Saturday, March 11, 2017
Another bitterly cold day, which made it tough to get out the door - though it helped that I'd run last Saturday and enjoyed it a lot. I ended up going to Vischer Ferry on the grounds that (1) the mud would be frozen and (2) the construction crew working on the "towpath restoration" (really, converting existing towpath into smoother stone dust road and extending it over to the Northway) wouldn't be there on the weekend, so I could check out what they've done so far.
Very few cars at the main parking lot by the Whipple bridge, probably due to the cold and wind. I started out heading east and a short distance beyond the remains of Clute's Drydock found the new bridge, which I crossed so that I could follow the rough-surface towpath to Towpath Rd. I ran a short distance on the paved road past the Twin Bridges and then headed back to the car so I could drop off my waist pack.
From there I looped through the woods and fields a bit until coming out on the towpath just east of the old lock. Kept on west, did a loop through the field, and decided that Ferry Rd was too ambitious, so I headed back to the car.
While the cold was helpful in freezing the mud and reducing the number of people there, it also meant that much of the water was frozen over, so there were only a couple of spots where I saw ducks and geese (including, I think, a few ring-necked ducks.) I did see lots of signs of beavers (chewed trees.)
It would be great to get back here in warmer weather, after the mud has dried up somewhat but before the bugs become unbearable.
JMH
