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Sunday, November 30, 2014

11/29/14 City Forest



Seventeen degrees but sunny and no wind so it did not feel that cold. Yesterday we had come here but the road into the parking lot was not plowed and the meadow was a struggle for Kelley so we went to Essex Woods - more deep  snow so we went to the dog park there. Today the road was still not plowed but there had been enough people across the meadow for a path to be packed down a bit. At the parking spot we met one of Kelley's friends, Katurah and her person and walked a ways with them


Unfortunately the beaver pond was frozen so no swim for Kelley.






We parted with our friends at the West Trail as they were taking a different route. It was a beautiful day in the woods so you will have to pardon the excessive number of pics.











When we got to the junction of the Main Rd. rail bed we found only a skier had been on the rail bed and Main Rd.  and it was not plowed


 We had passed our side trail between West and the rail bed and knew no one had been on it so we didn't want to do the rail bed and decided to slog down Main and hope the Loop Rd. was plowed.

Kelley seemed in good shape and not struggling with the snow and we found  the Loop Rd. had been plowed






An unused side trail



We took a little connector from Loop back to West Trail and then back the way we had come.

Kelley waiting as I climbed the hill from the pond


And a look back down toward the pond



A nice hike on a beautiful day we met several people and dogs and the sunny weather seemed to leave everyone in a good mood.  2 hours

Friday, November 28, 2014

11/27/14 Thanksgiving Snow

We woke to 12 inches of new snow. Kelley gets very excited and we had to get out in it before I could clear the drive.









Then we met Kelley's friend Fenton














Back to do the driveway


And then another walk. This time Homer was outside.





A happy day for Kelley . When we got back home you would not come in and stayed out in the snow for a good while. 

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

11/25/14 City Forest


Rained all day yesterday so we just walked around the neighborhood and got wet. The weird weather continues with temperatures of 55 when we started  to 62 when we finished and a  winter weather warning  for tomorrow with 8 to 12 inches of snow predicted.

We started from the end of Kittredge Rd. and walked down to the beaver pond - ice was gone and Kelley was happy. We then did our usual route.


An old wall just as you enter the woods


Some other things we saw








Kelley tried several of the small pools but she tested them first and found ice under the surface water ( which she does not like) and backed off. The stream across the side trail was running.


Some  other things we saw





Black ice


After a final swim in the pond we head up the hill to our car.


A pretty good outing. We met several people and dogs which always pleases Kelley. 1  3/4 hours

Monday, November 24, 2014

11/23/14 Black Mountain



Low 40's to about 50 with mostly sunny skies. We had not done this trail in some time because Kelley is not able to get up the huge boulders near the east summit. Decided we would just go as far as she could and then see what we could do going west.

We started from Black Mt. Rd. and the trail is fairly steep and rocky but not very long.


Not all the ice has melted- there were also patches on the trails


Some of the first views


Approaching the large open ledge area I believe is West Peak


Looking Toward East Peak



We took the East Peak Trail to see how far we could get but it was soon too difficult for Kelley. We went back and tried the trail toward the Black Mt. Cliffs but didn't get far in that direction either. We decide to just explore the area we had reached and here is some of what we saw.





There are some large cairns


This required the movement of a lot of stones but I don't know to what purpose.


An even larger cairn


Heading back down





An interesting hike on trails we had not been on in some time. Even though we skipped the very difficult parts  it was still a bit arduous a lot of work arounds for Kelley.But she seemed to handle it well and to enjoy herself. She was showing no signs of distress when we got home. 2 hours 

Sunday, November 23, 2014

11/22/14 Little Long Pond


13 degrees when we got up - stalled 'till it got to 25 and headed for Acadia where the weather was supposed to be a bit warmer. It was 35 when we started but dropped to 30 when we finished - mix of sun and clouds.

We started from the parking lot for the Friends Path and soon found this ominous looking tree.


Looking back up the path as we descend to the pond


Kelley was disappointed to find the pond ice covered


But when we reached the start of the Jordan Stream Trail there was running water


The last time we were here the stream was high and much of the trail covered with water. Today it was back within it's banks.





When we got to the Cobblestone Bridge we took the carriage roads  back to go along the east side of the pond.





Walking this side of the pond we usually meet people with dogs -  mostly locals - and we did today , which made Kelley happy. Not a bad little hike- only one spot on the west side that we had to bushwhack around so pretty easy for Kelley.  2  1/2 hours