An outdoor lesson or two learned{SOOC}

On the Outhouse Trail...1. Don't stand too close to the trail, unless you have a smaller lens or you will end up with this kind of photo. I could embrace the blur, call it action and be happy. But I won't and I'm not. 2. A little flash goes a long way. And this is where I got sticky buns. I grew up with a logger for a dad, I should know better. But when I saw a nice flat stump, I sat on it. When I got up, I thought "Hmmm...my bum feels funny" and I put my hand on it, into a big patch of sap. Sappy hands can't touch my camera, sappy bums can't sit in trucks, probably can't even be washed (this is also where I learn not to wear my favourite capri/cargo pants hiking, not only do my ankles have open for lunch signs on them for mosquitoes, but I am known to wreck cloths climbing fences, think back to the rally in Oct. where I yelled out something to the effect of "my crotch is stuck on the barb wire" and then I ripped my jeans) and I like to sit on things and lay on the ground. I'm not a quick learner. 3. See the way the arrow is pointing, that's the way to the water, I could hear it. (When I was a kid, I watched the Swamp Thing at a drive-in, I ate too much popcorn, if that's even possible, and when I woke up and saw the actual swamp thing bad guy at the end, I puked popcorn everywhere, true story, won't watch that movie again.) I talk a lot in the forest. I figure that will scare off bears, it gets weird looks from other hikers and bikers, they should be thankful that I'm not singing.

This was found in the direction that Swamp Thing signed pointed to. Coincidence? I think not.

4. Walk fast. Mosquitoes and Swamp Things can't catch you, but they can smell fear. Shortly after seeing this, Kerry yells "Look a chipmunk!" to which I screamed at. He said "it was right there, how could you not see it?" My reply, I was looking for bigger things, like swamp things and other things big enough to pull an arm off. He said look up then, they aren't on the ground. Details, geez.

This is what I see while looking at the ground in search of ....

Bear poop. Saw it and almost used a stick to see if it contained berries, trial mix and a bear bell. Stopped just before that.

Vapour Trail, Outhouse Trail, Swamp Thing, bones, poop, horror movie in the making. But we had fun anyways. It was the first time going with Kerry in the evening. The light was amazing. But I did warn him that if we were still there when the sun went down, I would be running like a maniac back to the truck, or the direction I thought the truck was in, flashing my camera all the way.

5. When Kerry wants to go riding in the evening, just say yes, put on long, old pants, spray yourself with mosquito repellent and take a noise maker. He's singing for me. This is at the end of the ride, I've used up my daily allotment of words trying rationalize that bone, and scaring off bears.