Brunette River

Walk 91 and 92: A pair in the snow

There was definitely no running involved!

(Okay, a tiny bit as an experiment as I mentioned in the prior post).

Basically, I walked to the lake and back, as if I were doing a run, but without the running part. This was done to:

  • Assess how viable running would be on the trail (not very)
  • Get out for some fresh air
  • Burn a few calories instead of sitting on my butt eating crackers

The main thing here is that once I got onto the river trail (which is to say, once I was off nicely shovelled sidewalks), my pace slowed a fair bit over my usual walking pace. It wasn’t super slippery, but it was enough that I couldn’t walk at my usual breakneck (for walking) pace. The first walk, my left big toe got cold for some weird reason. It was fine on the way back.

Stats:

Walk 92
Average pace: 10:04/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 4.08 km
Time: 41:02
Weather: Overcast
Temp: 2 °C
Humidity: 93%
Wind: light to nil
BPM: 108
Weight: 161.8 pounds
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255
Total distance to date: 690.18 km
Walk 93
Average pace: 10:17/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 4.33 km
Time: 44:32
Weather: Overcast
Temp: 5 °C
Humidity: 91%
Wind: light to nil
BPM: 181
Weight: 161.8 pounds
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255
Total distance to date: 694.51 km

The view along the way (the debris is from a now ex-tree that fell over):

Snowscapes on the river, December 2022 edition

My original plan was to walk the 6 km to Piper spit and take pictures of the birds. About halfway there, the snow started coming down hard enough that I turned back (my camera equipment is not really snow-compatible). But I did get some shots of snowy scenery with my phone. Enjoy these over a nice mug of hot chocolate!

View of the Brunette River from the bridge on North Road.
The number of trees that have collapsed across the river has tripled in the last year. To three! You can see two of them here.
Close-up of the second fallen tree, with reflection.
The cold way forward. The ruts made by service vehicles weren’t as slippery as I expected.

The many faces of the Brunette River, November 1, 2022

Here they are!

Where Stoney Creek feeds into the Brunette River.
I often see people fishing from this spot. I stood here and a salmon leapt into my arms! Okay, that didn’t actually happen. But it could have!
Looking in the opposite direction from the above spot, you can see the overpass for Highway 1.
Near the North Road entrance, looking all fall-like.
Rapids!

Walk 85: Weirdly warm weather

The rational part of my brain knows it can be pleasant and sunny in early October, but the silly part of my brain still has trouble wrapping around how summer seems to be continuing to roll along. It got up to 25C today (this will end up being a record) and was officially 23C for my early afternoon walk (with a very minor bit of running).

For the second half of the walk I listened to Monster and as is often the case my pace improved as I rocked out in my head. Overall it was nice to get out, and I paused a few times to take pictures of the disturbingly low river (we’ll be passing the salmon up in a bucket brigade to help them spawn if the dry weather continues on much longer). The FIRE DANGER signs, removed a week ago after a sprinkle, are back in place.

The photo below shows just how low the water is–I could easily walk across to the other side of the river–and the other side usually has no shoreline at all. So while it was a beautiful day for a walk, it also felt a tiny bit unsettling.

A dribble of water flows through it

Stats:

Walk 85
Average pace: 9:15/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 8.08 km
Time: 74:45
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 23 °C
Humidity: 57%
Wind: light
BPM: 106
Weight: 157.3 pounds
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12
Total distance to date: 649.13 km

Walk 84: Shy little drizzle

I wore my long-sleeve Nike shirt today as there had been actual, if slight, precipitation in the morning. And indeed, as I headed out, the sky looked very gray, holding the promise of more to come.

The sullen sky meant the river trail was gloriously quiet–not a single dog owner in sight! In fact, I only saw two people in total, one walking down and one when I turned around and walked back.

I also popped over to the lake, walking up to the turtle nesting area, and saw not a single person while there. It was weird and kind of nice. Quiet. Peaceful.

Unlike my condo. 😛

A couple of oddities, possibly related to the watchOS 9 update? My distance at 8.03 seems a bit low. Based on my route, I was expecting something closer to 8.5 km. This will bear watching (no pun intended). Also, my pace and BPM seem a bit out of whack, with the BPM being higher than what I would expect given the pace (I only ran for a few moments). Perhaps the cooler temperature and rainy conditions made my body work slightly harder. Perhaps I’m not used to this after months of insane heat and humidity!

I shall learn more when I run tomorrow under what looks to be similar weather conditions.

Stats:

Walk 84
Average pace: 9:22/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 8.03 km
Time: 75:14
Weather: Cloudy with drizzle
Temp: 17 °C
Humidity: 76%
Wind: light
BPM: 111
Weight: 159.6 pounds
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12
Total distance to date: 641.05 km

Local color (mostly green) at the river, May 23, 2022

A few of the random photos I took while out and aboot today.

The Brunette River was unusually low, so I could get in to spots that are normally inaccessible without getting very wet. Here’s one of them:

It was Victoria Day and it seemed like all the birds had the day off. I did spot some wood ducks hanging out in the river, but wasn’t able to get any really good shots of them. Here’s one, anyway!

It’s just your basic dandelion, but I like the composition:

And here’s a shot of the big ol’ tree that fell last November, again from a perspective not normally available. It’s kind of weird how it forms an almost perfect bridge.

Out and aboot, May 15, 2022

Summer arrives in just 37 days. Woo!

It topped out at 13C and rained most of the day. I decided to go out, get some fresh air and also get wet. The get wet part was not planned, strictly speaking, as it wasn’t raining when I headed out, but was very much doing so once I got a good way from home. But it’s just water!

Speaking of water, the Brunette River is on the rise. It shouldn’t spill over its banks, though, unless the weather really goes sideways. I’m assuming for now it won’t.

My feet:

Slippery bridge.