The Marshy Part Of The Rutland Trail - Part 1

As December came to an end, our weather continued to be more like October, with no snow. I knew it couldn't last forever, so I took the dogs up the road to the Rutland Trail again - this time beginning at Hallahan Road and heading east:

The dogs were so excited that they didn't listen well at first, but I knew they'd calm down after a bit of excited running, sniffing and investigating:

This part of the Rutland Trail runs through marshes and wetlands. In most places, there is water on both sides and I wondered how they had managed to construct this former railroad bed through such marshy country so long ago, probably in the late 1800s or early 1900s:

But the scenery was topnotch:

We passed what looked like a beaver lodge except that it was adjacent to the trail - in fact, it partially covered the trail. I could see evidence of lots of beaver activity, including a raft of floating logs with tooth marks near the lodge:

We continued on our way, passing wetlands everywhere. There could be no straying from the trail because of the water on both sides:

The dogs began to slow down after they'd used up their initial burst of excitement:

Once the over-exuberance at the beginning of a walk is over, the real enjoyment begins:

We were walking through wild lands of exquisite beauty and I was enjoying it every bit as much as the dogs:

Though there was water on both sides of the trail, we had not yet reached the truly grand bodies of water. But we were almost there and I'll post about that tomorrow: