Words by Alex, Pics by Pete, Butty and Dunc
Crew: El Pres, PTD, Slim, Croxy, Butty, Troll, Bern, Stunt
Pub: Dunc
Route: BL, Zig, Teggs, Lower forest tracks, Smithy
Conditions: Mild, Breezy, Froggy
Notes:
This week a temporary lull in overseas jaunts, illness & excuses generates a decent sized crew:
Croxy showing off the still shiny ebay SantaCruz, trail closures in Macc forest making singletrack worthy news, and our very own caped crusader, Super Commuter himself Joe to see us off.
Breeze heady & stiff to make going high unpleasant, route discussions en route to meet Bern.
Teggs gets more votes than chazza, so we head there – PTD get buzzed by an owl halfway down, we all get a buzz from the lack of traction lower down!
Impressive new wall on the upper reservoir..path diversion will soon be gone?
Lots of amphibians dotted across the roads..El Pres and Bern take pride in warning us all of every one!
Food ordered at the Smithy, we look to local knowledge and attempt to find a way round.
UU have not shirked on health and safety…impressive work on fencing off routes and signage…far less impressive the lack of any visible tree clearing!!
There are some big patches of many trees down, so these are going to take a while to clear.
We do find enough open trails to do some loops lower down..good for variety, and a good night too for wildlife spotting, lots of owls, deer and more frogs and toads.
As usual we are well looked after, although sitting close to the fire was a bit too warm!
Fat sprat an excellent session beer, some early leavers for Friday responsibility.
Dunc arrives at the pub later than usual, and Pete and Phil enjoy choosing the whisky.
Chilly on the descent, but actually quite mild lower down.
Spring equinox almost upon us 🙂
