3/21/14 Newman Hill

Night before last it snowed then rained most of yesterday ( Kelley spent the day at the nursing home) so we didn't know what kind of conditions we would find today. Decided on this hike because there are a variety of trails. As usual the route is approximate because these trail still confuse me.

The Taylor road  part that had been plowed was mostly just muddy. When we got to the unplowed  part the snow was soft and fairly deep and the crust wouldn't even support Kelley so we turned back. The ski trail was a little better but I still broke through fairly often making it a bit of a slog.  I decided to just give up on these trails and head for another spot. We ended up back on the road. We had  met a skier and his dog in the parking lot and  met them again on the road. Ebby and Kelley became friends and we chatted as they played.

Getting to know each other

Perhaps he has treats

or maybe I do

The hike part of this outing was disappointing but turned out to be a good day for Kelley and Ebby who seemed to enjoy the play time. 

3/19/14 Walden Parke

Rain forecast for tonight and tomorrow so we wanted to get in a good one today. Sunny when we started with 24 degrees and no wind. We hadn't been here since the last storm and found the trails had not had much use and were a bit rough, with frozen tracks.

The Loop Trail had had mostly ski use and was a little better.

When we got to the rail bed we found even less use but thought once we reached the spot where the snowmobile trail joined the rail bed we would have good footing and this turned out to be true. Someone had drawn a large sign in the snow asking the snowmobilers to please flatten the section they had not been on--I don't think they are supposed to use that section but sometimes they do. Tried to get a picture of it but failed.

At this point Kelley spotted a skier with her dog and ran over to greet them.

She was giving up on the trails and hoped the rail bed would be better skiing and  it was.

We followed the rail bed to where it turns out onto the frozen bog and turned back.

On the way back we met another skier who lived in the area and shared some of the area history with us.

Kelley likes to take the snowmobile trail to an unnamed trail and that back to the Loop Trail. Today we found no one had been on the unnamed trail and it was a bit of a slog- for me- the crust mostly supported Kelley.

Not as good  footing as the last couple of hikes but still a  pretty day in the woods and a good hike. Easier for Kelley than me. 2  3/4 hours 

3/18/14 Glenburn Snowmobile Trails

Warmer- 16 when we started, sunny, and less wind- pretty good hiking weather. Decided our best bet was still snowmobile trails so we headed for nearby Glenburn - a little over 6 miles from home. We parked at the closed store on Hudson Rd. and hiked to Pushaw Lake and back. The trail was well packed snow which made for easy walking. Kelley mostly stayed on the trail as off trail she would sometimes break through the crust to still quite deep snow.

A marshy area along the trail

Pushaw Lake

A pretty nice hike on a beautiful day. Again, we met no one until on the way back we stopped to talk to the man cutting lumber in the woods near the start- Kelley ran over to greet him as she had before. 2  3/4 hours 

3/17/14 Snowmobile Trail

I cannot trace our route after we took the fork toward Glenburn.

Sunny with some wind and cold- 4 degrees when we got up- I stalled 'till it was 9. Trails are still iffy but someone took their snowmobile down the easement behind our house and the track was nice and firm so we decided to take that. Once we got to the actual trail it was wider and still good footing with only a couple of very small patches of ice. The wind was not as strong as yesterday but still biting in the open areas.

Kelley found a toy

This is not the most scenic trail , especially the first part but we did pass this farm

Eventually you veer off the easement and get into some woods

We came to a fork with a sign saying "New Trail" and indicating Bangor or Glenburn- we headed toward Glenburn. The trail continued through woods for a bit and then came to a trail we had been on before ( and had passed earlier) .

We followed it to the same place we had reached in the past

and turned back, staying on that trail rather than getting back on the "new trail ". We linked up with the trail we had come in on we headed back.

And I found a few more pictures

In spite of the cold a pretty nice hike- good footing, beautiful blue skies, sun and we met no one, making it a peaceful 3 hours .

3/16/14 City Forest

"Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 20's. West winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 35 mph." This turned out to be an accurate forecast . We decided to try City Forest but when we got to the road going down to the parking lot we use we found it had not been plowed. That meant parking at the top and walking across the broad meadow that leads down to the beaver pond. The wind across here made me think of turning back it was so cold.

Down the back side of the hill

There had been a little use but the track was frozen so pretty lumpy walking. Kelley was mostly supported by the crust so it was OK for her.


Once we got on the West Trail and were out of the wind it was comfortable but the track was still rough 

At the end of West we found that the rail bed had had a skier but no walkers

The Main Rd. had also not been plowed and had only a lone ski track so we returned on the trail we had come in on.

Back by the beaver pond Kelley found some water

Going back up the hill to parking.

It was just as cold on the return trip. We had seen no one on our hike- unusual for a Sunday. It had been a challenging hike- more for me than Kelley, though she did pretty much stay close and on the trail. 2 hours 

3/15/14 Downtown and Neighborhood

Woke up to light  rain, stalled for awhile but it continued so we went downtown for a walk. I let Kelley pick the route but she was apparently not very excited about the rain and the slushy sidewalks either and took us on a short loop back to the car. I only took one picture

Later in the day it cleared for awhile before it started raining again and we went for a walk around the neighborhood. Bentley and Gracie were available for a little playtime and that made Kelley happy.


Bentley has a lot of energy

 Gracie taking a break

Bentley, Kelley, and Gracie

Taking a break

Back home to clear the ice away that the graders had left in front of the drive. Supposed to get cold again tonight and below freezing the next few days so we anticipate more ice for tomorrows hike. Bah!

3/14/14 Neighborhood

Yesterday was another snow storm and Kelley went to the nursing home to visit the oldsters. This morning it was cold ( 9 degrees) but with bright sun and no wind. I had used a neighbor's snow blower to clear the largest part of the snow yesterday afternoon so I only had to shovel a couple of inches this morning. No   snow mobiles had been on the easement behind the house- I went through knee deep snow to check it- so that was out and other trails were also going to be a problem so we just went for an hours walk around the neighborhood.

A few pictures of the hood

Kelley enjoys being out walking anywhere and she also likes people and gets to greet all of them that are out clearing their drives. Lots of talk about the weird winter we have had and which continues as the forecast for tomorrow is 40 degrees and rain.

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