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sasquatch69

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Posts posted by sasquatch69

  1. 14 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

    On a bunch of different trails, I have noticed that the foliage is a lot thinner than normal.  Being kind of a dumbass, I was thinking well, it must just be winter and my long layoff means I don't recognize things quite the same.  But, of course, freezemageddon made everything drop leaves and die back.  It's kind of weird.

    Katie Jackson especially looks real different because you can actually see all the apartments and homes nearby.  I think that is really the most urban/suburban trail in DFW as it is surrounded on all sides by residential buildings.

    The trails for the most part aren't that leafy for some strange reason.  Harry Moss is always pretty dense with the trees and can be leafy year-round, but it's usually dry leafy.  I learned pretty early on that what appears to be dry, thin leafy can hide wet moldy slime underneath that's like teflon.  Being a general purpose pussy, I am therefore pretty careful on leafy trails.

    That section of Moss that sasquatch mentions is up and down and can get kind of speedy with direction change.  It's also a bit exposed on a hillside.  Not dangerous exposed, but it would not be fun to go off of uncontrolled from a leaf skid.

    I went back to HM early this am - did the red trail this time, too (but walked the creek crossings).  Lots of leaf cover, particularly on the inner trails, but like you said, mostly dry.  There were a couple little drops where groundcover had been dumped onto the landing spot to avoid mud, but it did make for a couple "oh sh!t" moments at speed. 

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  2. 20 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

    Had a fairly unremarkable ride at Harry Moss today.  I did do all the little climbs and drops that I was previously afraid would reveal how grossly out of shape I am.  Not too bad.

    I had noticed that this new frame is a little easier to get the front up on, which I discovered is because the chainstays are 10mm shorter than the older one (425 vs 435).  I also discovered the flipside of that, that I have to focus more on keeping my weight up front when climbing the steepies.  Holy chit, I almost looped out backward on one of the climbs.

    This post Inspired me to ride HM this morning. I forgot how low-key difficult that first stretch is with all the little ups and downs along the edge of the property. Did all of the trails except red, and had a good 7mi ride overall, but dang, there's a lot of trash on that property from creek flooding. 

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  3. 13 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

    Fantastic.  Exactly what I had been looking for.  Thank you.

    One more:  The same guy who made the video I posted yesterday captured part of the fast downhill section of Ranger that I mentioned (it's a bit rutted right now) and some of the section after that before you hit the open meadow.  This is one of my favorite parts of the whole place.

     

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  4. More insider tidbits from the unraveling of the Lincoln Project, this time from the NYT:

    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/08/us/politics/lincoln-project-weaver.html

    I was a regular listener of their podcast, and always preferred the ones where it was mainly Steslow and Madrid.  Schmidt and Wilson were just too damn smarmy - and that intuition as a listener seems to have turned out to be accurate.

    I'm glad Steslow and Madrid have been able to keep the podcast feed and rebrand it as their own. 

  5. 3 minutes ago, sasquatch69 said:

    The signage at BC isn't great, mainly because there are so many loops off of Ranger, and they cross each other in some cases. It's taken me a half-dozen trips out there to feel like I know where I am most of the time.

    Here - try this.  On first trip, focus on a couple green/blue routes and the portions of Ranger inbetween them.  On the map below, after parking at the trailhead off Saddlecreek and Isom streets (the blue-circle P at bottom), hop on the purple fire road right next to the parking lot entrance gate.  Follow the crudely-drawn red arrow and circle to hop on Dragonfly (the green trail off to the right of the fire road).  I usually ride that a couple times to warm up and get my bearings.

    Then, when Dragonfly spits you back out on the fire road (purple), hang a right and follow the second red arrow and circle I drew to Ranger, which takes you to Crooked Tree, the blue trail that is a right turn off of the fire road.  At the green dot, turn left and follow the arrows to stay on Crooked Tree.  When it spits you back out on Ranger (red dot), you can either turn right and go back to the fire road, or turn left and take Ranger out to the back stretch along the NE corner of the property.  If you go back to fire road, you can pick up I Can (the green trail right in the middle), or if you go into the deeper part of Ranger, there are a lot of ups and downs in that stretch and it then leads you to the big downhill that takes you into the open meadow down in the valley, which you then have to climb out from.  

    If you want to explore further, go here - but honestly, it really takes exploring on the bike or on foot to figure it out as there are probably 22-23 miles of trails out there at this point: https://www.trailforks.com/region/big-cedar-wilderness-trails 

     

    bc.png

    Also, the Friends of Big Cedar FB group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/253097255149607) is helpful since it's singularly focused.  The newish trail steward, Bardo, is really active on there and helpful.  They've been working to rebuild and improve a lot of the neglected trails on the far north end of the property (one of which goes through a drainage tunnel under Camp Wisdom Road), and fixing what Oncor tore up while replacing high-voltage lines in the utility easement.

  6. 34 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

    Yes, it is impossible to avoid that climb out at Boulder.  It has some real technical climbs on the loops other than A and B.  How do you avoid the big climb at Big Cedar?  Is there signage or do you have to know where you're going?

    The signage at BC isn't great, mainly because there are so many loops off of Ranger, and they cross each other in some cases. It's taken me a half-dozen trips out there to feel like I know where I am most of the time.

    Here - try this.  On first trip, focus on a couple green/blue routes and the portions of Ranger inbetween them.  On the map below, after parking at the trailhead off Saddlecreek and Isom streets (the blue-circle P at bottom), hop on the purple fire road right next to the parking lot entrance gate.  Follow the crudely-drawn red arrow and circle to hop on Dragonfly (the green trail off to the right of the fire road).  I usually ride that a couple times to warm up and get my bearings.

    Then, when Dragonfly spits you back out on the fire road (purple), hang a right and follow the second red arrow and circle I drew to Ranger, which takes you to Crooked Tree, the blue trail that is a right turn off of the fire road.  At the green dot, turn left and follow the arrows to stay on Crooked Tree.  When it spits you back out on Ranger (red dot), you can either turn right and go back to the fire road, or turn left and take Ranger out to the back stretch along the NE corner of the property.  If you go back to fire road, you can pick up I Can (the green trail right in the middle), or if you go into the deeper part of Ranger, there are a lot of ups and downs in that stretch and it then leads you to the big downhill that takes you into the open meadow down in the valley, which you then have to climb out from.  

    If you want to explore further, go here - but honestly, it really takes exploring on the bike or on foot to figure it out as there are probably 22-23 miles of trails out there at this point: https://www.trailforks.com/region/big-cedar-wilderness-trails 

     

    bc.png

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  7. 2 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

    Is it as bad as the climb out at Boulder?

    Went to mtb project and it now has Ranger all black.  Looks like the big climb out is 100 ft in .3 mile, while Boulder's is 60 feet in a half mile.  Not sure which is worse.  The relentlessness of Boulder is a big part of it.

    I've only ridden Boulder twice so I don't feel I can make a clear comparison on those two climbs. I think the difference is that BC is so massive that you can ride for miles on other parts of Ranger (or other loops) and never end up in the valley area that has the massive downhill and climb. Boulder is more compact and, given the creek and drainage areas that run through it, it's hard to avoid the elevation changes. 

  8. 1 hour ago, TwiceHorn said:

    After I get my wind a little better, I want to try Big Cedar.  Knowing that photos flatten shit out, that climb doesn't look too bad until the end.  I don't like those abrupt climbs on a new trail, cuz they always wind me, slow me down, and I don't feel prepared for what's on the downside.

    There are lots of little down/ups at Big Cedar, on all but the easiest trail (Dragonfly).  The photo I posted is on the other green trail (I Can), and there's another blue trail (Crooked Tree) that's mostly easy but has a couple of big swings in elevation.

    My favorite spot in the entire trail network at BC is the northeastern part of the Ranger Loop, past Crooked Tree, because it has an incredible downhill section that opens up at the end into a big open-field valley inbetween the Escarpment hills.  However, the climb out of it, even with a couple switchbacks, is brutal.  I ended up walking a good chunk of it - but there's no shame in that.

    EDIT: Here's a video of one part of the back stretch of Ranger Loop where there's a crazy off-camber old concrete bridge that you come up on with little warning. 

     

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  9. 2 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

    Yeah, those southern loops are pretty swampy for whatever reason and dry slowly.  You said you started on 4? Did you see that caved in section on 3?

    I went 1-1A-2-3-4-5, so yeah, had to go around the landslide.  I also took a photo, but didn't post because it was similar to yours.

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  10. Despite the mess at RCP on Friday, I couldn't pass up the gorgeous weather, so I knocked out 8mi at Big Cedar on Saturday, another 5mi at Knob Hills on Sunday morning (it was my first time out there and was really disappointed - it didn't live up to the hype) and then more at Big Cedar yesterday afternoon with our boys. The oldest loved it and wants to go back; our youngest hated it and says he only wants to ride paved trails from now on. Sigh. 
     

    (photo is one of the many climbs that sneak up on you at BC - and it's steeper than it looks here)

    F75F5EE8-A193-43CC-B2DF-03C5CB5AF313.jpeg

  11. 21 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

    Trail's fine.  Just that creepy little overhang there on the creek finally gave.  It's already re-routed as it was beginning to be anyway.  I won't vouch for loops 5 & 6, they're probably still muddy, and I didn't do 7, or 8-12, either.  Just 1-4 twice.

    I tried to ride 4-6 on Friday after RCP reopened, and there were still long stretches that were slip-and-slide gumbo, so I bailed out on the easement road to avoid damaging the trails. My bike got pretty trashed, though (this is after cleaning a lot out with a stick). I let it sit out in the sun for a few hours and then cleaned the rest off. 
     

    C3D0A82A-F4C5-4B78-B2AC-0F603DA4B495.jpeg

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  12. 6 hours ago, Doc Sam Beckett said:

    The texags thread about her raising money for Texas is fucking disgusting. What a sorry ass group of people 

    image.thumb.png.22d9fe20a3fdbf70c63cfc9376382021.png

    I feel like a lot of *actual* current/former military folks would be disgusted by fake army's representation on that board.   

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  13. A longer update last night from the great Steve McCauley (former WFAA meteorologist who is now a college professor/consultant).  He's a worthy follow on FB.

    Quote
    Though it is not likely we will be setting record low temperatures with our long-advertised Arctic Blast, we will, nevertheless see some of the coldest air in decades settle across parts of north Texas by the weekend. My palm tree paradise of 13 years is going to take a serious hit!
     
    Our initial cooling is already moving in from the NW, but it is a very shallow layer of cold air and will only knock us back down into the 40s and 50s tomorrow, followed by 30s and 40s for Wednesday, and 20s and 30s for Thursday and Friday as the cold air dome thickens. The full surge of frigid air is still expected for the weekend when we should bottom out in the single digits and teens across north Texas by Sunday morning.
     
    ALL computer models from around the world are now in agreement that winter is finally coming to stay for awhile here in north Texas and have apparently stopped their flip flopping. Most models have trended colder with only the German model increasing its predicted low temperature for Sunday morning. The American Model is the coldest with temperatures falling to near 2°F by Sunday morning, while the European Model remains more optimistic at 20°F (I wish!).
     
    It also appears we will stay near or below freezing for AT LEAST 4 or 5 days for many - though not all - parts of north Texas.
    Wintry precipitation in the form of ice and snow will likely accompany our transition to winter, so stay tuned for updates on that.
     
    For whatever it is worth, I have raised the Palm Alert Status to 4 which means only the hardiest palms (our native Sabal Minor, Texas and Florida Sabal, the Needle Palm, the Windmill Palm, Mediterranean Fan Palm, and the California Fan) will be able to handle this bitter cold snap with minimal protection. It will be marginal for the Pindo Palm to survive without moderate protection, serious damage can be expected to the Date Palms and Chinese Fan Palms and absolutely devastating for the Caranday and Queen Palm (which only nuts like me should install). I expect complete defoliation, but I am in hopes of keeping their core warm enough so that they can return in the spring.
     
    The more sensitive palms in the south and southeastern areas of the state (look out Houston!) are going to have some major palm damage as well as they drop into the teens.
     
    Of course, of more serious concern will be bursting water pipes, severe damage to roadways from freeze-thaw, and the possibility of spotty power outages. So hunker down...this is going to take awhile, but it, too, shall pass!
     
    May be an image of text that says 'Computer Model American Australian British Canadian Chinese European German Korean Forecast Temperature Next Sunday 6 AM 2F (Change of -7°F) 15°F (Change of -10°) 12°F 12°F Change of -38°) 15°F Change of 35°F) 20°F (Change of -14°) 10°F (Change of +4°) 18°F (Change 31°'
     

     

  14. 6 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

    Welp, I wanted to get in a ride today before the arctic blast hits.  It's low 50s, says fog and light drizzle, but was not very wet at the house, sidewalks and driveway just barely damp.

    So I take off for Harry Moss and things are considerably wetter just a couple of miles away.

    And the trail is just this side of mud. Oops.

    IMG-20210208-105519669-HDR.jpg

    Didn't rut anything and it wasn't making huge clumps, but I was blasting bits of dirt and vegetation all over for a radius of about 10 feet.  Also, the wood features were like oily asphalt in these kind of conditions.  Slick as owlshiit.

    Anyway, I forced myself to do about 7.5 miles this time, and it wasn't as "painful" as Saturday, so hopefully I get my wind and mojo back sooner than later.

    Work and kid after-school stuff were nuts today so I couldn't cut out to get one last ride in, which was killing me. Now I don't feel quite so bad. Still, good you got out there before the freeze. 

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  15. 3 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

    Some call River Legacy a paved trail painted to look like dirt.  But there's some bits, and EKG is pretty lit, when it's open.

    Yeah, I had read about EKG so I gave a shot - not bad, only had to stop a couple times. 

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  16. Got five rides in this week, for the first time I can recall:

    -9mi sunset ride at Horseshoe (Did the full 5mi and then went back and did all but last two loops again)

    -6mi at Rowlett Creek on a super-quick trip over weekday lunch

    -5mi at Katie Jackson. Nearly bit it on the skinny at the end of the red trail, then almost ran over a hiker going the wrong way with his back to me who had his headphones turned up so loud he couldn't hear my protestations

    -8mi on a nice Saturday back at Horseshoe, dovetailing with a group of Scouts doing a cycling merit badge

    -7mi today on my first-ever visit to River Legacy. Not a lot of elevation, but nice flowy trails that allowed for decent speed. 

    With the Arctic front coming in, who knows if I'll get any more rides in the next week or two, so it was a good week. 

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  17. Everything's been closed here in DFW since the weekend, so when Horseshoe reopened about 3pm yesterday I was elated - and managed to get 9mi in at dusk. It's such a great little trail, and the sand/rock mix makes for good traction when it's still tacky. 
     

    DBA137C0-FAE8-4137-A4ED-BDB91940DFCE.jpeg

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  18. Just now, Thatguy said:

    1) People I have known for decades willing to dump lifetime friendships over a 4 year Presidency of a man that not only doesn't give a shit about them, but clearly is one of the worst human beings on the planet.

    I think this was the biggest surprise for me.  But, really, the Trump presidency just feels like the culmination of several things that have been building for years: 

    (1) The right-wing media ecosystem that has somehow managed to hoodwink a sizable portion of the populace into thinking that other media are not only untrustworthy, but ENEMIES OF THUH STATE.

    (2) A drop in basic civics knowledge (and participation) in our country.

    (3) A rise in people who believe what they see on "reality TV" - which led to Trump's ascendant reputation thanks to The Apprentice.

    I'm still just so surprised at how many folks (especially Christians) who really think he's a good man that had the country's best interests at heart.  It's just such a head-scratcher. 

  19. 5 minutes ago, Wanker Bob said:

    You ever get the feeling that Judaism, Christianity, Islam, etc were just the Q of their day?

    Can you imagine if in the year 3010 the prevailing religions are Scientology and Q?

    There are already a lot of parallels - and Scientologists who full-on ran with Q.

    https://arcdigital.media/qanon-trumped-up-scientology-c1bd72429cd6

    https://medium.com/@robertbusch_89589/qanon-is-scientology-for-uneducated-people-59e6b770ccb5

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  20. Just found this thread.  Hiking/backpacking has been another hobby I rediscovered during 2020, partly due to the pandemic and partly because of being active with my sons in their scout troop, and now prepping for a Philmont trek this summer with my oldest if things there don't get shut down again.

    Since there have been some questions about backpacking gear above, I've been able to accumulate a setup I'm happy with on a tight budget, via clearance sales, Amazon deals and Facebook Marketplace:

    Pack:  Gregory Reality 70L internal frame (love it - versatile and extremely durable)

    Tent:  Alps LYNX 1-person with floor saver (4lb, so not the lightest out there, but very durable for the $.  The 2-person is really good, too, and only 1lb heavier)

    Bag:  Teton LEEF 0* ultralight mummy-style

    Pad:  Outdoorsman Lab ultralight inflatable 

    Our troop did two nights at Caprock Canyon earlier this month, at the north and south primitive sites within the canyon, and ~10mi of hiking.  It was fantastic - probably my best Texas state park experience ever, and not crowded at all.  Temperature swings are strong (around 30* each night and up to low 60s with hot sun on the trails in the afternoon), but we were prepared.

    139618566_424246269000093_4161610532684687913_n.jpg?_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-1.cdninstagram.com&_nc_cat=109&_nc_ohc=uj__Dt4MAFoAX91vFR7&tp=1&oh=1977ea52dabc8c31d24b7a96825ce902&oe=602F5B95

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