"Like Something Out Of True Detectives" - New Trails!

Two posts in as many days? What's happening here? Extreme boredom, that's what. I definitely didn't see this coming. I pride myself on my ability to vegetate and used to be totally content with being a useless sack for hours on end, but I've lost it. Also, didn't I used to have hobbies other than running and drinking? What were they? Damn you, grad school!

Take yesterday. I woke up early to renew my apartment lease, and when we got home I was ready for some serious lounging after an action-packed week. I blogged, queued up some Netflix, and... was SO. INCREDIBLY. BORED. It took all of five minutes.

I managed to kill some time by getting a haircut (first since January!) but the second I got back to my apartment I knew I needed a plan. Since it was a cloudy day, I had postponed my planned hike to the following day (so the views wouldn't be obscured) and decided to take a rest day instead. But that was before the boredom kicked in.

I don't think Spencer Butte is a particularly scenic hike (I know, grumble grumble, Jean's not impressed) but it's nearby and you don't have to pay for parking so I decided to head over and walk around for a while. And what did I happen to find but new fun trails?!

You always hear about what a running mecca Eugene is, and from what I gather a lot of trail runners live here. I was always curious about where they run, though, because between the usual suspects (Pisgah, Spencer, Baldy, etc.) there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of trail available. Enter: this place!

I don't actually know what it's called, but it absolutely beats any other trails I've seen here. I mean, it's not all trees! You can see things! It's Eugene's own little Powerline! I was insanely excited to discover this new paradise.

I continued on what I'll call mini-Powerline for a little over two miles before turning around. I think I exited the park after 1.8 or so, but the trail showed no sign of ending so I continued onward. Unfortunately, I started seeing small shacks and other signs of humans which in such a (seemingly) remote area scared the shit out of me. Determined not to end up on the next season of True Detectives, I turned around. I was probably being ridiculous, but better safe than sorry and all that. I'm going to look up more about the area (like, who are these people and how do they access their houses? Are they hill people? Will they shoot me if I run there?) before I venture that far again.

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Today a friend and I headed over to Mary's Peak near Corvallis, which is allegedly the tallest mountain in Oregon's coastal range. I won't get into too many details because it was a perfectly ordinary hike, but I will say that we showed up expecting a 5-9 mile hike (the internet wasn't very clear on trail distance) only to find that we'd driven nearly all the way up the peak! There was only a half mile left. That was unexpected, to say the least. There were trails that started farther down the mountain, though, so we were able to get in six miles or so.

The view was largely obscured by clouds on the way up, but they cleared long enough to take in some nice scenery at the top.

I wish my camera could have captured just how green the moss/grass was.

tl;dr : boredom is a real issue in my life right now. Whine, whine, whine. I guess I'm just confused by it since I've always been such a lounger. I'm sure I'll get over it and return to my slothenly (if that's not a word, it should be) ways soon enough. In the meantime, however, I'm off to Bend for the weekend!