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The first hike was on Tuesday. I expected this to be a rainy and wet hike. It turned out to be a drizzly wet one but, fortunately for me, it never got above a heavy mist. The umbrella I carried hardly was used but my rain jacket was and, surprisingly, I did not overheat like I usually do when I wear it.
The urban hike took me across the John Kerrey pedestrian bridge into Council Bluffs and up into the Loess Hills. My original route would have taken be through a cemetery on top of the hill and would have been about two miles longer than what I eventually did. Google maps let me down when an intersection turned out not to exist ... or once again I missed it. When I hike my mind tends to be a million miles away and missing a turn would not be a surprise.
I'd never really walking up into the hills in Council Bluffs before. One thing I discovered was, as you get closer to the hills and start climbing, the property values and the size of the homes climb as well. On the top of the ridge the houses appeared to be a bit out of my price range. Along with the expensive homes I saw wild turkeys - the first wildlife of the hike.
I went down the other side of the hill (and watched the home values decline as well) and went to the nearby Big Lake Park passing a curious deer along the way. Big Lake Park actually has four lakes or, more correctly in my opinion, ponds. One of the smaller ponds is open to fishermen though this cold, drizzly day kept the fishermen away. The others serve as habitat for all sorts of birds and animals. This time through the park I saw two types of birds that I usually don't associate with land-locked Iowa: Pelicans and seagulls. At first I thought I was seeing snow geese, more common in these parts this time of year, but the long bills gave the pelicans away.
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Pelicans ... in Iowa. |
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The second hike was a bit more substantial. While the urban hike was just a simple walk, the walk I did on Friday was a full blown training hike. I had my poles and, more importantly, I carried a full pack on my back. This was the first time I'd carried a pack since my last walking day of my Camino (23 June 2011).
My backpack was packed with essentially the same gear I'll be taking in September. I ended up over packing. Instead of using a water bladder I used a one liter bottle and, thinking it would unbalance the pack, I put extra weight on the other side of the pack to balance out the bottle. I thought the extra weight would be roughly the same as some of the stuff I had not yet purchased. The final pack weight was 17.6 lb (8 kg). I think this weight was about one or two pounds heavier than my pack will actually be. I overcompensated for things I hadn't bought yet.
The hike was along the Wabash Trace Nature Trail (The three pictures in the slide show on their home page are mine - others can be seen here). I started from the Council Bluffs end and headed in a roughly southern direction down the flat, straight trail. I started out pretty good. The pack did feel heavier than I expected and I will have to rethink how I pack things in the backpack. The smaller pack size carries a bit differently from how my older pack did. The older pack seemed a bit more forgiving. The new one will require some thought. I ended up shifting a few things around in the pack part way through the hike which made the pack ride more comfortably. Carrying water in a hydration bladder will also shift some weight closer to my body and show help it ride better. Next time I wear the pack I will use a bladder.
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View from a bench along the a Wabash Trace. |
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A welcoming bench along the Wabash Trace. |
Oh, man, that bench just begs to be sat upon on a sunny day. Preferably with a good book in-hand.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good couple of hikes, despite the weather. Just don't go wearing yourself out BEFORE you get back on the Camino!
GH: It soes, doesn't it? I had to keep my distance to prevent me from being sucked in.
DeleteI'm trying to pace myself ... though I did over do it a bit on the second hike.