much--just a few here and there running errands around town, so I had to put in 18 miles this weekend to get to 50. For Saturday, Jeff and I decided that he would ride his bike to Pyramid State Park, where I'd be hiking. He'd get to see some new scenery on the way down there since it's too far for an out-and-back ride from our house, and I would get to try a few of the trails there that I hadn't been on before. I decided to put 30 pounds in the pack (gear + 5 days of food + 2 liters of water), which is more than I should have to carry on the trip at any time except for maybe one day or so when I'll have to do a big resupply with extra food.
This area is a reclaimed mining site full of little lakes, and it was great to see and hear more wildlife than on previous trips, so spring is definitely here. Most of the turtles I saw hopped off their logs and into the lakes before I could get too close, but that big one was sitting pretty close to the trail, and we stared at each other for a while before I headed up the trail. This big turtle family was far enough away not to be threatened by me, I guess, but I scared up a flock of turkeys and saw what I'm pretty sure was a pileated woodpecker.
My previous visit here was so cold and icy that seeing the sparkling water was nice for a change!
The pack felt really heavy, so I took two 15-minute breaks along the way at conveniently placed picnic tables and made minor adjustments to other gear and my shoes. The weight was manageable, but it slowed me down a bit and motivated me to go through the pack to get rid of stuff to cut some more weight.
By about mile 9, I was getting a little tired and ended up choosing a fairly direct route back to the car to wait for Jeff.
He texted that the wind was slowing him down, so I got out my ground cloth and took a little nap in the sun while waiting. The cool breezes and warm sun made for a good combination, and I was almost asleep when Jeff pulled in. We had briefly considered doing a few hiking miles together after he arrived, but my right foot was sore (again) and his ride had been harder than anticipated because of some strong headwinds, so we quickly abandoned that plan, ate some cold tangerines I'd stashed in a cooler in the trunk, drank our Gatorades, and headed out for some Mexican food on the way home.
That trip still left me 8 miles short, and I thought that wouldn't be a problem for Sunday, but I hadn't checked the weather and realized too late that an ice/snow storm was coming in, so those 8 miles would be around-town miles. Jeff came with me for a 4-mile loop right after breakfast, braving rain and sleet with me. Once the sleet stopped, I headed back out for another 4-mile loop to finish out my 50-mile spring break.
My total for the month is 64.5 miles, so I'm still on track to hit 100 this month without too much difficulty.
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