Not much to say today. Gray day but not really any rain. In the morning, Sadie & I went up to where the real Red Circle hits the safety trail and back down the real Red Circle. Then across the little shortcut at the bottom back to the house.
In the evening we went up around 6:00 - again, gray but not raining. We got all the way up to the Yellow and came back down the shortcut to home. Nothing really to speak of on either hike out of the ordinary.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Sunday, October 3, 2010
October Coyote Catch-up
I haven't been good at getting to the blog after my last couple of hikes.
Friday evening, October 1, I went up as early as I could, around 5:30 PM. It had been raining all day and was still misting/sprinkling. Sadie & I went up the Red Circle and I monitored Evan's water bars. We stopped at the highest one because it had failed and water was pouring down the trail. I dammed the stream with rocks and used one longer rock to scoop out the debris from the trench so the stream would be redirected off the side of the trail as it was supposed to operate. Then Sadie & I continued up the Red Circle and left on White to the big rock lookout. Night was rapidly approaching, as usual, and there were patches of light gray mist drifting above the trees below us.
We continued to the Y/G Crossover, where we passed the guy who is always talking on his phone headset, and down to Yellow and back home via the shortcut. We were both pretty wet by the time we got to the house.
Saturday afternoon, October 2, we went up around 2:30 PM. Somewhere near where the White trail crosses we ran into a guy with 2 smaller dogs. Sadie was fine with them and he mentioned that his dogs are generally fine with other dogs if he leaves them alone but if he puts them on a leash or picks them up, they growl to defend him. I pointed out where the White goes up the cliff and Sadie & I continued to the Green and turned right. Just before the Green we had taken a shortcut down a little valley where I had never gone before which led directly to the Acorn Bridge where I got beaned by an acorn (see earlier post). We continued until we found where we had missed the tangency with the Red Square and White on a previous hike, the area below Hezekiah's Nob I've called Little Italy (Red, White & Green). I pointed a passing hiker on the White trail in the right direction and we headed right on the Red Square back to Orange.
Turning right on Orange goes up a rocky rise and eventually crosses the White trail. From there it was very short to the Red Circle and over the big rock ramp to the big puddle from the previous day's rain. Sadie pranced right down the middle and I walked around and wondered where that water goes. There is a babbling stream which comes down from the right at the bottom of the rock ramp (going South) but there doesn't seem to be an exit which is why there is such a big pond up there after heavy rain.
On the way down we turned left on Yellow after pointing the way to two young women coming up the Red Circle. We went down the shortcut and fortunately Sadie fell behind me as she chased a chipmunk or wandered off the trail for some reason. As I approached the end of the long fairly flat section at the top I could see something just as the trail starts to fall off down the hill. My first thought was that it was a dog but then I realized that it looked just like the pictures I had seen of very healthy coyotes. It was crossing the trail from East to West but I didn't look for longer than a second or two.
I quickly turned and called Sadie and kept talking to her to keep eye contact and make sure that she didn't look beyond me to the coyote. I put her on the leash and as we started down the trail to where I thought the coyote had crossed, neither of us saw any trace.
We had heard the coyotes howling a few nights ago and we had remarked how we had never seen one in the daylight. I'm quite sure that now I have seen one, and very close to home.
Finally, today, Sunday, October 3, Sadie and I went for a little extended morning walk. We passed one man with a black lab and the two dogs played nicely for a little bit but Sadie would growl whenever the other dog came near me. Remembering what the guy with the 2 little dogs had said yesterday, I didn't pet or play with the other dog and Sadie was OK.
We continued on to the Yellow lookout where we met a couple with a larger brownish dog, maybe a Weimaraner? The man immediately put his dog on a leash and they circled each other with wagging tails until Sadie started being aggressive. The man took a swing at Sadie with his foot and I kept yelling her name until she came to me. I put her on the leash and contiued past the lookout until they were gone. We came back to the lookout briefly and then went back home via the shortcut. Sadie knew I was mad at her all the way home.
Friday evening, October 1, I went up as early as I could, around 5:30 PM. It had been raining all day and was still misting/sprinkling. Sadie & I went up the Red Circle and I monitored Evan's water bars. We stopped at the highest one because it had failed and water was pouring down the trail. I dammed the stream with rocks and used one longer rock to scoop out the debris from the trench so the stream would be redirected off the side of the trail as it was supposed to operate. Then Sadie & I continued up the Red Circle and left on White to the big rock lookout. Night was rapidly approaching, as usual, and there were patches of light gray mist drifting above the trees below us.
We continued to the Y/G Crossover, where we passed the guy who is always talking on his phone headset, and down to Yellow and back home via the shortcut. We were both pretty wet by the time we got to the house.
Saturday afternoon, October 2, we went up around 2:30 PM. Somewhere near where the White trail crosses we ran into a guy with 2 smaller dogs. Sadie was fine with them and he mentioned that his dogs are generally fine with other dogs if he leaves them alone but if he puts them on a leash or picks them up, they growl to defend him. I pointed out where the White goes up the cliff and Sadie & I continued to the Green and turned right. Just before the Green we had taken a shortcut down a little valley where I had never gone before which led directly to the Acorn Bridge where I got beaned by an acorn (see earlier post). We continued until we found where we had missed the tangency with the Red Square and White on a previous hike, the area below Hezekiah's Nob I've called Little Italy (Red, White & Green). I pointed a passing hiker on the White trail in the right direction and we headed right on the Red Square back to Orange.
Turning right on Orange goes up a rocky rise and eventually crosses the White trail. From there it was very short to the Red Circle and over the big rock ramp to the big puddle from the previous day's rain. Sadie pranced right down the middle and I walked around and wondered where that water goes. There is a babbling stream which comes down from the right at the bottom of the rock ramp (going South) but there doesn't seem to be an exit which is why there is such a big pond up there after heavy rain.
On the way down we turned left on Yellow after pointing the way to two young women coming up the Red Circle. We went down the shortcut and fortunately Sadie fell behind me as she chased a chipmunk or wandered off the trail for some reason. As I approached the end of the long fairly flat section at the top I could see something just as the trail starts to fall off down the hill. My first thought was that it was a dog but then I realized that it looked just like the pictures I had seen of very healthy coyotes. It was crossing the trail from East to West but I didn't look for longer than a second or two.
I quickly turned and called Sadie and kept talking to her to keep eye contact and make sure that she didn't look beyond me to the coyote. I put her on the leash and as we started down the trail to where I thought the coyote had crossed, neither of us saw any trace.
We had heard the coyotes howling a few nights ago and we had remarked how we had never seen one in the daylight. I'm quite sure that now I have seen one, and very close to home.
Finally, today, Sunday, October 3, Sadie and I went for a little extended morning walk. We passed one man with a black lab and the two dogs played nicely for a little bit but Sadie would growl whenever the other dog came near me. Remembering what the guy with the 2 little dogs had said yesterday, I didn't pet or play with the other dog and Sadie was OK.
We continued on to the Yellow lookout where we met a couple with a larger brownish dog, maybe a Weimaraner? The man immediately put his dog on a leash and they circled each other with wagging tails until Sadie started being aggressive. The man took a swing at Sadie with his foot and I kept yelling her name until she came to me. I put her on the leash and contiued past the lookout until they were gone. We came back to the lookout briefly and then went back home via the shortcut. Sadie knew I was mad at her all the way home.
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