1/20/13 Canon Brook

Temps in the 40's today but supposed to be very cold the next few days which means lots of ice from the melting snow. Picked the Canon Brook Trail today because there are several alternatives, depending on the conditions we find. Plan is to do part of  Dorr, the Dorr  extension, and part of A. Murray Young.

We started from the trail head on Rte.3 along the Tarn Trail which turns into the Canon Brook. The bog bridge section had several downed trees- not the work of the wind but of beavers

You can see their lodge in the back of the pond

We did not get far on the Dorr S. Ridge Trail as we soon hit icy rocky sections that were a problem for Kelley. We turned back and followed the extension ( a no longer maintained trail added to the above map) to Otter Creek. No one had been on this trail but it is flat and easy to follow if you know it is there.

We did not attempt to cross it today ( we sometimes do the Pothole Trail from there) but returned to the Canon Brook and took that to the A. Murray Young. This is a trail we only do part of because there is a section of steep very large boulders without a work around for Kelley- we did it once with me boosting her but she hates that .  It's a pretty trail beside a stream but today had more ice than the other trails we had been on. Still, we made it to the place we usually turn around.

 This memorial is attached to a huge boulder

Once back at the Canon Brook we stopped at our favorite lunch spot in this area and then headed back to our start. Some things along the trail

An interesting hike - we were not in the open much so the wind did not bother us and there was lots of variety.  We avoided anything stressful for Kelley ( or me) and she  found several spots to get into the water but we met no other hikers.  3 hours