Just a Few Trail Photos, Really

Falls Lake MST: Section 6

As writers ["writers"] sometimes do, I am finding myself frustrated by flocks of article ideas flittering around in my head searching for their words. I sit down and try to force myself to type something informative and insightful for you fine folks. But, the sentences just suck. And, I'm not going to waste your time with sucky stuff! You deserve better!

But, I'm pretty sure we are all tired of seeing the post about my unfortunate foot blemish on the home page of this site. So, let's just kick that into the archives with this little pictorial piece. There are thousands of words in pictures, right?

Umstead: Loblolly Trail

I've been really enjoying the Fall mornings lately, especially at Umstead and Falls Lake. They're brisk and colorful. And, I feel grateful to be running out there every single time.

Every time.

Falls Lake MST: Section 7

You can see that the trails are pretty much completely covered in leaves now, which adds another degree of technicality to the trails around here. I like it. But, you gotta be careful. 'Cause rocks and roots.

Falls Lake MST: Section 6

Most weekday mornings have me running on the roads. And, I enjoy that, too, of course; especially since the mornings have some level of light to them for the time being.

Umstead: Loblolly Trail

The transition from darkness to just before the sun rises fills the sky with so many variations of pastel orange, purple, and blue. And, if I happen to be on the greenway at this time, the orange and red tree leaves somehow mix with those colors from the rising sun. And, I feel like I'm running through a whole other world—as if some of the landscapes that people publish through the filters via their phones actually exist that way.

Falls Lake MST: Section 6

I don't have a picture of the greenway at sunrise right now, though. Sorry. My camera wouldn't replicate the colors properly anyway.

Sometimes you just have to be there to be the lucky one.

Umstead: Loblolly Trail

Speaking of good fortune, I am one of the happy runners to be registered for the Uwharrie 20 Miler in 2014. I've been excited to run this race for the past three years. And, finally seeing my name on the registration list has me giddy!

Falls Lake MST: Section 7

I am not yet sure what sort of goal I should set for myself as an Uwharrie first timer. (That's one of those posts in the works) My current training plan is to just run as many miles as I have time to run each day. But, I swear I'm going to come up with a strategy of some kind.

I'm open to tips and suggestions from any Uwharrie veterans, of course.

Falls Lake MST: Section 6

Here's a little video that resonates well with my sentiments in this post and takes what I've shared a bit further, I think. You may have already seen this, since it's quite popular.

Thanks so much for reading!

Shoe Photo: The Weak Spot?

One of my Bare-Grips with the sole impaled by a small, sturdy stick. It went all the way through but didn't hit my toes. Still my favorite trail shoe.

Neuse River Greenway Segment 3 Construction Update and Photo Tour

I've been anxious to know how construction on the Neuse River Greenway Segment 3 is moving along, especially since the powers that be forbade access to said segment last Fall. I noticed that the "No Trespassing" signs were down a couple of weeks ago. So, I figured that was pretty much an invitation to check it out.

It's not an invitation. There are still workers and large machines on Segment 3 throughout the week. And, I'm sure they'd prefer that the general public stay out of their way. As you'll see in the photos below, there is still much work to be done.

Saturdays and Sundays appear to be fair game, though!

So, yesterday I headed out on Segment 3 from Raleigh Beach Road to see how far I could go. The cleared area to the left of the port-a-lou in that photo above wasn't there before. So, I went that way.

My secret hope was that Segment 3 would be connected via bridge to Segment 2, which is also under construction. And, if that were the case, I'd be able to run all the way to Segment 1, which is complete. And, that would mean I could, theoretically, run all the way to Falls effin' Lake!

I'll go ahead and tell you now that Segment 3 and Segment 2 are still, at this time, very much separated by the mighty Neuse River. They'll probably connect the segments the day after I move, thereby diluting the thrill of the occasion for me by, like, 78 percent.

Anyway, I'll skip from the port-a-lou at Raleigh Beach Rd. to the section behind the Hedingham Neighborhood, which will seem very confusing if you haven't been here before. We're going to be running this trail out and back, though. So, I won't let you miss anything.

The Greenway behind Hedingham still looks very much the same as it did six months ago.

This used to be about a quarter mile of single-track trail. Sigh.

And, it just gets smoother. That's dirt, not concrete.

You know they're serious about the Greenway when there's a retaining wall involved.

Hmm. Caution tape. What could that mean? How will I get around that?

This is where Segment 2 will join Segment 3 once the bridge is put in place — someday.

The remainder of Segment 3 to Abbington Ln. is smooth and ready for paving. The parking area is blocked off at the moment.

So, now we're turning around and re-seeing the stuff you just saw in the photos above. We'll skip past Hedingham again and resume the photo display at the marshy area surrounding a wooden bridge that serves as the entry to the Hedingham section from the south.

Marshy area suitable for bird and fish watching.

Oh, say, that'll be a nice view once the canvas fence is gone.

Here's a bridge I resisted crossing after I passed that port-a-lou at the beginning. Saving the best for later, and all that. Wonder where it goes.

Daaayuuum! Who knew that was there?

Here's the other view from the bridge. Of course, there's a piece of trash on an otherwise picturesque river island.

So, the bridge takes us to the east side of the river, where there's a small parking area off Old Milburnie Rd. People use this parking lot for fishing and kayak access. I figure this won't take me anywhere. But wait...

There's some sort of access road heading north-ish from the parking area. Hmm...

Oh. A few minutes later, I see that we're facing a gate barring access to this access "road" from Old Milburnie. The other side of that sign reads something like, "No Trespassing. State Owned. Blah, blah, blah." Time to turn around.

The sojourn on the access road wasn't completely wasted though. I saw a little fishing trail leading into the woods. And, here's a nice scene! Apparently, I'm not supposed to be here, though.

Back across the bridge and cross the port-a-lou intersection to proceed south from the Raleigh Beach Rd. spur.

It looks like they're redoing that bridge, or getting rid of it. The detour on the left is a little inconspicuous. It's not a long detour, though.

Well, this intersection wasn't here before. The right side is old. The left side is new. Let's see where that one takes us.

Ah, okay, that left-side path reconnects with the right side at the point where they're going to place another new bridge. This bridge will connect the quarter-mile Knightdale "greenway" with the Neuse River Greenway's awesomeness. That'll be cool.

This last photo pretty much marks the end of Segment 3. Anderson Point Park is just around the bend and across a highway overpass from here. So, we'll turn around and head back to the start.

The City website indicates that this greenway segment will be complete in the Fall of 2012. So, in a relatively short time, all of this will be paved. That's okay, though. I've matured over the past year and a half. And, I'm much more tolerant of paved running terrain. I've learned to appreciate any sort of runnable space, really.

Thanks for reading!

Umstead Inspiration Trail Photo Tour

The Inspiration Trail appears on the Umstead park map as a 0.3-mile loop attached, like a growth, to the Company Mill Trail spur. I've ignored this tiny loop during previous visits to the park, because adding 0.3 miles to a Company Mill trail run seemed unnecessary, especially when you consider that the Inspiration Trail may actually cause you to get a little lost.

But, a hike on 0.3-mile trail is perfectly reasonable for a lunch-break adventure.

Being that it's a loop trail, you can start out to the left or the right. (I went left)

As with most every other trail in Umstead, this one affords views of a creek.

You may also take a seat and admire the view of this hillside. It's pretty. And, the incessant beeping from busy dump trucks at the neighboring rock quarry really adds something special to the atmosphere.

A directional sign of some sort would be good here, right on that center tree, perhaps. If you go to the left, you'll follow some sort of unofficial spur that leads to other unofficial spurs. Going to the right seems to be the official route of the Inspiration Trail.

I unwittingly chose to go left, thinking the right-turn option was just a short sojourn to another bench. The leftward spur isn't terribly lengthy. So, it's definitely worth going that way unless you're incredibly pressed for time.

The trees seem almost foreboding without leaves on this unofficial spur.

The undocumented Inspiration Trail Spur offers up another unofficial spur leading down a somewhat steep hill toward the creek.

How could you resist?

Due to overbearing vegetation, there's not much else for you to do as you get closer to that creek. If you were a nineties-era couple of lovers with a knife and a penchant for tree carving, however...

Scramble back up that hill and continue along the mystery spur. This is what you just passed over after that hilly interlude.

Death is everywhere.

Oh look! It's another descent on another spur, a spur's spur.

And, we're next to the creek again, closer this time. I surprised a black snake sunning itself beside the water here. So, there are snakes. Be advised.

Go ahead and crawl back up that hill to the spur trail.

This funky tree pretty much marks the end of the unofficial part of the Inspiration Trail. If you didn't know you were on the unofficial Inspiration spur, you'd feel a little lost right about now. Luckily, you're reading this blog post.

once you've retraced your steps along the Inspiration Trail spur and found your way back to the loop intersection, you'll see some pretty tame, pine-straw laden trail. It looks much like this. Note the reassuring blue-green trail marker.

And, before you know it, you're back at the start of the Inspiration Trail, at which point you can hike further into the park or back towards the parking lot. Watch out for those Company Mill rocks.

Why We Run: Or, Why I Fail at Photo Contests

I have a tendency to over-analyze things. Questions that require any degree of introspection whatsoever will often leave me speechless for eons. And, my eventual quasi-answer will either be evasive or so overly laden with tangents that the person who posed the question won't care enough to carry on a conversation with me anymore.

I've lost you already, haven't I?

Anyway, there's this photo contest that inspired me to question my motivations for running. And, being that the photo contest provided monthly opportunities to submit one photo response over the course of the year, I felt certain that I'd be able to illustrate my personal reasons for running at least a few times. I love photographing stuff, after all. And, I love running. How could I not participate?

I presume that my reasons for running are fairly standard and comparable to the usual reasons others might have:

• physical health
• weight management
• mental health and stress relief
• enjoying nature
• time alone
• time with other runners
• counteract negative consequences of eating cookies, gigantic burritos, etc.
• sweat out toxins from previous night's wine drinking
• set an example for the kids
• live long enough to see the kids grow up
• live longer with adoring wife
• look better naked for adoring wife
• sense of accomplishment
• ego
• time to think
• clarity
• levity

The contest ends December 31. And, I've yet to submit a single photograph.

The more I thought about why I run, the more I found it hard to translate my reasons to colored pixels. It's such a personal activity, running. So, I wanted to really say something with my photos. But, photography is more doing than saying. And, if it's what I do that defines who I am, then photographing my reasons for running made saying something more personal than my sense of Internet anonymity would allow. So, this contradiction in standards pretty much negated any productive effort I might have put into this activity.

(Once upon a time, I wanted to be an artist)

It is especially frustrating seeing the submissions gallery and thinking, "Yes, that's perfect! Why didn't I think of that? Genius!" I do not envy the judges of this contest. There are so many fantastic contenders.

So, it's not likely that I'll come up with a brilliant photo submission before Saturday's 9 am deadline. But, I'm looking forward to seeing which deserving photo wins the contest. I'd name my favorite here. But, my ego won't let me subject myself to being wrong at this time.

How about if I distract you for a moment with this relevant video...

Shoe Photo: NB Minimus Trail and the Inov-8 f-lite 230

I'm in the midst of composing a comparison between the NB Minimus Trail and my trusty Inov-8 f-lite 230. (Clearly, my shoe geekery is without limit)

But, who knows when I'll find time to finish that comparison post? So, here's a teaser image. Naturally, so as to keep the perceptual effects of color as neutral as possible, I think it's only fitting to compare the black versions of both shoes.

Shoe Photo: New Balance MT10 Minimus Trail

Today seems like a good day for another shoe photo post. And, I'm continuing with the what's-recently-rested-on-my-car's-floorboard theme.

So, here we have my new pair of New Balance MT10s (aka the Minimus Trail). They are awesome. And, I'm in the process of writing a review for you.
Stay tuned.

Shoe Photo: Inov-8 f-lite 230 and Flyroc 310

When you invest time and money into photographing with film these days, it's important to post at least one image somewhere, so others can see that you waste time and money taking pictures with a film camera.

I think this photo of shoes on the floorboard of my car from last summer is relevant here.

Pictured: Inov-8 Flyroc 310 (no longer in rotation) and the Inov-8 f-lite 230.