Quechee, VT (USA)

The inclement weather that started on Friday night kept me inside yesterday but today's entire forecast seemed promising when I checked it last night.  This morning, though, it seemed that more rain was expected by the afternoon.  To avoid any disappointment, I changed my plans and departed the condo at 0845.  Before getting started with my outdoor fun, I went to Mass at St. Francis Catholic Church in Norwich (VT).  After that, I drove (via US-5 and US-4) towards Quechee, stopping for gas at Cumberland Farms in Wilder (1010) on the way.  Earlier, it had occurred to me that Deweys Pond might be the best place for multiple activities - I arrived there by 1030.  When I first moved to the Upper Valley in 2010, I'd noticed that there were signs for the Ottauquechee Trail on the north side of Quechee Main Street.  Sadly, I'd never had a chance to walk that path before now.  Today, though, I eagerly navigated my way along the town's "greenway", a 1.3-mile path between the Polo Field and the Covered Bridge.  Finding the trail was not easy, though, since there were no blazes to follow, the signs were sporadic and some of it (including boardwalks) appeared to have been mostly "recaptured" by the forest (possibly due to local flooding a few years ago?).  Sometimes, I could see the outlines of well worn trail and it took me by historic homes, through a makeshift driving range (on the Polo Field) for the Quechee Club, up to a community garden managed by the Abenaki Nation, along the pretty Ottauquechee River and through the Covered Bridge.  At one point, I was stopped by a lady and her dog who asked me if I was hiking the Appalachian Trail (!).  I guess I was "in the zone" and it showed... In the end, I managed to log about 2.6 miles (out and back, essentially) under mostly cloudy skies (with occasional sprinkles).  Throughout this walk, it was windy and a bit chilly at times (high 40s) so I doubted it would be fun to kayak after I got done walking.  However, I really didn't want to pass up a chance to paddle in Deweys Pond because I've been deterred during previous visits due to large amounts of algae and lily pads.  Today, though, the water surface looked completely clear.  It was still a bit cool, though, so I donned a long sleeved shirt and my lifejacket.  Between 1145 and 1245, I paddled two circuits (clockwise) of the pond, with one (counterclockwise) circumnavigation of a marshy island in the middle.  It rained a little bit from time to time but I really didn't care - the cold water was much more of a concern.  At a few points, my finger tips started to hurt (from getting wet) and I wondered if any of this was a good idea...  But then I'd remember what makes me enjoy paddling in the first place: as usual, I was surrounded by all kinds of birds (today included many Canada Geese, Eastern Bluebirds, Red-Winged Blackbirds and others).  The island was a mass of reeds and had a beaver lodge and one lone pine tree in the middle.  I heard lots of interesting noises coming from inside the cat-tails!  At times, I really had to fight the wind and the waves got pretty big too!  I passed several people walking on the trail to the Quechee Gorge and they gave me strange looks (for being on the water) and I occasionally thought they might be right.  Once I was finished with my paddling, I loaded up Tequila Sunrise and headed to White River Junction, where I spent 45 minutes (1320 to 1405) swimming at the UVAC (54 lengths).  My arms and legs were already feeling a bit tired from all the exertions but, after getting done in the pool, I returned home (arrived at 1430) and logged three miles on my stationary bike.  Completing four different types of exercise in one actually felt good!  As I wrapped up my active time, I noticed it was raining quite hard.  Really glad I got outside early today!