Pictures from the Trail, and Stories about the Three I Missed

Went running up in Field Springs today. It was snow-free all the way around my loop. On the way in, I got to see a pair of small does crossing the road. They stood watching me until it dawned on their pretty little brains that the big blue FJ might squash them. They moved before I got the camera ready. Rats.

I dressed down at the upper lot - I opted for a sleeveless shirt and shorts because the temps were in that perfect mid-50's. If it had rained, it might have been a touch uncomfortable.

The trail bore the signs of the recent rain with the occasional mud puddle, and in the soft soil, lots of animal tracks.  Lots of pine cones down. In a couple spots, the trail was blocked by dead fall. Not feeling sparkly enough to work on hurdling, so I clambered over instead.

It's too early to have the wild flowers out, but the buds were building so it won't be too long.

To match up to the deer, I saw two wild turkeys, apparently not willing to associate with each other. They were about a mile apart, running solo. Wild turkeys run pretty darned fast. Didn't get pictures of them, either.

The shot I really regret missing happened pretty late in the run. I hit the long downhill stretch toward the group cabin when I surprised a small herd of elk - or we surprised each other.

They are amazing animals, so graceful and elegant. That they can move that way in forest and disappear in five seconds astounds me. I 'wasted' a couple of minutes trying to track them to get the picture, but no dice so I just finished out the last five minutes of the run.

Despite lollygagging up the hills and diverting to try to catch up to the elk, I still finished faster than last time I was up here. The picture below is from the Puffer Butte Cabin. Hard not to feel extraordinarily lucky and blessed when I get to run here.