One of the down sides of an early season snow is that it covers the ground before the ground has a chance to freeze. The result is that you can be running happily along when all of a sudden one foot comes down, breaks through a layer of crusty snow and ice and plunges into icy water up to your ankle. Not only does this throw off your stride but you're left with a very cold foot and often a scraped up shin as you push forward through the jagged edge of the ice. Eventually your other foot will post hole and things even out.
time: 2:13:02 (2:21:19)distance: 14.93 miles
pace: 8:54 (9:28)
weather: 38 degrees, overcast/foggy
conditions: soft snow covered trails
gear: Inov-8 Roclite 315 with screws, wool socks, thin tights, 2 long sleeve tops, Source 1.5l hydration pack, thin gloves, buff
One of the things I was thinking about on today's run was my blog. A few weeks ago I ran with a few other people from somewhere to somewhere else, and then back again. When I got home I wrote a report about the run complete with a map, like I often do, and put it up here for everyone to read. The problem is that I forget that anyone can see what I post, and on this particular occasion it turned out I was running on private property and I didn't have permission to do so. I soon received an e-mail pointing out some of the problems with what I had done, so I immediately took down the account of my run and realized that I need to be more careful about where I run. It was brought to my attention that snowmobile trails are built and maintained by snowmobile clubs, and that those clubs have permission from the owners of the land they cross to use the trails. This does not, however, give runners the right to use those trails on private property.
3 comments:
Nice picture of the trail. It does look very sloppy. I am glad I did not go as my toe would not have been very happy with all the rough stuff.
I see someone likes Photoshop.
It's hard when the thing you love doing most becomes difficult to do. I hope the weather improves, b/c I know how much you like running.
Recreational use of the snowmobile and other trails on private property is interesting. The snowmobilers do not get annual permission from every landowner along a trail network. Indeed, as land changes ownership, many landowners have never given any kind of formal permission. Essentially, when new owners complain or post their property, the snowmobilers react by moving a trail. Snowmobilers generally exploit the tradition in Maine (all of Northern New England?) that all unposted land is assumed accessible without permission. Maine has a strong Recreational Use Statute that generally protects landowners from this sort of use.
Posting a map of a route that crosses private property is complicated. Snowmobile clubs all have maps that they give to members. Some of these clubs now have their maps online. I guess my take is that I will continue to post routes that I've run, especially on sites with limited viewing like my motionbased activities or my blog, unless I get a message from a landowner that they'd like me to take it down. But I'm limiting the maps on my www.falmouthtrails.org site to those trails that are entirely on public open space land.
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