January 10th. A walk west from Bull Hill Road towards the Lyman Viaduct. Still lots of ice in the shadowed rock cut portion.

 

Ice gradually diminishing further west.

 

No ice under the open sky...

 

...though you can see some ahead where the viaduct ends and another rock cut begins.

 

Note the top of the original iron structure near the bottom of the photo.

 

At this point, I turned back east.

 

Nearing the rock cut by Bull Hill Road, there was quite a bit of ice. Although I was wearing cleats, I stayed at the edges where most of the ice was gone.

 

A brief stop at Norton's pond. The orange sand/clay surface of the trail was a thawed mess.

 

Some "features" in the ice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

January 11th. Yay! Looks like yesterday's warmth and overnight showers got rid of a lot of ice!

 

Ice in wooded sections was easily avoided...

 

...and virtually absent past the Colchester Spur turn off.

 

 

 

 

 

Only wildlife was this Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) and a single Chickadee which fled before I could take a picture.

 

 

 

Puddles atop the ice on the marsh.

 

I could have made it safely to Old Colchester Road, but opted to turn back.

 

January 13th.

 

 

 

January 21st. Back on the trail after several days off due to snow and severe cold.

 

The surface was incredibly good; not icy at all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

January 23rd. A tolerable morning and trail in good shape, but the next few days include severe wind chill and a blizzard.

 

 

 

 

 

Nifty contrails.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

January 28th. Two days after roughly 15 inches of snow.

 

Not icy, but required a lot of attention to keep from falling.

 

I turned back just past the train mural. Another big storm possible this weekend. Sigh.