The Rutland Trail From Winthrop - Part 1

I was buying grain in the town of Winthrop one day and the owner of the feed store told me about a trail across the road. It turned out to be another section of the Rutland Nature Trail, a former railroad bed, which I had not yet seen. So on the next day we had good weather, I took the dogs there:

We parked behind some old barns and headed out on the trail, passing a small pond along the way:

The trail took us mostly through brushy woodlands, probably former farm fields which were reverting to forest:

But we also walked through some lovely pine forests:

The dogs were rowdy and rambunctious. I had to call them back loudly and repeatedly at the beginning of the hike, but they slowed down and acted better after expending some of their excess energy and enthusiasm:

And once again, I appreciated this level, flat, easy trail because of my leg braces and uncertain gait. The only problem, which I seem to have everywhere on the Rutland Trail, is small gravel from the old railroad bed getting into my shoes and braces. I have to stop occasionally and dump them out:

But the dogs had lots of fun, darting ahead and then running back to me. They splashed wildly through puddles, sniffed interesting smells and rolled in a few unidentified and probably disgusting things:

Fergus understands that I get angry if he runs ahead too wildly, so he now waits for me to say, "Okay, Fergus." Then he runs:

We were all having a good time. Notice the bandannas on Fergus and Seamus. I put them on because it was hunting season and I thought a bright color might help identify them as dogs, not deer or bear:

We proceeded along the trail, investigating the different types of habitat:

And we made a few short excursions off the trail, wherever there was easy walking and no "Posted" signs:

But we hadn't gone too far when we arrived at this locked gate and "No Trespassing" signs. This was a disappointment, but there was nothing to be done but turn around and begin making our way back to the car. But I'll post about that tomorrow: