5 mi = 3.82 mi

I sneaked out of work a whole 16 minutes early today to get a jump-start at TM. Ed and I arrived, parked low, and began just after 5. This evening we took the full, no short-cut version of the 5-mile loop. Twasn't. But now I remember why I like the short-cut so much: the uphill agony doesn't last as long. It's more severe, but it's more important that it doesn't last as long.

Yesterday the forecast called for today's temps to be 10 degrees cooler, but the first hour was really hot and sweaty. Camera-wise, the only remarkable thing today was 2 harvestmen tangoing. Or maybe one killed the other and was carrying it as a trophy. Or maybe the mate died and the one was carrying it back for proper respects. Or maybe they were mating and one was in control and only looked to be carrying the other one. Anyway, their funny bodies and tangle of legs would have made a nice photo.

I just began hiking again last Friday, and I've noticed the harvestmen (aka daddy longlegs when I was a kid) are scampering all across the trails everywhere. Also the cicadas are out full-force, and I find a good number dead on their backs in the trail. Since I like to NOT think about people while hiking, I've spent some time thinking about the dead cicadas, and I've come up with some possible explanations:

1) they are so plentiful right now that as they die naturally they fall all over the place, therefore some on the trails
2) birds are nabbing them, struggling, then dropping them, but by that time the cicada is injured and thus dies
3) some kind of insect-prey, like a tachinid fly, is laying eggs on them so the larvae can worm their way inside then eat the guts until the cicada dies
4) little woodsy gnomes are shooting them with teeny arrows, they fall, then the gnomes eat off the face and feast on the insides

Today I was making a point to keep up my pace and make good time, so next time I take this route I could use my new virtual partner for competition. Stopping to give Eddie water is normal; Eddie pooping is normal; stepping off and waiting at the side of the trail for others to pass me is normal. But today, at 2.67 miles, a bicyclist stopped, inquired about Eddie's breed, then began a conversation that lasted between 20-25 minutes. I KNEW I should have stopped the timer, but I thought it would just be a couple of sentences then off we go.

The man has been riding there for 24 years and was full of information about different areas, different trails, annual trends, etc. I learned quite a bit so I wasn't frustrated with losing so much time. I'll just have to set my pace next time. After standing still for so long my muscles cooled down and I had to rev up again. It wasn't so bad. It was all shady, a little cool, and a tad breezy. Completely and perfectly lovely. I practically sauntered back.

Total hike, with stops, was 2 hrs, 4 minutes. Oh, it's dark now. I think I'll take out trash, get my tomorrow's lunch ready, then put on my Garmin and take the 1.05 neighborhood loop!