Burnaby Lake

Walk 84: It’s hot, let’s walk around the lake!

With the high today forecast to be 30 or 31C, I decided to duck out in the morning to get a walk in before it got Africa Hot. As I walked down the river trail, a crazy thought entered my mind: What if I went to the lake…and then walked all the way around it?

I just ran at the lake yesterday and had over 31,000 steps, so today would have been a good day to rest, but I followed that crazy thought and did a complete loop around the lake, pausing occasionally to take photos here and there. The total distance was 18.7 km, and it took me 2 hours and 53 minutes to complete. By the end, I was definitely glad to be off my feet, but I’m also glad I gave in to the impulse and did it. Although it was quite warm, the humidity was actually closer to normal. On the negative side, the taste of smoke was in the air, likely carried in from a forest fire in the Fraser Valley (you can see the smoke haze in the shots I took, which I will put in a separate post).

The only real running I did was for about 30 seconds, to put some space between myself and a pair of people walking behind me, one of whom was carrying on their part of the conversation at maximum volume for reasons unknown to me.

Tomorrow: I’m going birding at Reifel, so there will be walking, but no Mega-Walking™.

One shot, from the viewing tower just west of Piper Spit, showing the smoke haze:

Smoke on the water

Stats:

Walk 83
Average pace: 9:16/km
Location: Burnaby Lake and Brunette River trail
Distance: 18.70 km
Time: 2:53:10
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 24-29C
Humidity: 21-34%
Wind: light
BPM: 102
Weight: 160.2 pounds
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12
Total distance to date: 633.02 km

Birdtopia: Rocky Point Park, Colony Farm and Burnaby Lake

We did a triple-header today and saw a bunch of birds. Here are a few, from the super common to one I’ve never seen before.

As the crow flies.
Goose, goose, goose, goose.
The best shot of a killdeer I’ve gotten yet. They do not actually kill deer.
This gull went into full “Look at me!” mode and stayed that way for quite a while.
Shine on, you crazy wood duck.
And the new bird, a green heron! It acted very heron-like but is much smaller than the blue herons we normally see here.
Bonus shot of the green heron.

A shot in the park

Specifically, Burnaby Lake Regional Park.

I decided to get some exercise on a non-run day by walking to Piper Spit at Burnaby Lake (about a 12 km round-trip from my place). I took my camera in order to shoot many and assorted bird shots.

When I got there and opened my camera bag, the spot normally occupied by my camera was not occupied at all. Because I had left the camera back on my desk.

Whoops.

I took a few shots with the iPhone while I was there, then made my way back home (it was 32C by the time I got back, definitely an Africa Hot kind of day). I will now remember to actually check my camera bag before leaving, so lesson learned.

I took mostly scenery shots, and a seagull photobombed one of them. Here it is:

Run 694: For the first time in two days, another 10K!

View from Cariboo Dam, just prior to starting the run.

It was forecast to get up to 28C today, so I opted for a mid-morning run to beat the heat. Here’s my run report in handy list form, because I like lists.

  • Good News: I ran another 10K. Yay! I can now say it’s been two days between 10K runs, instead of 988 days.
  • Less-Than-Good-News: Around the 5K mark, an upper left thigh muscle began to twinge a bit. It settled after a few km and is fine now. I blame my body for being weirdly asymmetrical. It may also not surprise you that I am also left-handed.
  • Bad News: None, really. This run felt a lot harder than Monday due to the warmer temperatures (though they were not bad), but mainly the still-high humidity. Humidity is like a superpower designed to drain all energy from your body. It works very well!
  • Fun Fact: For whatever reason, I mistype “humidity” almost every time. I didn’t this time because I was concentrating hard enough for Mavis Beacon to sit up and notice.
  • Trail update: They are putting the final touches on the trail resurfacing near the dam. Where will they resurface next? (Please please please be the trail along the athletic fields.)
  • Sensitive subject: A few years ago I had a weird issue when running if my chest got wet, whether through perspiration or precipitation–my nipples would become strangely sensitive. It almost feels like this might be making an unwelcome return. It’s both weird and annoying. So far it is only hinting. I will give it a hint to go away and see if that works.
  • Award time: I got an award in the Apple Watch Fitness app for most calories burned in a running workout, 723. I find this somewhat odd that it didn’t happen years ago. Maybe I have more calories to burn now.

Award:

Finarly I did it.

Stats:

Run 694
Average pace: 6:12/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 10:00 a.m.
Distance: 10.02 km
Time: 62:08
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 22-25ºC
Humidity: 64%
Wind: light
BPM: 150
Weight: 165.6
Total distance to date: 5085 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Brooks Caldera 5 (198 km)

The restorative power of a really long walk

As I type this, the Fitness app on my watch is reporting that I have completed:

  • 31,878 steps
  • 25.31 km

This is not just higher than my average daily going-out-and-aboot, it’s way higher. Was I tied to a runaway horse? Yes! Well, no. I decided to go for a walk to Burnaby Lake, to take photos of birds and soak in nature for awhile.

Weirdly, I chose to start this at 7 a.m. (I got up and had breakfast at 5:30). I got there shortly after 8 a.m., spent some time at Piper Spit, took about 350 photos, then continued to walk the entire lake loop and back home, returning just after 11:30 a.m.

A few observations on this early morning trek:

  • It was chilly starting out–only 2C. By the time I was back, it was up to 8C and fairly comfy.
  • Despite the chilly start, I only felt a little cold while snapping pictures at Piper Spit, since there was a breeze coming off the lake and my hands were naked while holding the camera.
  • Speaking of Piper Spit, there were only two people there, both at the far end of the pier with absurdly gigantic telephoto lenses on their cameras. I believe they were taking photos of the recently-returned swallows.
  • Speaking of Piper Spit even more, a lot of birds were snoozing at 8 a.m. and most were farther away from the pier, possibly because there was a noticeable lack of free food supplied by the public.
  • Even though I walked over 20 km as part of the trip there and back, it felt entirely manageable, as I broke it down into chunks, stopping and taking what were effectively breaks when I saw things to take pictures of.
  • The weather was perfectly decent, with little wind, and the sun eventually came out. I wore my lined hoodie and t-shirt and this was quite adequate. I also wore pants.
  • I didn’t see as many birds as I had hoped, but I still saw a bunch, plus two bunnies! No squirrels, though. Maybe it was too early for them.
  • I am very glad I went out.
  • Going early was aces, as the kids say. It’s already light at 7 a.m. and the only people around are joggers and people walking their dogs and wishing they were still in bed. So peaceful and still.

I will post select pics in a follow-up post. Yesterday was bad, but today did a lot to erase the bad, or at least smear it around so it’s less easily identifiable.

Burnaby Lake, March 26, 2022

Apart from a few light showers here and there, the weather held up and the light was actually pretty good for a cloudy day.

Here are a few photos I took.

Northern pintail x2
Coot under good lighting to catch every weird detail
Mountain bluebird. First time I’ve seen one, woo!
Mountain bluebird couple hanging in the drizzle.
I was wondering if I would see a goose going berserk. I was not disappointed.
Sandhill cranes grazing and keeping clear of that goose.
Piper Spit
Looking down Still Creek

Photo of the Day: More snow!

We got another decent dump of snow last night and everything looks fresh and pretty again. I neither have to drive in it nor shovel it, so I don’t mind snow too much these days.

In fact, I went for a walk all the way to Burnaby Lake this afternoon, to get some fresh (if chilly) air and a few pics. I actually saw one person jogging on the river trail. I mean, sure, you can do it, but this is why I got a treadmill. Another guy was riding a bike, but was cheating because he had an electric bike with those silly fat tires. There were a fair number of people out, especially for midday during the week. I assume a lot of people have time off between Christmas and New Year’s.

Here are some photos, all taken with my phone, since I didn’t feel like lugging my camera and accessories out across the frozen tundra. It’s too bad HDR wasn’t more common, the originals on my iPhone 12 look awesome where there’s some dramatic light to provide contrast, such as in the first pic below.

Burnaby Lake, now part Popsicle.
View from Cariboo Dam, Burnaby Lake. Probably not safe for skating, unless you are a duck.
Brunette River in early afternoon sun.
Snow, water, sky. Plus more snow.
Happy pail!
My feet, well-protected by my booties.