July 10, 2010 – The Long Run

It is Saturday so what do you do – take the dog for a walk up the back track! It has been a while since I have ventured out this way. The track is closed during the week as they make preparations for logging.

When we arrived the first thing I noticed was that there was no-one else around. Ellie Was full of beans and started running around all over the place. And then I read the signs. There were about 6 of them – no excuses for not being informed. Seems that there was no decision to make . So it was on with the leash and up the track.

The track was quite different to the last time I had been there. There had been several hours of work put in to widen the track. Lots of the plant life bordering the track had been cut back. And there had been vehicles up and down because there was plenty of mud. Ellie was not bothered and continued to power up the track and ‘carry’ me along.

When we came to this stream I was expecting to get my feet wet but not so. A brand new piece of track and dry passage!

Pretty soon we were able to look out over this valley. I could hear voices somewhere to my right but could not see anybody. The track continues on with a little up and down and the bush through here is lovely. You can hear many streams flowing and the sunlight made delightful patterns on the bush.

At the top I got a surprise to see a new road had been begun. Large metal rocks laid bare the forest where pine trees and needles had been. The road did not appear to be very long at this stage but it is not hard to see the power of machines as there were many stumps strewn to the side.

A few more minutes of walking and we found this little pool. I grabbed this photo and enjoyed the results. Ellie was in the zone and continued to lead the way. She walked on confidently and had boundless energy. I am used to running this track so it was unusual for me to be walking. However what you do notice is lots of things that you don’t see when you run.