A Day Out

With most of the snow melted and no weather concerns on the horizon, it is the perfect time to enjoy the outdoors.  It’s something I plan on doing more of this year.  I got a message from the running crew last night about a group outing at Nolde for this morning.  Group runs are nice, but the pace is a little on the slow side for me.  Plus, I had already set my sights on something before the message was even received.  I planned on tackling The Sink.

Okay, yes these might not be the technically names but amongst the groups they know.  I had done it once before and really enjoyed it.  This time I was doing it alone and bringing my friendly running guide to track me.  I must admit, I was a little pumped this morning.  In the last month I believe I have run twice and both were at races.  That’s not particularly optimal for a person signing up for short to moderately long and difficult races.

I started at river level next to the Schuylkill River.  It doesn’t take long to quickly get away from the water.  I would put the GPS map on here except it has many pin marks when I paused for pictures or to ensure I was taking the correct trails.  According to the tracker, at mile 0.88 I was at a below normal 144 feet.  Less than two miles later I was at 861.  That’s not even that bad.  Around the five mile mark it goes from 446 feet to 639 feet in less than three tenths of a mile.  That’s where you walk.  The nice thing about the trails are the only time you have to double back on yourself is in the last two miles.  And that is only if you choose to park in the furthest area.

It all went well, and I still had weather on my mind.  Like when by the river I was blowing into my hands due to the chilly temps near the water, then eventually found myself in the bright eastern sun as I headed up.  Then I got to the northern part of the large hill to find lots of shade, chilly air and a decent amount of snow still on the ground.  One of the other enjoyable aspects is the ability to do a half circle looking down across much of central Berks and virtually all of Reading.

The final verdict:

Pictures below.

A Look Into Town

Wide Shot - Similar Look without the zoom

Earlier shot to also capture Pagoda on right

Wider and Brighter

Old School Effect - Maybe new title bar background for the blog?

 

Bit of a half circle around now on the west side of the trail - By the way this is the 200 feet straight up section.  The telephone poles below are where I had just been before.

Facing almost directly west and looking down on the Schuylkill

Same spot but not looking straight down this time

Certainly I will be back soon as this is easily one of my favorites.  Unless there is something unusual about the day, pictures will not accompany any possible posts.  Because I don't plan on taking any.