12/24/13 City Forest

Lower 20's, mostly cloudy with some breaks of sun, but no wind so comfortable hiking. Hoped  the trails at City Forest would be walkable today- a dusting of new snow overnight.

We started from the parking lot off  Kittredge Rd. -no cars in the lot -on the West Trail

An open area before the main trail begins

 There was a crust on the surface and the middle section of the trail which had been used in the past by skiers and walkers which supported me. If I stepped to the side I broke through,

Almost everything was covered with ice.

At the end of the West Trail we walked down to the rail bed. We usually go first toward forest Ave, but no one had recently been on it and it would not support me. In the other direction a skier had passed a day or two ago and if I stayed on his tracks I was supported. Stepping to the side I again broke through to several inches of snow below the crust. Problem was many trees bent over from the weight of the  ice forced me to the side .

We walked as far as the Walden Loop Trail intersection and turned back. We also knew that we would not be able to use the small trail we usually take back to West. We took Main Rd. to the Loop Rd. and met a woman and her dog.

Along the way we passed the Rabbit Trail

We went through the woods a short distance to take the West Trail the rest of the way back and met a skier, the only other person on the trails today.  In the parking lot we helped a woman corral her dog which did not want to get in her car.

It had been pretty in the woods and nice to be in them rather than on the street. Kelley had had an easy time of it because all of the crust supported her. She also seemed happy to be in the woods. 2  1/4 hours

12/23/13 Neighborhood

After our hike on Saturday the rain, sleet, snow, and freezing rain started and continued through today. Yesterday we decided to leave the car in the garage so we wouldn't have to deal with the driveway and just walked in the neighborhood. This morning we got a lot of the ice off the drive and drove to Walden. The parking lot was a sheet of ice and the trails showed no sign of use- I checked them out and found the crust would support me but was extremely slippery so we returned home to do the neighborhood again.  We lost power but it had come back on when we got back home. The streets weren't too bad and there were lots of folks out cleaning their drives. Kelley greeted them all.

Some pictures from the hood.

After supper we lost power again and I spent the evening reading by candle light. Kelley was a bit weirded  out but a few Pringles brightened her mood. Overnight we got a little snow over the ice to make it more treacherous and I'm trying to decide where to go. The ice is making us crazy.

12/21/13 Walden

Twenties and gray with a forecast of rain, sleet, and freezing rain. We went to nearby Walden to get in a hike before the nasty stuff started. There had been more ski and foot traffic so the walking wasn't too bad. We walked the Loop Trail out to the rail bed and there met Sophie and Joanne - as always Sophie first as she runs ahead to greet us as Kelley runs to greet Joanne. We have met them many times and I have never got a very good picture of the dogs together. Sophie is usually in motion and Kelley won't cooperate either. So , Sophie and Kelley ( with her back turned ).

We walked back together on the other side of the Loop Trail and met a skier and his dog- neighbor of Joanne.

We managed to get in 1  3/4 hours without rain and it had been pleasant walking with our friends.



Added for Kim-  Me and Kelley, Roxie, and Gus- taken by my friend Faith on an earlier hike

12/20/13 City Forest

Around 30, light snow, and no wind- not bad. Forecast for the rest of the day is snow, rain, freezing rain, etc. so we went to the Forest to get a hike in before whatever. We parked in the parking lot this time, so as not to  have to walk through the snowy meadow and picked up the West Trail from there- it was really quite pretty - and quite  as we met only a single skier.

More stuff in the snow - I can't resist

When we reached the end of West and went down on the rail bed we found no one had been on the section toward Forest Ave that we usually take. We walked a short ways on it and turned back as Kelley was not very enthusiastic.  When we returned to the intersection with West and Main Rd. , Kelley chose Main Rd, which she has never done on any of our many hikes here. I think because it was plowed. We walked it to Loop Rd. and took that. ( dogs on Main Rd. are supposed to be on a lead and we didn't want that).

We did a good part of the Loop and then cut through the woods to get back on West Trail

At the intersection for the pond we went down to check it out- all frozen.

Back to the parking lot. A pretty 2 hour hike. We had snow the whole time and no rain and it had been very peaceful.  

12/19/13 Walden

Cloudy and mid 20's  but no wind. Problem is snow, making walking difficult. I checked three places where we usually access the snowmobile trails but there had been  little or no activity so we headed to Walden  to try our luck there. We started from the parking area at the end of Tamarack Trail on the Loop Trail where  there had been both skiers and walkers so not too bad walking that section. We met a skier and his dog and they were the only others about today. When we got to the old rail bed there were only ski tracks heading north and  we went south where there were only a set of  tracks from before the last snow.

Once we passed the turn off for the snowmobile trail there were no tracks ( the skier had taken the snowmobile trail) and it became more of a plod.

 After a bit we gave it up and turned back because I didn't want Kelley to overdo it.

She did manage to find some water.

We went to the snowmobile trail which Kelley likes to take ( I don't know why, but she always turns there-or tries to. We then took a short unnamed trail back to the Loop Trail and back to our car.

 Along the way I found more weeds.

We only did an hour and a quarter but it was somewhat strenuous so I think we got our exercise- Kelley did not hesitate this time about getting in the car.

The next few days don't look good for us.

	Friday Snow. Snow freezing rain and sleet in the afternoon. Snow and sleet accumulation of 1 to 3 inches. Ice accumulation around a trace. Highs in the lower 30s. Southeast winds around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation near 100 percent. » ZIP Code Detail
	Friday Night Freezing rain...snow and sleet likely in the evening...then freezing rain and sleet likely after midnight. Additional snow and sleet accumulation up to 1 inch possible. Total snow accumulation 1 to 3 inches. Ice accumulation around a trace. Lows in the lower 20s. East winds around 5 mph...becoming north around 5 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation 70 percent.
	Saturday Cloudy. A chance of freezing rain...sleet and snow in the morning...then freezing rain, sleet and rain mixed likely in the afternoon. Little or no snow accumulation. Highs in the mid 20s. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation 60 percent. » ZIP Code Detail
	Saturday Night Freezing rain and light sleet in the evening... then freezing rain and sleet after midnight. Light sleet accumulation. Lows in the lower 20s. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation 90 percent.
	Sunday Freezing rain, sleet, and snow in the morning...then freezing rain and sleet in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 20s. Chance of precipitation near 100 percent. » ZIP Code Detail
	Sunday Night Freezing rain and sleet likely. Lows in the mid 20s. Chance of precipitation 70 percent.

The weather people are often wrong and we are hoping this is one of those times.

12/17/13 City Forest

A nice sunny day after the storm. Decided City Forest was our best chance for some trails that had had some traffic. We parked at the end of Kittredge Rd. and Pete and Cadie arrived as we did and we got to walk with them for awhile. The dogs played some but Cadie is a very energetic pup and was all over the place. They walked part of the West Trail with us before crossing to the Loop Rd. to go back.

Most of the traffic had been skiers so it was a bit of a trudge for me, not wanting to mess up the tracks and walking beside them- Kelley could walk them without damage so it was not hard for her.

When we got to the end of the West, I opted for Main Rd. and then Loop Rd. which were plowed and gave me a break

As we were walking Kelley spotted a man and his dog ahead of us and took off to greet them but soon recognized the dog as the one that had attacked her awhile back. She stopped and laid down and would not proceed. I told the guy Kelley was wary of his dog because it had attacked her and he said they would go ahead. Once out of sight I got Kelley moving again but decided to bushwhack back over to the West Trail where she would be more comfortable and she was

She seemed especially interested in checking out all the smells along the way today.

Near the end of the hike

It had been a beautiful day and very pretty in the woods. Kelley had been happy with the trails and once we got away from the mean dog was  back to her usual happy self. She has a good memory but also the ability to let go.  1  3/4 hours

12/16/13 Ocean Drive - Park Loop Road

This section of the Loop Road is referred to as 'Ocean Drive" as it runs very close to the shore. The section from the entrance station to Otter Cliffs Rd. remains open in winter when the rest of the road is closed. Because of the fairly deep snow we were looking for a good place to walk. The closed road is used by snow mobiles in winter and they pack the snow down and make a nice walking surface. We especially like the section from  Otter Cliffs Rd. to Rte. 3 because it is mostly close to the shore with some nice views. Today, however, no snowmobiles had been on the road and the snow was too deep for Kelley to manage comfortably. We drove over to the nature center area ( another spot we sometimes use to access the road)  and found it also unused. That left us with the open section of the Loop Rd. and we drove to Sand Beach parking and started from there. A nice sunny day and we were only passed by two vehicles so better than expected.

A section of the road

and a view from it

At Thunder Hole we met a nice man who was taking some pictures and had a nice chat. Kelley was very patient.

At Otter Cliffs Rd. the loop road was blocked and no longer plowed. We gave it a try and for some reason the snow had a thicker crust and supported  Kelley ( but not me) and we made it to Otter Cliff where I carefully worked my way down for a picture from there ( Kelley was smart enough to wait above)

We then turned back the way we had come- the snow was too much of a plod for me.

Another shot of the road

When we got back to the parking lot we walked down to see if we could get to the beach but there was snow piled up from the plow and no path down. There was a young man sitting in his truck waiting for a friend to arrive so they could surf. Must be related to Kelley- the temperature was about 20 degrees.

So, after a couple of false starts we got in a pleasant hour and three quarters