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Secret Passages
Jun. 2nd, 2004 11:25 amOkay, more paths than passages since they're outdoors, but, still.
The first day I explored the southerly bike path along Campbell Creek, I started at point B on the map, which is accessed at a little park on the main road between where my chiropractor's office is and my apartment. Point A is closer to my apartment in physical distance, but since there's a great big highway cutting across the space between, it's actually just as far in actual biking distance. Anyway, I went from point B to point C, a couple miles southwestish, and then back to point A. Very close to point A there is a little bridge running across the creek, perpendicular to the main path. At the far side of the bridge is a yellow cautionary sign which reads "Pavement Ends". When I got to the bridge there was a woman resting there, so I asked her where the little trail on the other side went. She explained that she had always wanted to check it out, but hadn't gotten around to it, yet, and so didn't know. I was being eaten alive by bugs, and wanted to get home, so I resolved to check it out another time.
Yesterday, after I biked to the dentist and the store and the chiropractor, I still had 2 hours before my audioconference lecture, and it was just the most beautiful day out. So I decided to take the southerly bike path, since I knew I could get to point C and back in about an hour. But, as I got close to point A, I saw the bridge again. Having time and energy left, I decided to check out the path.
It was narrow, and there was a lot of ducking and twisting to avoid branches for the first bit, and then the path takes a sharp dive down toward the river, and under the first of the four highway bridges. That one is bikeable. Then the path fades out, and there are footprints and tire prints but no clear path between the first two bridges. The way under the second bridge was not at all bikeable, and I thought maybe I should turn around. But I was in exploration mode, so I got off the bike and walked. The river was too deep (and jaggedy-rocky) to bike through, and right next to the water were big boulders, to the left, the bank smoothed out, but was too short for the bike. So I put the bike in the water and climbed over the boulders and made it to the other side. The final two bridges were much the same, and then there was a steep climb up the other side, where the path faded into nothing in a field. There was an obvious track that people used to get back up onto the frontage road, and from there I was back in familiar territory.
It's kind of a neat little trail, and it cuts a mile of scary-traffic-fighting biking off my trip when I want to use that southerly bike path. So. Cool!
I did the same little trip, today, so now I'm going to shower and become unsweaty before I go have lunch with ShaWn.
The first day I explored the southerly bike path along Campbell Creek, I started at point B on the map, which is accessed at a little park on the main road between where my chiropractor's office is and my apartment. Point A is closer to my apartment in physical distance, but since there's a great big highway cutting across the space between, it's actually just as far in actual biking distance. Anyway, I went from point B to point C, a couple miles southwestish, and then back to point A. Very close to point A there is a little bridge running across the creek, perpendicular to the main path. At the far side of the bridge is a yellow cautionary sign which reads "Pavement Ends". When I got to the bridge there was a woman resting there, so I asked her where the little trail on the other side went. She explained that she had always wanted to check it out, but hadn't gotten around to it, yet, and so didn't know. I was being eaten alive by bugs, and wanted to get home, so I resolved to check it out another time.
Yesterday, after I biked to the dentist and the store and the chiropractor, I still had 2 hours before my audioconference lecture, and it was just the most beautiful day out. So I decided to take the southerly bike path, since I knew I could get to point C and back in about an hour. But, as I got close to point A, I saw the bridge again. Having time and energy left, I decided to check out the path.
It was narrow, and there was a lot of ducking and twisting to avoid branches for the first bit, and then the path takes a sharp dive down toward the river, and under the first of the four highway bridges. That one is bikeable. Then the path fades out, and there are footprints and tire prints but no clear path between the first two bridges. The way under the second bridge was not at all bikeable, and I thought maybe I should turn around. But I was in exploration mode, so I got off the bike and walked. The river was too deep (and jaggedy-rocky) to bike through, and right next to the water were big boulders, to the left, the bank smoothed out, but was too short for the bike. So I put the bike in the water and climbed over the boulders and made it to the other side. The final two bridges were much the same, and then there was a steep climb up the other side, where the path faded into nothing in a field. There was an obvious track that people used to get back up onto the frontage road, and from there I was back in familiar territory.
It's kind of a neat little trail, and it cuts a mile of scary-traffic-fighting biking off my trip when I want to use that southerly bike path. So. Cool!
I did the same little trip, today, so now I'm going to shower and become unsweaty before I go have lunch with ShaWn.
