Carriage Hill MetroPark

I headed out with the camera for the first time this year, and because I needed to hit Target, it set me to finding a park near the store. I had the option of a few parks but settled on Carriage Hill Metropark. I had never been there before, so I put on my hiking shoes and headed down.

The weather wasn't nearly as nice as they said, although it did refrain from raining. Still, with rain the day before, the trails had sections of mud and some standing water. I figure that having hiking shoes means nothing if I am not willing to walk in the mud and puddles though. I did almost slip a few times, but I stayed upright. 

The trails were mostly empty, I did see a few people near the parking areas, and a few footprints further back in the woods, but it was a nice and quiet few miles in the woods. I still wish I had a longer lens for my a6000, a few birds got away from the camera, but really, the hike itself is what I needed. Now if I could have had some sunlight too... 

Spring will get here, eventually. Probably. And maybe I'll just carry two cameras. That'll show the birds. Probably not. A short hike with two cameras just seems like overkill.

Busy few months

 It has been a busy few months, moving towards full time at work and the long daily drives that come from that. I haven't been out an about as much, as that really kicked in as I recovered from the injury I sustained at the Locks in October. 

That isn't to say that I haven't done anything, just nothing eventful per se. I  actually came in 3rd of 4 in my age group at a local 5k, and I did come up with a plan for hiking until hunting season is over. I might test that out this weekend, it is too soon to tell. 

I do need to find some extra time to explore next to where I work as well. A few weeks back, when I needed to get some fresh air due to health issues, I was going to do a quick walk to the park next to where I was working. In doing so, I found a trail! 

What is really strange about this was that when I looked up the park, that trail wasn't the trail on the park map. So... There should be at least an adventure worth taking on. Maybe that will be the next day off for me since I am not about to go hiking very far in my work clothes. Sure, I did go about 0.2 miles down that trail, but that isn't the same thing as 3 miles. 

I'll be glad when hunting season is over, I miss the State Parks. Still, I think I have found some safe places to hike until then, but only if I can get out the door.