Snowshoeing 1:20:57 [2]
Lane-Horse-... whatever. In The Dark (hatlamp), temperature just below freezing. Got past the laurel jungle via the new route very cleanly. It will be interesting to see what that looks like in the daylight, and I should really do it while there's still snow so that I can follow my tracks. Things went not quite so well after leaving the horse trail. Seemed like I was going the right way, but I wasn't positive. Went some unfamiliar places, including across a pond that I didn't recognize. Figured as long as I kept going, I should eventually hit the Friendly Trail. But then I wound up in a back yard. Hmm, didn't recognize it, so I skirted around it on snowmobile tracks, then went back into the woods, and right away I hit a driveway. Hoped that it was the one that leads to the Friendly Trail, so I followed it to the right, but it went on too long, and I realized that it must be the long driveway to the house on the town line. Damn, I must have drifted way left going up the hill. Continued until I could see a car up ahead, then headed into the woods again, figuring that I could still get to the Friendly Trail. But as I was skirting around the edge of the property, a spotlight appeared from up by the house, and a voice asked, "Who's out there?". I said I was snowshoeing and I was lost, and were we in Townsend? He said yes, and I said okay, and that I live in Lunenburg, and I was sorry about the disturbance. He said no problem, but asked if I didn't think it was a little late to be snowshoeing. What, it was only about 11 PM. Was somebody saying that orienteers are weird? Anyway, shortly after that I found some snowshoe tracks. What the heck, might as well go that way, must lead somewhere. They were following yellow blazes and orange streamers, and they kept going and going. Finally hit a larger trail, which I correctly guessed was the power line trail. But the tracks and blazes also crossed the power line trail. Huh? Where could that go? Have to go back and check that out. Went back via the esker, then followed the 9 Valley driveway out, looking for but not finding any wayward snowshoe tracks on the left side. Took off the snowshoes and jogged back up Gilchrest.