in from a short hike with the dog
was torn on the status of the trails
loving how things are
while stilll feeling they could be better
also wondering if certain parts of the trail are on the verge of a rapid decline
walked and thought of the effects of the high volume summer rains of recent
looked at how top soil had been stripped from the hard packed trail
thought about what could be done to slow the stripping process
tried to think about what it would take to make these trails more sustainable
daydreamed about trail repair
daydreamed about legal mountain biking in Rock Creek Park
tried to picture logical re-reroutes
walked a loop that is a hiker's re-route that is getting beaten down
these alternate routes could be a good part of the solution to slowing the rapid decline of the Rock Creek hiking trails
early on this wooded dirt trail hike in Rock Creek Park with my black dog Brutus I crossed the driveway of the Rockefellers
this is an urban forrest
my trajectory pointed towards the Roosevelt Trail and Pulpit Rock
it was my plan to alter my trajectory and loop back
yet I wanted to drop that name just the same
it is a short loop that was a faint set of deer trails a few years ago
but now as the active urban population grows so do the popularity of these backyard trails
dog walkers being perhaps the highest volume of trail users
me being one of those many dog walking trail users
on this short loop I was pleased to have the woods to myself
just me and the dog
the car commuter traffic buzzed pretty much out of ear shot
sometimes cars came within sight on one of the sections of Beach Drive
somewhere along the way I took a break from things and took in a deep breath
than realized that I had brought with my a peanut butter and honey energy shot
yes... bonus... and I had just enough water to wash it down
yes... you will want water to wash these things down
these re-usable shopping bags were each filled with an assortments of good eats including coffee, pasta, and various energy bars
right in the middle of my little Colorado moment in the middle of Washington DC I tore open this Justin's Peanut Butter and Honey energy pack
ye ha... those mountain folk love their honey so much that at Eric's Down Under they have honey at the table so people can put it on the crust of their pizza
well... as I savored the flavor and then took that last swig of water I thought about how much I love free stuff... then I corrected myself... I really dig good free stuff.... good free stuff is awesome... bad free stuff is crap
as I hike I thought about how this hike should have included some other free stuff... perhaps some of that Anti Monkey Butt powder
oh may.... I was breaking a sweat... not quite out of the shower sweat... but definitely not ready to stand around in public sort of sweat
enough sweat that I definitely needed to change my underwear and t=shirt when I got home
yes... enough sweat that I will take a shower tonight
if only I had the foresight to have primed my underwear and t-shirt with a shake and bake style application of Anti-Monkey Butt Powder!
it could have taken my ass out of the jungle
it was hot... it was humid...
I sweat when I ride my bike... I sweat when I work in the garden... heck... in DC it is not uncommon for people to sweat when they are in the shower
Anti Monkey Butt can cure some of the discomfort of being active in this hot humid climate
okay... sorry... a poetic rant degraded quickly into a quick flurry of unpaid advertisements
at least you can pause and laugh about that dog in the bun