Eric Phelps
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ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Eric Phelps
@ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
13 followers 0 following 160 posts
Worked in USA, Canada, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Venezuela, Nicaragua, UAE, Morocco, Iraq, Nigeria, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, India -- […]

[bridged from https://mastodon.social/@ericphelps on the fediverse by https://fed.brid.gy/ ]
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ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
16 miles today and the pictures don't do it justice. The colors were so intense I found myself taking pictures every 50 feet. The low sun angle really makes the colors pop!
It was my "normal" creeks/river/lake walk, but I added in some bushwhacking and rock […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
A small pond in a woodland A slough, I think it's called. Basically a shallow overgrown pond bordering on being a swamp. But it's got lots of colorful plants in and around it. Sorry, I take too many pictures of this spot! It's a short hill with a dirt path cutting through rich green ferns Sharp rocks and grass along the river
November 23, 2025 at 4:07 AM
ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Funny thing happened. I hike with snake gaiters. And I had a carabineer hanging on the right side of the one on the right. Somehow it slowly worked its way around my leg, then completely and totally latched both gaiters together while I was hiking. I went […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
Dirt trail through green ferns. It looks like Spring, not Winter! Dirt trail through a woodland. There's what I think is a liquid amber tree on the right adding a splash of orange to what's otherwise a green scene. Small mushrooms in the grass A mushroom growing through fallen leaves.
November 16, 2025 at 5:55 AM
ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
11 miles today, but they were slow miles. Lots of exploring and going off-trail. Remember, this is all "urban hiking" mostly enjoying all the neglected and forgotten areas that bridges cross over and that bike trails pass by. Unfortunately, today's route had […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
A small pond covered in plant life surrounded by trees and bushes of all colors. Some kind of yellow-orange fungus growing out of a dead tree. It's about 6-8 inches across (15-20cm) A clearing in a woodland. Most of this area is very overgrown; this clearing is an anomaly.
November 9, 2025 at 4:36 AM
ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Oh, what a nice view, and…

No, I'm not going to just stand on the path and take a picture. I'm going to go be part of that picture. I don't need a path, I just need a vector.
Pastoral scene of a meadow with trees and a lake in the distance
November 8, 2025 at 11:09 PM
ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
My wife was kind enough to drop me off downstream on the other side of the river so I could walk home. That saved me about 7 miles of walking, so I only did 10 miles today.

Today was a day for checking out all the trails I thought would be no fun.

I […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
At the beginning of a trail in a gully. Dirt trail surrounded by green grass. The sun is lighting up the free leaves that remain in the trees. Dirt trail on the side of a tree-covered hill. Small pond in a woodland. Trees and fallen trees, some red, some orange, some green. I walked that direction, watching closely for snakes!
November 2, 2025 at 4:13 AM
ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Last weekend's hike where I ended up in a bad spot… Well, when I got out of it, I came out on a trail I'd never been on. So today I went back and explored that new trail and went into an adjacent area with no trails at all. At least this week I didn't have to […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
Barely visible trail through a sparse woodland. Green grass has started growing over the trail. The trees are sure it's fall, but the grass thinks it's spring A view of side channels and small islands in Lake Natoma (part of the American River) as seen from the top of a hill A large rock at the bottom of a cliff. These things fall off the cliff all the time. This one looks like a Minecraft rock with lots of square parts. A small side channel on Lake Natoma. There's one bright red tree, but the rest are the fading green of oaks.
October 27, 2025 at 2:10 AM
ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Interesting headliner image (no searchable text) I came across while researching alternate part sources for a project. I recall the same thing happening 6 years ago when China started routing packages through Kyrgyzstan.
Reminds me of that old Internet saying […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
Reminder for USA customers: All goods we ship to the United States will be transited through a third country, so the tariff dispute between the United States and China will not affect the delivery of your order, and you don't have to worry about irrational tariffs. From: CZH-Labs Electronics Salon
October 21, 2025 at 12:53 AM
ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
16 miles today with just over 1800 feet of elevation gain. I intentionally went into a dead-end gulley. What an adventure! I climbed out on soil that barely held my weight, then ended up on hills that were scary steep where one slip would have me rolling down […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
Me, an older man with gray hair, sitting on the side of a steep hill. The American River. Blue skies and reflected blue water.
October 19, 2025 at 3:52 AM
ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Well, I may not be getting as many miles in, but I'm having more fun! Cut my normal 15 mile urban hike down to 10.5 miles due to time constraints. The more I get off the established trails, the slower I get. Worth it. Adventure trumps distance.

This link is […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
I turned around on a slope I'd just descended and caught the light shining through the trees. The entire scene seems to glow with color. A tiny lizard (maybe 75mm head-to-tail) on a log I'm busy climbing over. A fisherman fishing at the shore on the river. Two pedal kayaks – one red and the other yellow – on the river. Cliffs are on the far shore.
October 12, 2025 at 3:04 PM
ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Had a mandatory party on Saturday, so had to do a Sunday hike. Only did 9 miles due to time constraints. And when I'm pressed for time, I head for the worst places I can! No, you won't see them in the pictures. They're the places where you go off-trail, then […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
A squirrel letting me know in no uncertain terms that it owns this particular tree. Part of the woodland I hiked through. This is an open part where you can see at least 10 yards. But even here, I have to stop and evaluate the hills and thickets I see at the edge of the clearing. A flock of turkeys alongside a path. In this area, you're likely to see turkeys on about half your hikes.
October 6, 2025 at 1:49 AM
ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
I've been visiting my "secret meadow" for the last 10 years, but it's an impassible swamp 🫤. The access to it is completely overgrown and close to impassable. 10 years ago after a multi-year drought, it was a meadow with usable deer trails… but not since then […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
A cobble hill to the left and heavy brush to the right. There's no path, so I have to cut my way through until I reach the point where – each year – I find myself blocked by water. Wild land and scrub, reeds, and vines. A rational person would look at it and say it's too much trouble to push through, but I push through a couple times each summer trying to get to the meadow that always turns out to be a swamp. A view of the American River with kayaks and paddle boards. A bridge over the river is flying the American flag. A view from the bottom of a gorge looking up at a wooden pedestrian bridge. The bridge is barely visible through all the trees. This is the end of summer, so there's almost no water in the creek at the bottom of the gorge.
September 28, 2025 at 2:08 AM
ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Yay, I made it up the South Fork of the American River! It was 14 miles of kayaking, but it should have been 16 because I got lost AGAIN. I mean, this time I paid attention to where my little launch inlet was, but my brain said "no way, it can't possibly be […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
My endpoint, the Salmon Falls Bridge.The water is always too shallow and too fast to make it here, so I consider it a win if I can get close enough to see it. A calm part of the river where I beached my kayak. I hiked a couple hundred yards from here to where I could get a picture of the bridge. My electric bike is folded up and wrapped in a giant "dry bag" on the back of my kayak. The bike battery is in a bag on the front to help with weight distribution. After enduring miles of power boats, you eventually get deep enough that there are no other boats and no expensive homes overlooking the river. Then it's just you, the kayak, the water, the gorgeous scenery, and the geese. So many geese. My kayak at my launch point. A lone duck has come to investigate. I think this duck lives with the flock of geese you can see out in the water. And in the background… my landmark. A levee with construction equipment on it. On the way back, I saw the levee but refused to accept it. Luckily I can recover anywhere!
September 21, 2025 at 2:35 AM
ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Hiking with my wife in the Plumas Forest (California USA). Only 4 miles with about 1000 feet of elevation gain. I couldn't ask for a better day to be out hiking. Perfect weather, clear skies, no bugs, no bears.

My wife wasn't thrilled with all the climbing […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
A rocky trail in the hills. There are pines on the right, and I think that might be a cypress on the left. "Big Bear Lake" in Northern California. There's low bushy green ground cover and pines in the foreground and pine-covered hills in the background. A dirt trail cutting through a pine forest. Honestly, I wish I knew! It looks like 4 pine cones at the very top of a pine tree, but that just doesn't seem possible. It could also be some kind of nest, but that also seems unlikely. Nature is strange!
September 14, 2025 at 2:13 AM
ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
My wife decided we needed a vacation, so we drove to the Plumas National Forest. Not thrilled with the ratio of time in the car versus time on the trail, but it really is pretty up here in the mountains. Too many great pictures, so I'm splitting them into two posts.

#hiking
Bright red Indian Paintbrush flowers A little spot of green moss that caught my eye A rocky part of a trail leading from sun into the shade of pines. There are a few red leaves off to the side of the trail, but that small spot of red stands out. "Long Lake" in Northern Californi. There are pines in the foreground and a mountain in the background.
September 14, 2025 at 1:54 AM
ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Took another shot at the South Fork of the American River. Frustrating! I only got halfway to the bridge before running out of time. I've done it before, but can't seem to find the time to do it now. Oh… I know why. Now I'm biking the kayak instead of […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
My kayak at my recovery point. I missed the little inlet I launched from and ended up recovering here. My kayak somewhere between the lake and the river. The paddle isn't an intentional part of the picture; it just seems to end up in that position whenever I set it down. My kayak at my launch point. The place is still owned by a flock of geese. This time they didn't run away. And one little duck was curious and came over to check out my kayak. Sorry little one, I don't bring food with me on day trips! Open Street Map screenshot of my kayak's track on the water. The southernmost point is where I recovered. I miscounted the inlets and accidentally paddled past where I wanted to go. Luckily that isn't really a problem since I carry my bike with me!
September 7, 2025 at 1:53 AM
ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Another hike cut short because Saturday mornings with my wife, well, the little things we do together make me smile. It's hard to rush what's become a tradition. So I only had time for 12 miles before it was suddenly dinner time.

But you know, you can visit […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
An overgrown trail that does double duty as a creek in the winter. They're berries, and they're blue, but I don't know enough about plants to risk a bite. Found in an overgrown dense shady part of a trail. Goats! They're being lazy resting in the shade. Okay, they're being *smart* resting in the shade. It's 102F / 39C. An almost empty creek. The trail (what there is of it) crosses here. This is under a bridge. Normal people cross the bridge.
August 31, 2025 at 2:05 AM
ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
@shantara With a white patch on its lower neck? That doesn't look like any squirrel coloration I've heard of. Pretty amazing!
Okay, Web search with what seems like a helpful AI overview:
Black squirrels are a rare mutant of the gray squirrel, with a black coat caused by a faulty pigment gene. They can range in color from dark gray to almost jet black, and often have a brownish tinge. Black squirrels are primarily found in northern climates, and are more likely to be gray squirrels in the eastern and northern US, or fox squirrels in the west. Biologists estimate that only one in 10,000 squirrels has a black coat. Origin: Black squirrels are a result of interbreeding between gray and fox squirrels, both of which carry the faulty pigment gene. Appearance: Black squirrels can range from dark gray to almost jet black, and often have a brownish tinge. Distribution: Black squirrels are primarily found in northern climates, and are more likely to be gray squirrels in the east and north, or fox squirrels in the west.
August 24, 2025 at 4:47 PM
ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Not much time, so I headed to a spot I always enjoy. Each of the pictures here (except for the flower) was my direction of travel. So many fun little areas to walk through.
https://www.relive.com/view/vXvL5Q5d97O

#hiking
A nice green spot next to the river An open woodland with no paths. But it's so open, you don't need a path! After I rappelled down into a gully, I got to scramble through the mess at the bottom. Ten years ago there was a path here. I think I'm the only one who still goes this way. A pink flower! It's really small, only about 1cm.
August 24, 2025 at 3:34 AM
ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Messed up my schedule, but accomplished part of my goal. Decided to go kayaking, and aimed for the SOFAR (South Fork of the American River). But that meant biking the kayak a fair distance. Well, I made it and launched from a spot being used by geese, but […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
My yellow kayak looking out at Folsom Lake. I've got so much stuff on the kayak you can barely see the kayak! My bike and kayak stopped on a bike trail on the way home. It's a shaded trail with trees on both sides. There are train tracks barely visible on the left. A flock of Canada Geese in the water. They moved to the far shore when I showed up to launch my kayak. The shore behind them is dirt and rocks because the level of the lake is low.
August 17, 2025 at 2:47 AM
ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Out for a walk. Started at 91F (33C) and climbed to 105F (40+C). Finally, a legitimately hot day 😛.

Was minding my own business in the forest when I heard a squirrel barking at me. It was nice enough to pose (and continue barking).

Walked through […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
A picture looking across the lake at two paddleboarders and on the far side, a bicycler stopping to read a sign. It would be a dirt path through a woodland, but very few people use the path. It's covered in dry grass and leaves. About half the woods are trails like this. The rest are "best guess". A squirrel on a tree limb in an aggressive spread stance looking at me. It was barking at me! Wild blackberries. Most are red, but a few are starting to turn black (black = ripe).
August 10, 2025 at 2:24 AM
ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Had my wife drop me off downstream and walked back. Well, almost back. I got just over 15 miles when I hit the dinner time limit and she insisted on driving me home from wherever I was.

But it was a great walk!

The movie (with more pictures):
https://www.relive.com/view/vJOKzY9LG5v

#hiking
A buck staring into the camera A bird of prey in a tree A black and blue butterfly on a yellow flower A red, white, and black bird looking out from a hole in a tree
August 3, 2025 at 3:06 AM
ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Another mixed day: 10 miles of kayaking carrying the bike and 8.5 miles of biking towing the kayak.

It's so freeing to be out kayaking and to be able to consider every spot where a bike trail passes close to the water as a potential recovery spot. So I never […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
A bird on a rock in calm water. I think it's a cormorant. The nose of my yellow kayak with the rocky shores of the river ahead. My bike battery is in a camo dry bag on the kayak's bow. My kayak going through shallow water full of underwater plants
July 28, 2025 at 1:21 AM
ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
14 mile (22km) walk on a 97F (36C) sunny day.

I dropped off my car for service in the morning, but I chose too long of a route to hike to get it before the shop closed. It's prioritizing. I can pick up my car tomorrow. Today was for being outside surrounded by nature.

#hiking
A (very cute) squirrel looking at me through the leaves of an oak tree. New red leaves on an otherwise green plant. A sun speckled path through a woodland. Most of the trees have brown and orange leaves. There are some green trees and bushes in the background, but this is really a "warm" picture.
July 20, 2025 at 5:08 AM
ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
12 mile (19km) walk along the river. Surprised myself by getting on an unfamiliar side trail. That's getting hard to do since I've been walking the roughly 50 miles of trails I can reach from my house for quite a while.
Still waiting for those 40C days I know […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
A dirt trail through vines and brush. Browning trees provide some shade. Blackberries! They don't all ripen at once, so there's a mix of ripe black berries as well as unripe red and yellow berries. I ate that black berry. Not really ripe enough! A calm side channel of the river. The main body of the river runs right to left in the distance. Some kind of seed pods on a tree. They look like small leaves. Mostly green, but with pink highlights.
July 14, 2025 at 1:51 AM
ericphelps.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
At Half Moon Bay (in California). Drove out to go walk the "Cypress Tunnel" with my wife, then she drove back to the hotel without me. Walked back to the hotel and just kept going until I ran out of trail.

I let my wife look at all my pictures; the ones she said "wow" at are posted here.

#hiking
Juniper berries. Large thumb-sized brownish spheres on an evergreen tree. Those clouds! It looks like two separate cloud banks with small blue separation between them. Oh, and below the cliffs are cliffs, a white sand beach, and the ocean. A red ladybug on white flowers Three horses on the beach as viewed through a small canyon
July 5, 2025 at 10:15 PM