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sasquatch69

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Everything posted by sasquatch69

  1. I went back to HM early this am - did the red trail this time, too (but walked the creek crossings). Lots of leaf cover, particularly on the inner trails, but like you said, mostly dry. There were a couple little drops where groundcover had been dumped onto the landing spot to avoid mud, but it did make for a couple "oh sh!t" moments at speed.
  2. This post Inspired me to ride HM this morning. I forgot how low-key difficult that first stretch is with all the little ups and downs along the edge of the property. Did all of the trails except red, and had a good 7mi ride overall, but dang, there's a lot of trash on that property from creek flooding.
  3. One more: The same guy who made the video I posted yesterday captured part of the fast downhill section of Ranger that I mentioned (it's a bit rutted right now) and some of the section after that before you hit the open meadow. This is one of my favorite parts of the whole place.
  4. In McKinney. A mask-less Trader Joe's customer in Texas had a meltdown after being denied entry — and it reveals how states' new rules endanger workers https://www.businessinsider.com/mask-less-trader-joes-meltdown-texas-rules-impact-workers-2021-3 (Edit: Tried to embed - didn't work.)
  5. More insider tidbits from the unraveling of the Lincoln Project, this time from the NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/08/us/politics/lincoln-project-weaver.html I was a regular listener of their podcast, and always preferred the ones where it was mainly Steslow and Madrid. Schmidt and Wilson were just too damn smarmy - and that intuition as a listener seems to have turned out to be accurate. I'm glad Steslow and Madrid have been able to keep the podcast feed and rebrand it as their own.
  6. Also, the Friends of Big Cedar FB group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/253097255149607) is helpful since it's singularly focused. The newish trail steward, Bardo, is really active on there and helpful. They've been working to rebuild and improve a lot of the neglected trails on the far north end of the property (one of which goes through a drainage tunnel under Camp Wisdom Road), and fixing what Oncor tore up while replacing high-voltage lines in the utility easement.
  7. The signage at BC isn't great, mainly because there are so many loops off of Ranger, and they cross each other in some cases. It's taken me a half-dozen trips out there to feel like I know where I am most of the time. Here - try this. On first trip, focus on a couple green/blue routes and the portions of Ranger inbetween them. On the map below, after parking at the trailhead off Saddlecreek and Isom streets (the blue-circle P at bottom), hop on the purple fire road right next to the parking lot entrance gate. Follow the crudely-drawn red arrow and circle to hop on Dragonfly (the green trail off to the right of the fire road). I usually ride that a couple times to warm up and get my bearings. Then, when Dragonfly spits you back out on the fire road (purple), hang a right and follow the second red arrow and circle I drew to Ranger, which takes you to Crooked Tree, the blue trail that is a right turn off of the fire road. At the green dot, turn left and follow the arrows to stay on Crooked Tree. When it spits you back out on Ranger (red dot), you can either turn right and go back to the fire road, or turn left and take Ranger out to the back stretch along the NE corner of the property. If you go back to fire road, you can pick up I Can (the green trail right in the middle), or if you go into the deeper part of Ranger, there are a lot of ups and downs in that stretch and it then leads you to the big downhill that takes you into the open meadow down in the valley, which you then have to climb out from. If you want to explore further, go here - but honestly, it really takes exploring on the bike or on foot to figure it out as there are probably 22-23 miles of trails out there at this point: https://www.trailforks.com/region/big-cedar-wilderness-trails
  8. I've only ridden Boulder twice so I don't feel I can make a clear comparison on those two climbs. I think the difference is that BC is so massive that you can ride for miles on other parts of Ranger (or other loops) and never end up in the valley area that has the massive downhill and climb. Boulder is more compact and, given the creek and drainage areas that run through it, it's hard to avoid the elevation changes.
  9. There are lots of little down/ups at Big Cedar, on all but the easiest trail (Dragonfly). The photo I posted is on the other green trail (I Can), and there's another blue trail (Crooked Tree) that's mostly easy but has a couple of big swings in elevation. My favorite spot in the entire trail network at BC is the northeastern part of the Ranger Loop, past Crooked Tree, because it has an incredible downhill section that opens up at the end into a big open-field valley inbetween the Escarpment hills. However, the climb out of it, even with a couple switchbacks, is brutal. I ended up walking a good chunk of it - but there's no shame in that. EDIT: Here's a video of one part of the back stretch of Ranger Loop where there's a crazy off-camber old concrete bridge that you come up on with little warning.
  10. I went 1-1A-2-3-4-5, so yeah, had to go around the landslide. I also took a photo, but didn't post because it was similar to yours.
  11. Despite the mess at RCP on Friday, I couldn't pass up the gorgeous weather, so I knocked out 8mi at Big Cedar on Saturday, another 5mi at Knob Hills on Sunday morning (it was my first time out there and was really disappointed - it didn't live up to the hype) and then more at Big Cedar yesterday afternoon with our boys. The oldest loved it and wants to go back; our youngest hated it and says he only wants to ride paved trails from now on. Sigh. (photo is one of the many climbs that sneak up on you at BC - and it's steeper than it looks here)
  12. I tried to ride 4-6 on Friday after RCP reopened, and there were still long stretches that were slip-and-slide gumbo, so I bailed out on the easement road to avoid damaging the trails. My bike got pretty trashed, though (this is after cleaning a lot out with a stick). I let it sit out in the sun for a few hours and then cleaned the rest off.
  13. I feel like a lot of *actual* current/former military folks would be disgusted by fake army's representation on that board.
  14. Cane Rosso going hard in the paint
  15. A longer update last night from the great Steve McCauley (former WFAA meteorologist who is now a college professor/consultant). He's a worthy follow on FB.
  16. Work and kid after-school stuff were nuts today so I couldn't cut out to get one last ride in, which was killing me. Now I don't feel quite so bad. Still, good you got out there before the freeze.
  17. Yeah, I had read about EKG so I gave a shot - not bad, only had to stop a couple times.
  18. Got five rides in this week, for the first time I can recall: -9mi sunset ride at Horseshoe (Did the full 5mi and then went back and did all but last two loops again) -6mi at Rowlett Creek on a super-quick trip over weekday lunch -5mi at Katie Jackson. Nearly bit it on the skinny at the end of the red trail, then almost ran over a hiker going the wrong way with his back to me who had his headphones turned up so loud he couldn't hear my protestations -8mi on a nice Saturday back at Horseshoe, dovetailing with a group of Scouts doing a cycling merit badge -7mi today on my first-ever visit to River Legacy. Not a lot of elevation, but nice flowy trails that allowed for decent speed. With the Arctic front coming in, who knows if I'll get any more rides in the next week or two, so it was a good week.
  19. Everything's been closed here in DFW since the weekend, so when Horseshoe reopened about 3pm yesterday I was elated - and managed to get 9mi in at dusk. It's such a great little trail, and the sand/rock mix makes for good traction when it's still tacky.
  20. I think this was the biggest surprise for me. But, really, the Trump presidency just feels like the culmination of several things that have been building for years: (1) The right-wing media ecosystem that has somehow managed to hoodwink a sizable portion of the populace into thinking that other media are not only untrustworthy, but ENEMIES OF THUH STATE. (2) A drop in basic civics knowledge (and participation) in our country. (3) A rise in people who believe what they see on "reality TV" - which led to Trump's ascendant reputation thanks to The Apprentice. I'm still just so surprised at how many folks (especially Christians) who really think he's a good man that had the country's best interests at heart. It's just such a head-scratcher.
  21. There are already a lot of parallels - and Scientologists who full-on ran with Q. https://arcdigital.media/qanon-trumped-up-scientology-c1bd72429cd6 https://medium.com/@robertbusch_89589/qanon-is-scientology-for-uneducated-people-59e6b770ccb5
  22. In the truck on the way out. We had a couple bison that hung out near our first-night campsite, but they didn't venture too close (and we admonished the scouts to leave them alone, which they did).
  23. Just found this thread. Hiking/backpacking has been another hobby I rediscovered during 2020, partly due to the pandemic and partly because of being active with my sons in their scout troop, and now prepping for a Philmont trek this summer with my oldest if things there don't get shut down again. Since there have been some questions about backpacking gear above, I've been able to accumulate a setup I'm happy with on a tight budget, via clearance sales, Amazon deals and Facebook Marketplace: Pack: Gregory Reality 70L internal frame (love it - versatile and extremely durable) Tent: Alps LYNX 1-person with floor saver (4lb, so not the lightest out there, but very durable for the $. The 2-person is really good, too, and only 1lb heavier) Bag: Teton LEEF 0* ultralight mummy-style Pad: Outdoorsman Lab ultralight inflatable Our troop did two nights at Caprock Canyon earlier this month, at the north and south primitive sites within the canyon, and ~10mi of hiking. It was fantastic - probably my best Texas state park experience ever, and not crowded at all. Temperature swings are strong (around 30* each night and up to low 60s with hot sun on the trails in the afternoon), but we were prepared.
  24. FEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLL THE HEEEEEEAT BURNING YOU UP READY OR NOT!
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