Posts Tagged ‘trip planning’
Rain Chances
“Don’t worry about the future” is wise advice. “Live in the moment” is a great idea. However, in order to pack for a weeklong trip, I need to visualize how the future days might turn out. Will I need any warm clothes or not? Should I pack a raincoat? I need to put myself in that future place.
Well…
That forecast indicates my biking and camping future next week has a pretty consistent chance of being a wet one. I think I’ll want a raincoat.
Today and tomorrow I will strive to fully appreciate the comforts of home before setting off on an adventure against the elements on Saturday.
I wonder if it’s possible to ride a bike while holding an umbrella.
We received a fresh soaking of under a half-inch of rain yesterday, forcing me to delay mowing until today and tomorrow. I salvaged a tiny amount of the day by fence trimming for an hour before dinner. It felt a bit like “too little, too late” but it was better than nothing.
Our weather forecast for the next two days shows no sign of precipitation. I’ll be cutting grass wherever the turf supports the tractor tires enough to not leave mud streaks.
We’ve decided to try sawing branches from a maple tree shading Cyndie’s garden and then need to prepare the horses for a farrier appointment before noon so it looks to be a busy day on the ranch.
At least I shouldn’t need an umbrella. Yet…
.
.
Reclaiming Fences
In addition to regaining the upper hand on our trails, I think I mentioned that I’ve worked some fence lines, too. Yesterday, after I got home from a successful morning of shopping, I strapped on the Stihl power trimmer and headed to the far side of the hay field to make the fence visible again.
I burned through two tanks of gas but probably haven’t reached the halfway point yet. It’s taking so long because we didn’t get after this earlier and now the grass is so tall and thick it takes twice as long to knock it all down.
The days to departure for my week of biking and tenting are dwindling faster than the amount of work I’d like to complete around the property can be achieved. I’m splitting my attention between tending to things outdoors and gathering my gear in the house to pack. Half attention to each goal tends to result in half-sized results for both.
It is what it is. In the end, time always wins. I’ll get done what I can and pack up and go when it is time to go.
As of last night, my weather app showed this forecast for Saturday through Thursday: an alternating percentage chance of storms or rain each day, 50%; 40%; 50%; 40%; 50%; 40%.
Oh, joy.
Like I’ve said, that’s why we call it adventure!
.
.
Reclaiming Trails
Counting down the days until my next Tour of Minnesota adventure, I popped out for a 2-hour loop on local roads for a 25-mile bike ride yesterday morning. Picking a route with roads I’ve not ridden before, I found myself climbing a curvy road that rose skyward to such a degree I needed to walk my bike up a good portion of it. This had me wondering if I’d made a mistake in doing my Monday morning exercise routine before asking my legs to work so hard on a ride.
The highlight of this ride was discovering an old man seated on his walker on the side of the road a long way from any buildings. What caught my eye at first was a couple of fine-looking cats that seemed out of place in the middle of nowhere. As the road I was on ended at this crossroad, my mind was contemplating which direction I wanted to turn when I finally noticed Mr. Meyer facing to my left, looking oblivious to my arrival.
I offered a greeting and rolled up beside him to chat. The cats were his and followed him on his walks. He told me he was 93 and this was the spot where he turns around after resting for a spell. We had a wonderful visit until both of us felt a need to get moving again before stiffening up.
Limiting myself to just two hours of riding got me home in time to join Cyndie in tackling a few chores on the property. First, I pulled out the chainsaw and we removed recently tipped trees that were leaning precariously across two different trails. From there, I switched to the power trimmer to whack a trail from the jungle of overgrowth taking over while Cyndie used our ratcheted lopper to cut back encroaching trees and branches.
It is very rewarding to reclaim space from the relentless growth that overtakes our trails this time of year. It seems to get easier each time since what needs cutting is all new growth, not well-established thick-stemmed plants that foil the string trimmer.
I made my way through two tanks of gas in the trimmer, moving on to work along the back pasture fence line and around the footbridge over the drainage ditch before going as far as I could up one of the narrow internal trails.
We’ve barely covered a fraction of the trimming that needs to be done so this project will be ongoing for multiple days. We’d like to get all the fence lines cleared because the guy who cuts and bales our hay field is planning to come as soon as he gets all his own fields tended. It makes it easier for him to cut close if the fence is clearly visible.
That was plenty of exercise for one day. I may take advantage of the predicted rain due this morning to do a little shopping before departing for the Tour on Saturday. It’s time to pull out all my camping gear and take inventory. I haven’t used any of it since last year’s Tour. Hope I remember where I put everything.
.
.
Preparation Update
The weekend plan to “test-pack” didn’t come to fruition, however, there were some steps made …literally. Got a couple walks in over the last two days. The second one, on Sunday, was shorter but it included wearing my day-pack and trying out some trekking poles that friends graciously lent me for the trip. The poles will work perfect. We looked online for videos showing take-offs and landings at the Lukla Airport that my trip-mate, Gary, mentioned he had watched. We also looked on Google Earth for the view of the region my trip will be visiting. A lot of people post pictures they’ve taken to that site. I decided that if I don’t get any good pictures of my own, I could just collect equivalent shots posted by others online. The images all look alike. I wonder if I will come up with anything unique in the way it all appears this April. If nothing else, I can employ ample use of the timer option and insert myself in the views. It was interesting to see some shots posted of the airport in the ’70s and ’80s. That did provide reference for how it has changed over time.
I re-read some of the trip information that the outfitter has provided and was reminded, among several noteworthy things, that I would be wise to have in my possession a spare photo of myself for the visa application. Apparently, they may or may not ask for one. Better safe than sorry. I came across details of the trip insurance I bought that included a sheet that has information cards to be cut out and would be ideal candidates for laminating. Yes, I already did all the laminating I thought I needed. Oops.
The sad truth is, as I uncover little details like this that I had forgotten about, and tend to them, instead of making me feel all the more prepared and dampening my ‘preparation anxiety’, it seems to unravel my confidence and cause me to wonder what else I might be overlooking.
What am I neglecting? …In this case, to break the chain of negative thinking! I’m plenty prepared. Mentally, I’m definitly ready to just get on with it.
Relative Something 