More Than a Walk in the Park

I did something different today and took a hike through Russell Park in Ilion, NY. Oh, OK, it was more of a walk, but it was over a trail with changes in elevation, rough patches, and even a little mud. In other words, it was an effort beyond that cliche, a walk in the park.

My companions in this adventure were my sister Cheryl and niece Jenna. They do quite a bit of hiking in various parks around the area. I always think I am OK to go for a trail walk because of all the running I do. I confess that sometimes on a run or, more often on my cool-down walk, I say to myself, “My legs are magnificent instruments of propulsion!” Well, let me just say I do not need to feel so pleased with myself.

I did not take a lot of pictures. We were wishing there were some longer views, especially with the fall foliage reaching peak.

There are quite a few trails in Russell Park. We were on the Horseshoe Trail, I think. We had to choose which fork to take a couple of times. We saw a bridge we considered crossing, but I felt what we could see of the trail beyond it looked iffy. Cheryl went down for a photo op.

We ended up at the Soccer Field and followed the road back to where we had parked. We looked at the trail map, which I stupidly did not get a picture of. We talked about where we might walk next time but decided not to follow any other trails today.

It was a lot of fun. In addition to a challenging walk, we had a great visit with a lot of laughs. I hope to tag along on more of Cheryl and Jenna’s hikes.