Monte Sano Circumnavigation

“We had a great trip today! I'm definately wore out and sore, but that just goes to show I'm out of shape! Bitpusher gave us a great workout! We had alot of fun! I think my favorite was the natural well. Randy had a little too much fun throwing rocks in it. :)

I'll post pictures soon!”

“I like Monte Sano a lot. Glad you guys got to get out and have some trail time.”

“I'm glad you and OPIE had a good time, MO. I'm also glad that you didn't call me a slavedriving deathmarcher! lol....”

“i had a blast too...i kinda needed a good deathmarch...now if i could only walk on my left leg still...LMAO”

“I still hurt. But I'll live.

I need to do it again this coming weekend, but maybe not as far. I dunno. I might start from the park and try to find the Flat Rock Trail at the same place we lost it, then go back and blaze a little bit.”

“My knee was really stiff and painful that night and next morning..but i wrapped microwaved rice in socks around it with ace bandages real snug the whole next morning and by time to go partying saturday the pain was GONE...wish i would have applied the same treatment to the right leg...cause after the left leg stopped hurting i realised the right one was sore too...lol..but 2 days of strenous activities and i'm wired and raring to go and no pain except for the one small blister!!!”

“My biggest problem is that I got some sort of heat rash on my ankles. I didn't even notice it until I got home and took my socks off. I don't think that it's poison ivy, it doesn't really itch that much. Just uncomfortable to touch. But I'm putting some steroid cream I've got on it and that seems to be clearing it up.”

“Prickly heat on your ankles? Now that IS interesting, LOL! When ya going again?”

“After our deathtrip on Saturday.. hehe, j/k bitpusher.. I realized I really need to get into shape! I told OPIE that we are going to start working out this week. He's gone to a dinner with a customer tonight, but starting tomorrow we are going to work out!”

“I had a surprise trip planned for OPIE and me think weekend.. but the little sneak found out about it today. We are going to go to Chattanooga.. anyone know anywhere cool we need to go?”

“i'm not hiking prentice cooper in any type of heat..but once the leaves fall i'm definately going again”

“Well, there's the Towing and Recovery Museum and Hall of Fame. It's over by the aquarium somewhere.

FG, yes, prickly heat on my ankles. It's just about gone though.

I'm thinking about doing the circumnavigation again next weekend. This weekend, if I do any hiking, I'm gonna take my daughter to the Stone Cuts.”

“a museum full of tow trucks..I"M THERE!!!”

“Hey bitpusher did I ever show you the pictures from our day-hike at Monte-Sano? I just posted them on my webshots page. Here they are:

The Death March :)”

“out of curiosity were you standing or kneeling in the PI to get this shot: Poison Ivy”

“hehe..nah that was on the lip, we leaned over that stuff...good example pic though..too bad the leaves never always look excately the same”

“Hey cool pics! I can't remember what happened to the ones I took that day. They're around somewhere...

I need to do that hike again sometime...”

“That's a great idea there, bit. How's about next Saturday, if'n I'm not showing property???”

“You mean day after tomorrow? I better check with the wife and make sure she doesn't have any plans that day. But if not, sounds great!”

“My eyes!!!! My eyes!!!!!
Those blinding white thighs in the "Randy and Kirk" picture!!!!

Hee Hee
Nice pix of Miss Opie!”

“I'll have you know it's taken me years of sun avoidance to get my thighs that white...I can get pretty dark if I want to, I just don't want to...lol....”

“No, no, my friend, Saturday week. I'm gonna be kind of busy this Saturday.”

“OK...gotta check on that weekend too...I'll get back with ya...”

“Looks like next weekend is free! Monte Sano Deathmarch, here we come!”

“Hoo-yaa!!!”

“So, any other Huntsvillians want to come along on this? MOOOOWAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!”

“I might be up for the trip bitpusher. My parents are thinking about taking me to Tunica that weekend. If we don't go, count me in! I could use another work out. I've been dying to get out anyway!”

“Sounds like a plan! The more the merrier!”

“Woohoo! This weekend's forecast is for cold cold cold! Big contrast from this weekend, yesterday it was 72F here...lol...”

“Yeah, I was lookin' forward to wearin' my new waterproof shorts...”

“Lawdy, you were right!!!!








So, when and where are we meeting up Saturday?”

“I figure 8:00AM at the Land Trust parking lot. Does that work for you?

Miss Opie, you still thinking of joining us?”

“10/4”

“How was it guys? I hate that I had to miss the trip. I really wanted to go but I needed my boots exchanged even more.”

“Hey, Miss O, we missed you. It was a longer trail than bitpusher figured. We hiked for about 7 hours and still stoppped about 3 miles short. I was running out of time. It was a great hike, though. It's hard to believe that one can find so much quiet beauty in the middle of the city like that.”

“It's a lot longer than I originally figured...I originally figured the route to be about 10-11 miles, it's more like 14-15 miles. I figure we did about 11.5 miles. I'm going to try it again, maybe in the spring, and do the whole thing this time, now that I know how far it is.

It was really nice, but a little cold (16F) when we started out, and there was lots of ice on the various trails. Lots of good icicles at the Natural Well, plus more on the falls between them. We found where I had made my mistake the last time, and successfully, found the Flat Rock trail this time. It's a really great trail too, although there aren't a lot of views, and it does go through one really rocky area which is probably a snake haven during the summer. We also found Flat Rock, which is a large, flat rock outcropping below Logan Point. There were signs of surreptious camping there, and that was the only time we saw other humans on the trail that day, a man and a woman walking on the same trail from the other direction. All in all, it was a great hike, but I'm itching to complete the whole thing finally.”

“sounds like a nice trip. any pics?”

“Father Goose got some, but my camera crapped out on me. I might have gotten one picture of the icicles at Natural Well. That reminds me, time to change the batteries in that camera!”