Sloppy Run

Bailed on the ride out to western ma to visit Ben and the Lithia Springs Resevoir. Woke up to freezing rain in Holden and crappy conditions and made the decision pretty quickly. Ended up turning out to be a decent day by around 2pm.

Did run locally, however, and decided to go out the back door with the snowshoes on...wrong move. It was a sloppy mess. The snow was wet (after the freezing rain, then the pouring rain) and heavy and it just plain sucked. Took 15 minutes of this for me to say "the hell with this" and returned to the house. Promptly took off the shoes and hit the streets (uggh).

Wasn't that bad, as many of the sidewalks were plowed and if they weren't, local drivers showed some respect and moved on over. Actually came upon a place after about 5 miles into the run that I've been driving by for years and never checked out. I've seen this clearing in the distance (think abandoned railroad bed) and decided to head for it.

After not changing shoes from the original snowshoe mess, I figured my feet have dried thoroughly over the last 5 and should be ready for a nice soaking again. As I punched through the snow, a virtual pool of water stood underneath. My feet were drenched and cold....for the next 4 miles. I think I would have been in trouble had it been colder. It was hovering around 40 and my feet were numb by the time I got back to the house. At one point, I had to cross a overflowing river (about 25-30 feet wide), with water up to my shins. I thought, back track 2 miles....or just do it. Did it, obviously, and my feet never felt so cold.

All in all an OK run, with some new trails to explore... once it dries out.