Minor Adventures in Hiking

Tuesday, June 10

We got up early and had breakfast at Paul's. Service was very slow. I indulged in cinnamon raisin French toast instead of my usual bowl of oatmeal. Then we went to the store for trail mix, water and insect repellent. Next we went to the Cheshire Library to find a UPS store, only to find out that there was one right on our way to Sleeping Giant. We stopped in and got information about how to ship some things back to Houston. Then we went on to the park.

At Sleeping Giant we took the easy tower trail to the point where it intersect with the difficult blue trail which we had been on the day our vacation began. The blue trail wasn't as difficult as previously, so obviously the most difficult parts were in the early parts which we had done the first time we came to Sleeping Giant. Still, it was a good walk and we saw hawks and a wild turkey with her chicks. The mother became very aggressive with us, and we almost feared we wouldn't be able to continue on our path. We spent a lot of time watching her, trying to stay safely out of harm's way. Finally we continued on, but didn't meet with any more interesting wildlife. We took the easier orange trail back to the picnic area for a total hiking time of about four hours.

Back at home, Dan settled in to watch a video after we loaded our UPS box with items to ship home. Then although I was sleepy I dressed for a run. John and Susan had praised the local rail trail the night before and I figured my trip wouldn't be complete if I didn't go for at least a short run on it. It was a very nice trail, shaded most of the way from trees meeting overhead. There was a wide dirt shoulder for runners and an asphalt path for walkers, skaters and cyclists. The trail followed the old train line, which followed the old canal line. Lock 12 of the canal had been restored and I stopped and took and look. The water ran alongside most of the trail, affording occasional glimpses of ducks, including a pair of mallards with their chicks. I ran 30 minutes one way, turned around and ran back.

I got back in plenty of time for Dan to take the box to the UPS store while I took a shower. Then we went to see Grandma for a bit. We showed her our digital pictures and she admired our camera very much. Finally she became tired and we went back to Cheshire. John and Susan picked up some Chinese take-out and we had dinner while I did laundry. I was up late packing and spent 30 frustrating minutes looking for my missing toothbrush and then re-packing everything again. This left me grumpy and thoroughly out of sorts by the time I went to bed around midnight.