2017-03-17 42 -78

Location

In the woods off the Lancaster Heritage Trail

Participants

Pedalpusher
Simon the dog
Myka the dog

Plans

With the temps hovering in the Mid-30's (F) today, it won't be a frozen hash which will be better for Myka. I figure on taking the dogs out after lunch and we can walk along the presumably snow covered bike path that follows former train tracks. With the snow, I doubt I'll see anyone else out there, but we may come across a snow-shoe'er or two. There is also a geocache close for a Hash Collision Honorable Mention that I'll also go for but the snow might make things a bit difficult for that.

Expedition

Around 13:00 I made some lunch and with a few notes written down for directions, we were off. Arriving at Pavement Road was no trouble, but when we got to the parking area, it looked like there were a ton of large potholes. Avoiding the worst of it, we parked next to two other cars and hopped out. Crossing the street, we started walking down the path which apparently they plow in the winter which was nice. I did notice that on the side with the hash, there was a chain link fence and posted signs. I wasn't shocked but we walked down the path anyway. I did notice the other side was posted in a few places but not many.

Getting to where a pipeline crossed the path, the posted signs were still going strong and I knew it was a lost cause for the hash, but the path itself was really nice and I imagine it's beautiful in the summer(but probably crowded). Looking down the pipeline, I saw a group of White Tail Deer munching on some open grass. Then, across from the closest spot to the hash from the path, the other side dropped down about 10 meters and there was a stream running through. Myka was very interested in something and when I got there I heard some subtle crunching almost like chewing. I was pretty sure it was a Beaver chewing on a stick, but I couldn't see where it was.

We continued walking to the next road before turning around and heading back. On the way, I saw multiple birds flying around including a singing Cardinal, a few Downy Woodpeckers, and a bunch of Robins looking for food in the brush. Getting back to the creek, I heard the crunching again and this time I did see the Beaver and took a few photos. Unfortunately, there were a lot of bushes in the way and I didn't have a clear shot, but he was a big one.

Getting back to the car, we had walked a little over 2 miles and I was looking forward to getting home to make some pizza dough for dinner.