1/16/12 Little Long Pond and Area

Warmer ( upper 20's ) today with beautiful sunshine. Still lots of ice around so we picked this area for it's alternative routes. It was a mixed bag. The Friends Path over to the pond had some icy patches but easily got around. The trail along the west side of the pond was mixed - the wooded areas had very good footing with less snow and little ice, the open areas next to the water had a crust that supported us but had been glazed by the sun and was quite slippery. We started up the Jordan Stream Trail but it was too icy for the narrow trail and we left it for the carriage road. The carriage road also had a crust that mostly supported us and we took that to the Asticou Trail - good footing for the most part and a very pleasant walk. Back on the carriage road to take us to our car. Again, mostly pretty good footing. Kelley is as leery as I am of the slippery ice and finds ways around it but was happy be back out on the trails. Near the end we met two women with two dogs and this put the icing on the cake for Kelley. 3 hours

The theme for today was ice. Kelley was surprised to find the pond frozen over but it gave a nice reflection.