On tae the Fitton Green (said in my best Scottish accent)

Whew, boy. Getting fit today kicked my ass. Here I am sitting at home after 4 hours on the trails, drinking my Heartbeet juice (mainly carrots, apples, and red beet root), trying my best to recover. We did that nice Dimple Hill hike yesterday, so I thought we'd go it a bit easier today, but it was not to be. We've really wanted to check out an area west of Corvallis beyond Bald Hill called the Fitton Green. And boy, did we do that, even getting lost a time or two. Our 5 mile bike and hike turned into a 9.4 mile adventure, most of it hills upon hills.

Because of the hills, this was by far the hardest workout I've had to date, although Pedal Popper's 21.3 mile journey the other day still tops it. There are new hiking trails through the Fitton Green forest, so I had to map this out on Photoshop as best I could. The blue is the route we traveled before deciding to head back home. From that point on, the route is in pink. If I were to compare this to another hike, the closest I could say this comes to is the loop around all of the ten falls at Silver Falls near Sublimity and Silverton, Oregon - but there would be no biking on that route. Since the bikes made the entire journey with us, being ridden or pushed up the steepest of trails, this kicked up the difficulty level of today's route a notch or two.

Reaching the summit of the Fitton Green is higher than Bald Hill just east of this, and you can start from one of the same parking lots used to access Bald Hill. Unlike Bald Hill, the Fitton Green is not just one trip to the top. You climb to what appears to be one summit, then up and down rolling hills to another, and then another. Just when you think you have it kicked and can coast downhill, you find yourself going the wrong direction and circling back around and up that giant hill you just rode down! Adding an extra mile of hill at the end of the trails is what had me nearing exhaustion. And I poorly rationed my one bottle of water, never believing we would be gone half the day. So, while maps are fun and can really surprise you in terms of total area covered, the pictures are a million times better. Have a look.

First summit area resting, and having fun with our old friends - the trees.

Second summit-like area. Another resting spot. Thought we were at the top - the view said so, but the trail knew better...

Baby trees popping up everywhere.

Funny little lichens.

 Up, up, up...

Gotta love the old dead trees that are still alive with ferns and critters.

 The spooky milestone tree and.... MORE TRAILS!

Always neat little finds in the great outdoors. The snail seemed to have moved out.

 And there's the real summit!

An Oregon Iris in full bloom in February? Hmmm, the Audubon Society says they bloom from April to June in the grassy lowlands. These two flowers were the only ones on the whole hill, so it was a real treat to spot them. Our February has really felt more like sunnier and warmer April. I'm tempted to get the spinach planted soon. Suppose I'd invite a late winter snow then.

 The view - those clouds did drop a wee bit of rain on us, but hey, we're on the Fitton Green!

Riding through the Mojave... eh... just a dry dirt road toward the end of the trail - but we have not had much rain at all this month, and as an old Oregonian gardener and landscaper who remembers February as one of the wettest months in the valleys, I'm a bit perplexed.

One of the trailhead signs with our reflections, but we still had a few miles to go. This was our last trail pic though for the day, Strangely, we had the whole trail to ourselves the entire length of it. Once we left the Bald Hill area, we never spotted another person until we got back to the roads.

So that was our exercise outing today. I got my rims and brakes hot descending these hills, but it was FUN!

Hope to catch you all later.

-Sprocket