Finally on Snowhoes

I finally did it. I went for a snowshoe walk. Sue thought I was crazy because it was -20C/-5F out, but I knew from other walks that if the sun is shining and it isn't windy that temperature is quite bearable. I mean, you have to dress properly, but if you do that it's fine.

It had taken me about a week to get actually get out once the notion entered my mind. First it was too cold and windy (I am sensible after all), and then there was rain and lack of snow. Truth be told, there still wasn't enough snow for good snowshoeing and plain old walking would have been fine, but I did it anyway because it works different muscles.

Of course, I took the phone along, and of course I took some panos.

This pano is more that 180° which makes it very skinny, but it will enlarge somewhat if you click.
You can see where the software had some trouble with blending the sky,
but I find these faults acceptable in a phone pano.

The bridge was my destination on this day. It was part of a railway line which became disused in the 2008 recession. Eventually the old line was sold to the various communities through which it passes and has since been turned into a trail on which you can go a long way. It's multipurpose, and can be also used by snowmobiles.

Now that guardrails are up on the bridge I may return with my real camera sometime. I would have been reluctant to traverse this bridge in winter before the rails were up although I think I have meandered up there once or twice.

This is the Mississippi River of Eastern Ontario and not that other little creek that flows through the USA. 😉  In the photo, downtown (still above) is to the left (more or less west). The building on the far right is the former MacArthur Woolen Mill, which you can see better in the next pano.

The mill is on an island of sorts. You can begin to see the tributary channel going off to the right around mid-frame. The fencing in the foreground is where they are going to build an outlook, which I assume will either be a higher stand or something that will extend out over the river.

Of course, I also took a photo looking the other way toward uptown.

The mist on the far left is from the falls/rapids near downtown, which is really why the town is here — water power for mills. Sue accompanied me on the walk, not because she particularly wanted to go out snowshoeing but because she was worried about me out in the cold. Hopefully, she is now assured that I am fine on my own on such a low-risk trail.

It was nice to get out. We kept it short, maybe 20 minutes which included time for those photos. It's not the same as snowshoeing right from the cottage door and through the woods, but it is something. And something seems to be becoming my theme.