Our hike of Jan. 1, 2023 won't go down as any kind of record for distance or challenge, but it was a nice start to the new year. We hiked a little over three miles in Black Hill Regional Park. The weather was unseasonably warm (see the short sleeves!), but there was still ice on the lake from the ice storm over Christmas.
Our next big hike was another C&O Canal one, this time starting from the center of the Tuscarora section, heading east to where the Tuscarora turns north.
With my ankle finally healed up, we had a lot of Tuscarora miles to go to make 60 by the end of the year, so we headed back out to the easiest section - the C&O Canal. We started at the Hancock end, hiked about halfway along the canal section, then back.
It was not a long hike, but it was the first interesting hike since my sprain. T and I headed out to Hancock, Maryland to do a wee bit of the Tuscarora Trail. We started where we had left off last, where it diverges from the C&O Canal to cross the Potomac.
Our hike was short - through Hancock, then across the bridge. (The next section is a particularly dicey section of roadwalk we have no intention of doing.)
The crossing is a two-lane bridge, with a narrow pedestrian sidewalk that is raised but has no barrier between you and the cars. We deliberately chose a light-traffic day, and we wore bright colors for visibility.
There were nice views from the bridge, but it was not exactly a relaxing walk.
In mid-October, we returned to the Shawangunk Ridge Trail after over a year to do the next section. Well, we didn't get very far. About a mile in, I sprained my ankle, and we had to turn around after splinting my injury.
We did walk a little further at the end of our section, near the shuttle car. Part of the trail was under a deep, deep puddle, so we retraced to the road. It's going to be hard to find a time of year where the Bashakill section isn't wet.
While my sprain wasn't a bad one, I was out of commission for a bit. I'm back on it now, but I am keeping mileage very low.
