I hiked north to south, and then biked back. The trail starts out as a gravel path. This first section is pretty rustic and runs through a nature preserve next to a lake. I saw a family of swans, a heron, turtles, and frogs.
This little guy was crossing the path, and he wasn't a big fan of the paparazzi action.
I wish I could have gotten a better swan picture. She was sitting on her nest with the dad swimming nearby. It was so picturesque.
The trail passed through a town and then restarted, now paved about a mile later. It was a fairly high traffic trail - lots of bikers and families. It passed through farmlands, an old railroad parking area with several big pieces of railway machinery, and a very old cemetery.
It was up on a hill, a little ways back from the path.
Ben lived to be 81. Not bad for 1882.
It was a pretty uneventful hike. I encountered a woman who claimed she saw a bear and was afraid to walk back to her car. I walked with her a while, talking to her about how to alert bears to her presence on a trail and how the loud talking or singing would scare them off. In about 10 minutes she, changed her mind, decided she saw a dog instead and jogged off. That must have been some dog. Or a really brave bear. Or just a really jumpy woman.
Either way. Rail trail checked off the list. I'm starting to get to the areas I can camp in - finally. Hopefully we'll get some weekend trips and gear reviews going. I'm also going to do some solo camping trips. Solo hiking and camping as a woman is kind of a hot topic so I'll share my thoughts.
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