Category: Hiking

Learning to Saunter Like a Wolf

by Gregorio Perez, posted in Hiking, Life, Nature, Photography

View from the Crooked Lake Trail, Pinckney Recreation Area.

It’s Wednesday night and I’m off work for the rest of the week, so I poured myself a scotch. Don’t judge. I like the cheap stuff. My dog, Charlie, is fluffing up her bed. I was listening to some music but I turned it off to enjoy a few minutes of peace and quiet. Now there’s just the sound of the furnace running and a few mechanical noises coming from the dishwasher. I’ve been thinking a lot about the peaceful nature of winter. Sure there are some signs of life but for the most part everything is dormant. I happen to love the fact that I can sit outside in winter and not be bothered by mosquitos, ticks or biting flies. The only real concern is not freezing..ha! Staying warm in freezing temps doesn’t seem that difficult now. However, it took a long time to learn how to stay warm. I’ve made a lot of mistakes. What I learned was this. There’s no such thing as bad weather; just bad gear and winter is a bad time to make mistakes.

Most animals in the wild are perfectly adapted to surviving in cold weather, but with domesticated humans it takes practice. I admire wolves when I see them (on tv) saunter across a frozen landscape. That is the ultimate goal…to learn how to saunter in winter. To saunter is to walk in a slow, relaxed manner, without hurry or effort. To saunter is to live in the moment. On the other hand when you’re so cold you can think of nothing more than the pain in your extremities from the bitter cold that is also living in the moment. It’s just not as fun. So stay warm folks and saunter on.

Breathing Deep, Sitting Quietly and Contemplating the Precious Stillness

by Gregorio Perez, posted in Environment, Hiking, Life, Nature, rivers

This past weekend the temps dropped to 22 degrees F. Why does 22 degrees in February feel colder than 22 degrees in December? It’s not obviously, but my thoughts about the cold certainly change as winter goes by. Mental toughness begins to fade as thoughts of spring germinate in my mind. Whatever the reason I felt cold sitting on the bank of my favorite creek in town. Maybe it was because I sacrificed a warm sitting spot out of the wind for a spot along the creek where I could hear the soft trickle of water passing beneath the ice. Sometimes you have to sacrifice physical comfort for mental comfort or spiritual comfort. It’s a little bit like spending time with someone who may not have long to live. It’s hard to see them suffer but compassion is stronger than our own discomfort. I know this creek well. It does feel like an elderly friend. I have studied it, waded through it, collected insects for science, and simply enjoyed its company for a long time. Some people simply see it as a beautiful old creek. But, I know its secrets. I know that it doesn’t hold too many insects. I’ll never know why that is for sure but I suspect it’s due to pesticide runoff from city residents and local farmers. Nobody wants to hear that though and I try not to think about it too much. I remember that Edward Abbey once said, “One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am – a reluctant enthusiast….a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will outlive the bastards.” So here I am; breathing deep, sitting quietly and contemplating the precious stillness.

Finding Shelter among the Turkeys

by Gregorio Perez, posted in Hiking, Life, Nature, The Heron

Shelter me oh mighty Pine forest. Cover me with your limbs and protect me from the cold winter winds. Why is it that every time I enter a stand of pine trees I feel as if I am home? It reminds me of a story I once read about John Muir. Whenever he left his cabin in Yosemite he would say, “I’m going in”. Like Muir, “in” is where I would rather be. I planned to hike today not realizing that it was Super Bowl Sunday. I didn’t realize it because I haven’t had cable or satellite tv for over five years. I grew up in an athletic family. I played sports and learned many valuable lessons from them. But, as the years passed I felt the tug of another life; one of my ancestors. It felt as though I was passing through a door into another space and time. Call it what you will. Some might say it was an awakening. I don’t know. I just know I feel more connected to the trees and the birds in the sky than anything else in this world.

The photo above was taken at Oak Openings Preserve near Swanton, OH along the Ridge Trail (silver trail). It was a balmy 34 degrees F which made the snow wet and sticky. I hiked with three others and zoned out for most of the 6 miles that we hiked. I noticed the ease of my breath and the sound of my footsteps through the wet snow. As we passed from one Oak savannah to the next I imagined the Native Americans setting fire to the land as they once did. Evidence of recent prescribed burns was everywhere. The birds were quiet except for the occasional drumming of a woodpecker or the friendly chatter from a Chickadee.

When our group arrived back at the parking lot a fat tire posse was about to depart. Their bright jerseys looked out of place in a landscape of stark contrasts of black wet tree bark against pure white snow. I suppose the natural world is not so different with Tom turkeys puffing their chests and fanning their tails to impress the ladies. As for me, I plopped myself into my silver Jeep Renegade with hood stripe and sports rack on the roof and headed out; with my fanned out tail feathers blowing in the wind.

Salty Memories of Balboa

by Gregorio Perez, posted in Hiking, Travel

The temperature dropped twenty degrees in the last 24 hours.  I didn’t expect Spring like temperatures to continue through the end of January.  It is still Winter and one should never get their hopes up until March when sun deprivation kicks in and wishful thinking feels like a matter of life or death. I’m not there yet, but I did think back to my last trip in the Fall to Newport Beach, CA.  I say Newport Beach but actually I spent most of my time on Balboa Island.  I went there to see some relatives and say hello to the Pacific.  It had been a few years since I smelled the warm salty air.

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I did a lot of walking once I got to Balboa.  It wasn’t that far from my hotel and I could have walked but California isn’t exactly pedestrian friendly until you get to the beach.  I took the free hotel shuttle one mile to avoid having to cross eight lanes of traffic.  It didn’t really feel like a vacation until I hopped off the shuttle and crossed over to the island.  I carried my backpack with all the essentials; western bird guide, binoculars, water, snacks and my journal.  What more do you need?  I hiked the beach mostly to ID shorebirds and watch the waves curl.  When I was hungry I walked down the Balboa Pier to have a Cobb Salad at Ruby’s and watch the fishermen and women pull Mackerel out of the ocean.  Occasionally I would lift my bins to ID a bird in the distance.  I was hoping to get some life birds on this trip.  I hope to get life birds on every trip I take.  After walking all day I headed back to the hotel to take a dip in the pool and then read and sip bourbon on the balcony.  I don’t hang out in hotel bars at night.  That’s just not me.  I’ve always sought out quiet places, whether it be the woods in Michigan or a quiet balcony in California.

I didn’t stay too long in southern California.  I had a nice visit with my nephew and cousin.  I’m not sure when I’ll go back?  I’m ready to head back to the Pacific Northwest.  I prefer the wild and rugged coast there.

to be continued…

Run Charlie Run!

by Gregorio Perez, posted in Charlie, Hiking, tea time

Dogs are great!  I’ve had a dog most of my life.  Charlie is one of the best.  Today’s hike was for her.  We went to a local County Park that doesn’t see too many visitors.  For that reason I like to take her there to run.

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While Charlie ran and wore herself out I slipped into the zen of hiking; feeling each step and the sun on my face.  There hasn’t been much wind lately so it has been even more quiet than normal.  Sometimes I stop and try to identify everything I hear.  There’s a farm next door to the park so the domestic geese are always vocal.  Crow and Bluejay are always there to warn their friends of our presence.  At one point along the trail we flushed a large flock of Junco.  A Red-tailed Hawk scolded us from a distance.  Charlie spooked up a squirrel and gave chase.  I called her back quickly.  There’s a picnic table along the trail at this park that I rarely sit at.  But, today I chose to stop, sit and make tea.  Well, actually I forgot my tea..ha!  You have to read my last post to understand that I’m always forgetting things.  I was fine with sipping on hot water.  Honestly, there’s not much difference between hot water and mild green tea in my opinion.  I bought a new Snow Peak backpacking stove yesterday at REI.  It has a piezo igniter.  I figured that was a good feature since on my last trip I forgot my lighter.

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With all the warm weather I’ve been thinking about where to head to this Spring?  Actually, I’ve been thinking about how more than where.  I started looking at tear drop campers this week.  I thought that might be a good option for Charlie and I.

To be continued…