The "still here and functioning" light reassuringly goes *blink*

Still here.  Busy with boring, detail-oriented nonsense.  Adventures await.  So does laundry.  It'll probably be a few days – weeks perhaps? – before there's something post-worthy.  In the meantime, this blog is not dead yet.

Once More Before Hot Weather: High Bluff Trail

Fast hike on the High Bluff Trail on Friday, spanning lunchtime.  Started in the mid-60's, ended up in the mid-70's.  Just clicking out a favorite local trail once more before the spring weather heats up.  Here, have two pics.

Foreground: sand pit.  Midground: Apalachicola Bay.  Background: East end of St. George Island.

Mid-point on the south side trail.

Other than perhaps following an unexpected cool front and a sudden dash to something a little more distant, this is likely the last real hiking for this half to the year.  Onward to more biking.  It's easier to outrun the bugs that way.

Hiking the Garden of Eden Trail

Last Sunday I went biking in hell, so this Wednesday I went hiking in the (alleged) Garden of Eden.  Here's Atlas Obsucra's take on the matter, including handy directions to get to the trailhead.  The history of this place is eccentric to say the least, but here in the early 21st Century the zeal has mellowed a bit and now it's just a hiking trail.  A really cool hiking trail.

Panoramic view from the Apalachicola River bluff.  No actual gravitational singularities were involved in producing this degree of curvature, it's just a camera trick.

The key thing I have to add to all the other online reviews is that this trail, while not difficult, is far more challenging than the casual hike most sites imply.  Take a look at the map on this trail brochure and you'll see two ravines to climb down into and back out of on the way to the main river loop.  They have wooden steps in places, and things get steep here and there.  Not hard for the fit among us, yet not a stroll in the park either.  Once you get out to where the trail forks into the river loop, the right fork is the easy option to the bluff, while the left fork will take you into the most challenging part of the trail.  This will eventually lead you around to the bluff, after you pass through another ravine and some beautiful lowlands.  Either way of course it makes a loop, but know that taking the right fork, seeing the view from the main bluff, then turning back is an option for those who are close to reaching their fun limit for the day.

Be sure to take along a trail brochure, either from the link in the previous paragraph, or just pick one up at the trailhead.  There are 19 numbered trail markers pointing out things of interest along the way.  I neglected this, and regretted doing so about two markers in.  Probably missed a lot, so I'll have to go back and re-hike soon.  (Darn.)  Also, you can follow your progress toward the bluff, which is a morale booster.

Figure on 2 to 3 hours total hike if you're doing the whole trail.  A quart or so of water and maybe a snack or even a picnic lunch will keep things happy.  Decent trail shoes and a hiking pole will help too.

Finally, there is a Nature Conservancy donation drop box near the trailhead.  Be sure you have a few small bills to slip in there, because they do a great job acquiring and maintaining sites like this one.

Here's one more view from the bluff, over on the "easy" side:

No serpents nor unusual fruit trees spotted.  Still worth the hike.

WWL Turns 100 Today

WWL 870  – the 50,000 watt New Orleans AM station – turns 100 today.  Worth noting, and worth listening in because they're doing some additional programming to commemorate the event.

Here's their main web site, and their Wikipedia page.  It's an interesting station with an interesting history.  A lot of these old-line AM behemoths are turning 100 about now: KDKA (Pittsburgh) a year and a half ago, WSB (Atlanta) a couple of weeks ago, and WSM (Nashville) in a couple of years, just to name a few.  I expect they'll be around at least as long into the future.  It turns out that – despite dire predictions a few decades back – AM on the medium wave band is just too handy to go away.

Biking in Tate's Hell Again

Not much to add, just a fun time biking on a Sunday morning/afternoon.  Here's a view of the dirt road entrance to the forest, looking south toward Apalachicola Bay and St. George Island.  So why yes, this is the view from the inside of the gates of Tate's Hell, looking out.

That's not heat haze on the sides.  It's just lens glare because I didn't bother taking the pic from a shady spot.

Winter Field Day 2022 Results Up

Link here.  Despite wimping out and working the event as a home station, I still learned a lot and had a good time.  Maybe in a tent next year, if it's not pouring rain or 20F outside.

Happy Spring Equinox

From over at today's NASA APOD:

Also, yesterday's pic from the Webb IR Telescope was a big chunk of good news:

Click through for the full, big images and for more information in the captions.

All I got for today.  Off to work on a balky toilet.