Upsi-daisy

I wound up doing all of the short trail (4K+) yesterday. It featured three climbs, something I would not normally do voluntarily. In fact, at the top of the first hill, a long, steep slog, I could have taken a left turn and avoided the other ups, but that would have meant finishing too soon, even by my low standards. I figured I could either bail at the bottom of the down or after the second climb. Turns out, at the bottom, there was nowhere else to go but up, and at the top of the second hill, there was nothing to be done but follow the trail to the end. Well, it’s always nice to get through a tough trail, so that sense of pride is my return for a hot afternoon’s work.

A Gods-eye view of the trail
We gathered at the Saver’s Appliance store on the edge of town and began our hike from there.
The Hare, Demolition Derby, provides last-minute guidance.
And we are On-On!
And the first big up started right away
What an inclination!
The trail was steeped in mystery…when do we reach the top?
Posers
Hello down there!
The trail teased us with a taste of flatness before resuming the upward angle.
And then, at last, we began the descent. But with each step downward, I knew a future step would lead me back up again.
It wasn’t a particularly easy down either.
The long and short of it
Buddy Fucker makes it through the fence…
…and so does Bum Burglar
The end of the second climb was a real bitch
Hill #2 is in the books!
Steep and slippery going down the second time too.
Easy does it
On the home stretch at last
Wasn’t that fun?
The Hash Circle at Blue Butterfly

My night after the hike went to shit. I was just in a pissy mood for some reason. Wound up leaving the circle early, being an asshole at IDM, and then heading home about the time the other Hashers arrived. Luckily, that behavior is not my norm. I was embarrassed thinking about it this morning.

I can and will do better.

4 thoughts on “Upsi-daisy

  1. Great pics of the hike.

    Just curious: do you guys have any windfarms out that way? You know my attitude toward them: I used to be neutral, but I’m now actively against them after seeing them up close on Jeju Island. You get groups of 8-10 windmills, with maybe only 2 of them working. I mean, what the hell is up with that? That said, the machinery is tall and impressive, and windfarms are fun to walk past (as long as you’re not one of those people who say they uglify the landscape… a point of view I can understand). So from a walker’s perspective, windfarms make for striking landmarks.

    Was just wondering.

    Sorry to read the coda to your activities. I hope things have been better since, and that any ruffled feathers have been smoothed over.

  2. Dont know if evenings problems were related to alcohol, but the first step in solving a problem is actually realizing that there is a problem.

    Hopefully, there is no lasting “damage”, either from a friend standpoint or otherwise.

  3. Brian, No, it was just me being a whiny bitch, nothing to do with the beer (it was early, I’d only just begun).

    I went back to IDM yesterday and apologized. Bought the waitress I was a dick to a drink, and we’ve put it all behind us. Also said sorry to a couple of the innocent bystanders. Luckily, being a punk is rare behavior for me, so folks seemed willing to cut me some slack.

    I’ll strive to be better in the future.

  4. Kevin, Re: windfarms. I’ve never seen one in the PI, but it turns out there are currently seven of them scattered about the country. Generally speaking, I don’t care for them either–they don’t seem to offer much bang for the buck. Of course, given the erratic reliability of the power grid here, sometimes I wish I had a personal windmill in the backyard. Actually, I’ve thought about looking into a solar-powered generator to use during “brownouts.” There is also talk of building a nuclear power plant here, which given the generally poor quality of construction I’ve seen, is a whole other kind of scary.

    Yes, I went on a feather-smoothing mission yesterday and apologized for being a dick the previous night. I think I’m redeemed now.

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