Bikin', Hikin', Joggin'

Since posting last, I've returned to Lower Dan's Trail a couple times, once with my bike and once with Ben. Biking it was a blast -- at least, that one downhill mile was a blast. After that, it turned into me walking my bike up a lot of hills and falling off once when I realized I have no idea how to ride my bike down the sharp corner of a switchback. Expert mountain biker, I am not. Besides, when you're on a bike you're much less likely to find stashes of oyster mushrooms like so:

Today I jogged/walked the New Growth and Old Growth trails at McDonald Forest. I'm hoping that incorporating biking and jogging into my routine will get me a bit more in shape. Judging by how much I ached after biking, the plan is succeeding!

I Want Out!

Right now, I want to do this more than anything in the entire universe. It's the McKenzie River Trail, a 26-mile mountain bike/hiking trail that follows the McKenzie River in the Cascades and hits some amazing waterfalls, old growth forest, clear blue pools, and lava rock fields. Oh yeah, and hot springs! In three days, Ben gets eight days off and we're gonna go adventuring... maybe here?
This line of thought is seriously interfering with my ability to edit articles -- working from home is great, but keeping myself focused is not easy!
Hopefully in the future I'll have photos of this trail to post; maybe in a week or so??

Bald Hill Park and a Spiny Mouse

Bald Hill Park: 1.5 miles; easy
Today's mini-adventure was Bald Hill Park, which lies on the mysterious 50-mile-per-hour dead end road near Benton County Fairgrounds. The path varies between gravel, pavement, and dirt trail passing through woods, alongside the pastures of Bald Hill Farm, and eventually (although we didn't make it on this trip) up Bald Hill. Highlights included adorable baby animals and trail literature telling you their price per pound. Unfortunately, it seems like you need to buy a minimum of a quarter of a cow to take advantage of the farm's free range meat.
Since I forgot my camera today, I leave you with this photo of Spiny Norman, my spiny mouse. He is looking rather self-satisfied due to recent consumption of two crickets.

A Perfectly Normal Norman

Willamette Park

Kendall Natural Area Loop Trail: 2.6 miles, easy
I've been hiking so many well-maintained trails lately that I almost forgot it was mud season. Hiking at Willamette Park today gave me a clear reminder. The paved areas are fine, but deviate from the main routes and you find yourself hiking streams instead of trails. At first I tried to keep my feet dry, but eventually I caved and ended up marching through the water. Better to get wet on a short hike than flatten the vegetation around the sides of the trail and contribute to those wide, muddy spots you see.
Regardless, it was perfect weather for frogs, like this bullfrog who was enjoying one of the ponds alongside the trail.