Training Log Archive: levitin

Event: NEOC: Townsend State Forest
 

Townsend Green course, with one control mishung. Otherwise, a nice day to be out in the woods.

green - Splits

Parked off Rt 20 at the Kingdom Hall and ran the Birdsong Trail along its whole length, changed trails a couple of times, crossed a few low bridges over trickles, 1 higher *real* bridge over the Assabet, and ran the other side, but it didn't loop back. So I ran to a point where it looked wide and somewhat slower, looked for safe crossing points. The water, though shallow, had tinges of orange color, like some foul cooking runoff or heavy metal accumulation. Made me recall that the Assabet was once upon a time called the Acid-bath River. Hopped across, getting wet only below the ankles, and returned to the starting point. Some of the trails were thinner than game trails. It was obvious where they went, but it was not even 1 human wide.

The combination of the falling sun on the open marshland above the Assabet next to the shaded pine-needled carpet where I was running was almost magical. If I hadn't had to pay attention to my footing, it would have been like something from a movie.

Trail running on the Old Farm and Birdsong trails. didn't have my trail shoes, so I used my road shoes instead. Tried to think topologically about how the streams I crossed feed into or become the Assabet River, but all I got was confused.

After a bit of head scratching and consulting maps, I learned that the wide marshy area near Boundary Rd is the Assabet River itself, while the tiny stream closer to Rt 20 is the Stirrup Brook, which I knew was south of 20 at the high school, but I was hazy on how/where it crossed 20 or joined the Assabet. The answer lies toward the end of the Birdsong Trail.