Sunday morning walk

After running two races within a week and with a six-day, 83-milk walk on the horizon, I decided to quit running for a while and walk, just WALK. At 7 a.m. last Sunday morning, three of us met at Edora Park and set off for downtown Fort Collins on a classically clear Colorado day. Snow covered peaks towered in the distance, pale blue sky above and just a touch of an early morning breeze.

We set off on the bike trail and in minutes encountered an enormous old turtle parked sedately in the middle of the path. Once he sensed our presence, he lumbered off down the bank and plopped himself into the river.  A few more minutes and we came upon his buddy, equally old and just as big, partly covered with green weedy stuff that sort of served as camouflage. This guy wasn’t shy, or perhaps he thought himself sufficiently disguised. He stayed parked right there in the trail as we admired him. The proverbial hare we saw a bit later scurrying across our path as we approached a water obstacle.

 There’s been enough rain in these parts lately that the river has swelled above its banks and across some parts of the bike path. We took off our shoes and waded into the cool water. It felt good, but when we came to the next fording opportunity we decided instead to find another path. Winding our way to Hoffman Mill Road, we discovered the old Nix Farmhouse and the City of Fort Collins Natural areas headquarters, places I hadn’t seen before.

Before long we could see what had once been a golf course, now sprouting the fast-rising Woodward Governor headquarters. The company has already planted hundreds of trees, created little paths leading to the river and placed  benches close by.

By the time we reached Old Town, we’d been on the road close to two hours and were ready for a break and some food. We bypassed a long line waiting to get into the popular Silver Grill and opted instead for the Little Bird Bake Shop where we found lots of goodies, friendly people and a perfect place to sit for a bit.

Refreshed, we made our way to Mason Street and followed the MAX route south for a while before picking up the Spring Creek trail headed east. I couldn’t help thinking how nice it was to do an “urban walk” and still be able to spend more than half our time on dedicated bicycle trails. By the time we reached Edora Park, we’d walked 12

miles and the day was still young. We weren’t exhausted. I couldn’t help wondering how we might feel if we’d added another nine miles to our trip.

We’ll find out soon enough. The walk we’ve planned through the Lake District in Northern England starts with a 16-miler and ends with a 21-mile day. In between the mileage ranges from eight to 14 miles and all but the last day’s walk are labeled “strenuous.” That last one is dubbed “long-moderate.”

We’ll see how it goes! Stay tuned and I’ll report.