I'm finally finding time to catch up! The last week of June was rough for getting outside between heat advisories and storms. I made it outside for some late evening gardening a few days but I didn’t hike.
On Wednesday (6/25), however, the Pelotonia Summer Rally was held on campus. I attended after work and not only was it motivating, I had the opportunity to meet Brutus!
Sunday evening (6/29), I finally made it out to hike! The weather was humid, but not too hot. I took extra water, a snack, checked the weather, and headed to the trail. My goal was a somewhat relaxed but consistent pace but more miles.
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| A view from the trail |
It started out as planned, I was moving forward with occasional stops to take a picture of an interesting fungus or slime mold or to watch a foraging Pileated Woodpecker just on the edge of the trail.
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| Carnival Candy Slime Mold (Arcyria denudata) |
When I reached a point about as far away from my car as I could be on that trail, I began to hear some distant thunder. I pulled up a weather app, and it wasn't supposed to rain or storm until about 10 PM, so I continued on. It wasn't long before the rolling thunder became continuous and a bit louder. I looked at a radar map and there was a distant patch that I figured was what I was hearing.
Moments later, rolling thunder turned into booming thunder. Since the trail has two entrances at opposite ends, I decided it might be safer to call and see if my mom could pick me up at the end I was near and drive me back to my car. I called... no answer. I continued on, picking up my pace. This area has a lower, mostly flat tail that goes along the water's edge and an upper, winding trail that travels through ravines and forest. I was on the upper trail and was making my way back to the flatter and straighter trail, so I could get back as quickly as possible. Then, the rain started. I could hear it hitting the leaves above me and the water before I felt it. Thankfully there was enough cover in the woods and it wasn't raining hard enough to get me soaking wet , but I didn't trust that it wouldn't get to that point and I still had over a mile to get back to my car! The hip pack I was carrying prevented me from actually running comfortably, so I walked as quickly as I could without slipping in the mud.
It wasn't what I had planned, but I hit the 4 mile mark, just as I was getting to my car!
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| My path that ended June |
I ended June with a total of 15.27 miles hiked since I started halfway through the month. Today I made a donation to Pelotonia of $2.25 per mile and rounded up to donate $35 for my June miles. My goal is $1500 raised with 100% going towards cancer research.
Help me reach my goal by following by blog, sharing with your friends, and donating here: https://www.pelotonia.org/profile/AW975358
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