Friday, September 20, 2013

Friday, Sept. 20, 2013 - Second Ride Day at Natick




Since our first ride here was mostly around grassy fields, I decided to plan a trip that got us into as much "forest" as possible. Interestingly, this area has a man-made forest, an experiment starting more than 100 years ago to try to make this area more arable, so the trees are in pockets through the park. I drew a Google Earth map that appeared to fit the bill, and we headed out after breakfast. For the first time in memory, we actually managed to stay pretty much on track, despite the fact that the trail did go through some woods (the forest is mostly evergreens of every shape and variety), but some of the trees were so overgrown and the branches were so thick and low that at many points we had to skirt around them, and at one point, we even had to dismount and walk through a particularly thick bit. If it hadn't been for my GPS though, it would have been hopeless! Once we got out of the forest part, the last stretch was entirely on a nice dirt road, and we had several nice canters and gallops on the way back to camp. A very nice ride, the weather was much nicer, having cooled down after yesterday's rain, and a good time was had by all! Meanwhile, nearly every site in the campground has now been taken, quite a busy place here!

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