bucks, trees, graves, creeks, rock sculptures and trolls

Went for a ride this morning w/ Jen at the Cove. Temps were hovering in the high 40's, low 50's along w/ a bit of wind....It would be chilly on the road but we'd be out of the wind on the trails. I didn't feel like climbing so we stayed on the lower trails today. My legs are still feeling the weight workout from Saturday and riding at Panapas Pond on Sunday. We headed out the road and made the left onto Songbird. About 6 1/2 minutes into the ride we had to do some log clearing on Songbird. With all of the wind, there was a bunch of stuff down. We laid the bikes down & started moving the log. I'm such a weakling..Jen was using her brute strength gained by moving patients at the hospital to push this log off the trail. It took a little more effort on my part but we got the thing moved. Jen then decided to act like a tree, so we captured a photo.


































Onward we went...twisting, turning, through the leaves. We got to a point where a log used to cross the trail....I was getting ready to dismount when we discovered it has been moved! Woo Hoo. Down through the zoomy section we went...We came upon the tree that is across the lower section of the trail. I think Jen underestimated the angle to get around this log & here's the end result:














We decided to go up Arrowhead...before ascending we took a detour to check out the Confederate grave. I'm curious to know the history of this person...maybe one day I'll do a little more research. The setting is quite serene...with the minor exception of the crazy mountain bike chicks taking pics of the headstone.
















We got to the first crest on Arrowhead & took a short break. I had forgotten what a pain that climb can be. As we sipped from our water bottles, I could see a large buck in the distance. We continued down the trail. I tried to ride slow b/c I knew buck would be hanging out. I came upon him too quickly & he took off. He was around 4 -6 points.. and he was chasing a doe. They scurried up the other side of the trail. We plodded on. Soon we came across another buck which was larger than the first. He was afraid of us too & took off. Got to the creek crossings...I was able to do most of them.....I cleared the one at the end....Jen commented "Well aren't you special"...that's only the 5th time or so I've been able to ride that creek and I took a bad line. Jen walked it..the entry is a little sketchy so I don't blame her at all for walking it.














We came out on the fireroad..on to Schoolhouse & Little Bell. I was starting to fatigue at this point...not enough carbs a few days prior to this ride. We rode along and came up to the "vista point" there's not much of a vista b/c there's no water in the cove! We continued on..debated on going down Enchanted Forest...we opted for the fireroad for a little bit, then decided to dump back down to EF. I'd much rather do the logs, roots on EF than ride the boring fireroad.



















Once we jumped on Comet, Jen pointed out the rock sculpture in progress so of course I had to take a photo.


















We continued on..my legs were shot so no Four Gorge trail for me. We rode back on the road...I noticed 2 trolls on the trees....I had never noticed these in all the times we've ridden by them. We rolled back to the vehicles..Jen had to go to work...I headed home to grab lunch & hang out w/ the pooch. Fun morning at the Cove!

Ridin at the Cove

I decided to take a "mental health" break this morning & joined my friend Jen for a spin at the Cove. Weather was great...high 50's, low 60's, slight breeze. We had tinkered with the idea of doing Hemlock Tunnel aka Clownhead. Jen had not ridden this trail before so she was up to the challenge. We headed out the paved road then started up the 1000' climb. I forgot how tough the first part of the climb was with only 1 gear...we trudged on...I stopped once or twice to snap some photos but we got to the trailhead in roughly 30 minutes. At the top someone had added a nice rock formation to the top of the sign:

We were a little pooped out from the climb but we ventured on. The top of this trail is a little loose in spots and it's covered in leaves..although you're not knee deep in leaves just yet. I managed all the switchbacks this time around. Jen walked a few but they were a little narly...we proceeded down to the really steep section. There was a friendly little sign on the tree warning us to turn back...Ha.

I could see the line to ride in this section but I could not manage my bike to get there. I kept ending up in the rut and the leaves were a little slick so traction was a bit of a challenge. We hopped off & walked a bit. We had to climb over a big tree which has fallen across the trail but were able to get back on the bikes at this point.

We proceeded down to the bottom of the trail.

There was some old caution tape on the trees left over from the Commonwealth games race. Why this was still out there after all these months, I have no clue. We decided to be good stewards of the trail & clean up this stuff. We contined on, crossing a couple of semi dry streams. We picked up more caution tape along the way. As we came out to the fireroad, we turned left and headed up towards the trailhead for Comet. When we arrived at the trailhead we debated on continuing up the fireroad to Tuckaway or tackling this section of Comet. We opted for Comet...Jen had not ridden this section of trail yet so it would be a good challenge. We descended quickly. There are a few spots in the trail which are very technical..I stopped along the way to let Jen know which line to take. When we got towards the middle of the trail, it makes a tight left hand switchback with no where to bail..so once you commit to it, you have to ride it out. What was funny is when I arrived I blurted "Oh Sh#^"...I made the turn..then watched Jen try it. She also blurted out "Oh Sh#^"at the same exact point I said it. Too funny! She made the turn like a pro. We encountered more caution tape tied on the trees so we proceeded to take it down. We ventured on and at one point we inhaled the sweet scent of bear poop & decaying leaves....It was quite aromatic! Jen reminded me we were approaching the area where she encountered 3 bears earlier this summer...so we kept calling for the bears as we rode throught this section of trail....we also joked that we had caution tape & we weren't afraid to use it!!!! (ok..it's no so funny now but it was funny when we were riding)

We continued on to the end of Comet & dumped back out on the fireroad...we headed back to the cars...Jen had to be at work at 2 and I had to spend the rest of the afternoon to continue my job search. It was a great ride..Jen did very well on the trails...maybe next time we'll do Gauntlet???

Ahhhh..the rewards for a fun ride....mmmmmm Smoooooooothies...

more spoiled dog pix

Since Gretta had chosen her "favorite" toy from the many I brought home, I put the remaining toys back in some bags & took them to the basement. I went down the other day to get something and Gretta proceeded to rifle through the bags and pick out another toy. She brought it upstairs with her...later that evening....

she fell asleep w/ it in betwen her paws...once again..the cuteness factor was raised another level.

Spoiled Dog

So Friday was my last day at the paper.. did the whole cake, & cookie thing & we'll miss you schpeel....as I was conversing w/ some of my soon to be ex-coworkers, someone asked me what was up with my desk? I was not sure what they meant...but when I came back to my desk, a whole sea of stuffed animals had appeared. One of my co-workers brought them to me as a going away gift.

I bagged them all up, brought them home, and proceeded to dump them on the floor for my dog. It was like watching a kid at Christmas...she didn't know which one to pick so she proceeded to "mouth" all of them before settling in with a Frankenstein doll. It was quite cute! Here are some pics of the spoiled one: