The Laurel Marsh Trail, Manchester

The trail started out well.

In the writing world, often times I reach for a peach and wind up with pomegranate seeds.  There is still something to be gained--or at least I thought that was the case.  I was going to post a photograph of pomegranate seeds until I realized the seeds in the back of my fridge were moldy.  So much for that point.

A hill overlooks the marsh.

On February 1st, I hiked the 3-mile Laurel Marsh Trail and managed to have a 6-mile adventure.  If I had a GPS it would have been screaming, "OFF ROUTE!  OFF ROUTE!"  Thankfully, I had my iphone and used the app called MapMyRun to find my way back from Manchester Community College.

A landfill was in the distance.

The Laurel Marsh trail crosses a river by connecting to a short segment of the East Coast Greenway (on the map as "paved bikeway").  Don't make the mistake of staying on the Greenway.  I did.  I don't know who designed this bike route, but atmosphere was obviously not a consideration.  I trekked (at breakneck speed) on a long, enduring section alongside Interstate 84 with nothing but a chain link fence separating me from 65-mph traffic.  It was just lovely.  The bike route from Hell was open and deafening.  If that wasn't bad enough, just when I thought I was done with my highway march, I found myself hiking alongside Interstate 384.  When I got to the college, I found this amusing sign.   
 

You know you're in trouble when the trail you started on isn't even a choice.