Training Log Archive: CleverSky

Carrying gear out to launch at the Mohawk Trail (two trips).

From the bailout LZ to the driving range to get my car, since nobody landed down there. Pretty much all downhill.

Cheshire Rail Trail (Walpole, NH), from the Rte. 123 bridge over the Connecticut River south to Halls Crossing Road and back. On the way out, I took a brief detour onto the "Mason Self Guided Nature Trail", which was in such an advanced state of disuse that it was almost impossible to follow. the rail trail was steadily uphill on the way south, and it was visible and it felt like going uphill, but hen fter turning around, it looked basically flat, felt basically flat, and my time for the return was basically the same. This was right around sunset, temp about 66F, on the way home from a day up at West Rutland in which I did not manage to get airborne (after watching the first guy launch and seeing how much the air was tossing him around, most of the rest of us just packed up our gliders and drove back down).

Wapack Trail. Started from 119, headed north, and screwed up when I got to Binney Hill Rd., taking the first right instead of the one with the derelict hunting camp. I realized before too long that things looked unfamiliar, but decided to keep going anyway. I eventually hit Lower Pratt Pond Rd., and ran up and around the corner to get a better view from the high ground to see where I was. On the way back, visibility improved and I saw that I was on the wrong side of Binney Pond, so I found an old skidder track to get though the laurel and bushwhacked around the north side of the pond to the Wapack Trail, and went up and over Pratt Mountain about to the north end of Stony Top. I had been glad that I wore a light jacket early on, but the sun came out when I was coming back from Lower Pratt Pond Rd. and it was a little warm, but then on Stony Top I got sleeted on so it was okay. Back on the Wapack, including correctly making the turn to avoid going up Watatic at the end. Distance is maybe a little l9onger that what I put down, because that doesn't include the various twists and turns of the trails. Fairly wet and muddy out there, a lot of puddles to work my way around. Good training, all told.