the Way of the Turtle

3.4 Mile Snowshoe Run Along the Erie Canal
Wednesday, January 2, 2008

I waffled for a while about where to go for today's run but finally settled on the canal path between Henpeck Park in Greece and Long Pond Road.

There really wasn't enough snow to warrant snowshoes - I could have run perfectly comfortably in either my trail shoes or my screw shoes - but with two 5k snowshoe races coming up this weekend I really wanted to get some time in on the snowshoes. So as silly as it was to be using them for an inch or two of snow, that's what I did.

Between my 2 1/2 weeks of relative inactivity and the usual challenges of running in snowshoes, it was tough going, and I found myself taking a lot of walking breaks. As usual, I overdressed, so the breaks gave me a chance to take off my neck gaiter, mittens, and 180s by the time I'd reached the turnaround point at Long Pond Road. Even though this was the coldest day of the winter so far, in the sunshine I was pretty comfortable... but when the wind was blowing on the way back it did get a bit chilly!

On the return trip I stopped and briefly explored the remains of the Junction Lock... apparently, when the Erie Canal was enlarged in 1918 into the current Barge Canal, there was still some traffic using the previous route to and from downtown Rochester (until the harbor facilities were completed in 1920.) The Barge Canal was 3 feet higher than the Enlarged Erie Canal so a Junction Lock was built connecting the two. That section of the canal was eventually closed down in 1923 and now all that remains out near Greece are the stone walls of the Junction Lock and the overgrown canal prism. I'd seen the section near the current canal many times during the summer, but this is the first time I realized that there was another part of the old Lock back in the woods, visible now that the leaves are off the trees.

All in all, a fair start to getting outdoors and getting the blood flowing in 2008... with hard work and a little luck I'll improve as the 2008 Season of the SnōShū progresses...

JMH