Dan Antion

Let’s Call it a Hike

Today is Veterans Day in the US. I would be remiss if I didn’t stop for a minute to recognize the service of the many veterans who have served this country in so many ways.

Maddie and I walk through Veterans Memorial Park.
Inside the park is this small memorial.

Our daughter Faith came to visit yesterday to celebrate my birthday (last week). We decided to walk part of the Windsor Locks Canal trail and then go to breakfast. One interesting sight led to another and the next thing we knew, we were 3 ½ miles into a 2-mile walk, and we still had to return to our car. As we turned around a few minutes later, I reminded Faith that we had to walk “uphill” on the way back – the canal gains 15′ (4.5m) over its 4.5-mile length. Faith declared “elevation gain? Then this is a hike!”

I explained the nature and a bit of history of the Windsor Locks Canal about five years ago. You can read that if you’re interested. Otherwise, I’ll let the captions explain the story.

If you look closely, you can see the remnants of the dam that still routes water into the north end of the canal.
Beach! There aren’t many places along the path where you can access the river.
We are walking on the old mule path. The mules pulled the boats through the canal. That’s the Connecticut River on the left.
It was a beautiful day for a walk along the river.
Imagine digging that with a pick and shovel.
More beavers at work.
Beavers have been busy.
The canal always offers some wonderful reflections.
That’s a CT-Rail train across the river, on its way to New Haven (about 45 minutes away).
That structure is a viaduct that carries the canal over Stony Brook. The brook empties into the CT River in about 1/8 of a mile.
Geese – Lots of them.
There were a number of these benches along the canal side of the path.
The Canal was dug, mostly by Irish immigrants using picks and shovels, beginning in 1827.
This is a sectoin of the remaining original viaduct. The gates you see on the left could be opened to drain the canal into Stony Brook (which the viaduct crosses).
We saw the railroad trestle and decided to walk to it. We figured that it was less than a mile away. It was more than 1.5 miles, but…
For most of the northern portion, the canal closely parallels the river.
As we approached the railroad trestle, you have a good view of the canal and the river. It’s ironic that the railroad needed a separate bridge to cross the canal it was putting out of business.

54 comments

  8. Happy belated birthday, Dan, and thanks for letting me tag along on this lovely walk. Our world today is white, with white stuff still coming down and blowing everywhere. Thanks from us also to our veterans. We owe them and their families so much, including the freedom that’s so often misused.

    janet

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  10. Happy belated birthday Dan!! What a great walk/hike you and Fairh enjoyed. Nice history lesson. I gotta say, that’s the weirdest bench I ever saw! BUT, it looks functional.

    Those beavers have certainly been busy!! I could use some of their energy.

    I join you in thanking our veterans and their families for their service and sacrifice, and remembering those brave men and women who lost their lives fighting to keep this country free. 🇺🇸
    🐾Ginger 🐾

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  12. What a gorgeous walk, Dan. A lovely day for you and your daughter. I hope no one is too footsore from the unplanned duration of it though. Yikes.
    I’m with Ginger — some of the energy of those beavers would be a good thing. LOL. Have a great new week. Hugs.

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  20. Thanks remembering our Veterans, Dan. Love, love, love the photo of the almost bare trees reflecting in the water. Frame worthy, I think. That was certainly a pretty fall walk.

    So, did you feel the burn on the uphill trek back?

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    • Thanks Cheryl. I’ve biked on the canal path in the spring when you can hardly see the edge of the pavement. It’s maintained by volunteers and they’ve really been doing a great job.

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  22. Impromptu walks/hikes are the best. Glad you had a nice day for it. Beautiful scenery for sure! Okay…the question of the day is did you wear black or brown shoes or other shoes for hiking? And…I see some potential photos for the new badge for One-Liner Wednesday when that renews?

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