The Erie Canalway Trail (well, a small part)

October 1, 2012

Back in the day while I was still running and while trying to rehab an injury, I ran for a couple of weeks on a grassy section of the NewYork State Erie Canal Trail. At the time I needed to stop running on concrete and macadam and find some soft surface while recovering from runner's knee. Today I thought would be a good day to explore more of this trail.

The Erie Canalway Trail is a patchwork of tails extending over 375 miles. While it is not all connected yet, Parks and Trails New York, an advocacy group, is working to have the trail stretch from Buffalo to Albany, mostly along the path of the original Erie Canal. There is access to a section only about 2.5 miles from where I live, so off I went this afternoon to see what there is to see.

The trail is crushed stone, for the most part. In places it is compacted well and easy for little brompton wheels. In other places it's a little soft and loose, making riding harder. The canal, in this section, is wide and cared for. Many use it for canoeing and fishing. The photo above (poorly) shows the Nine Mile Creek Aquaduct, where the canal is raised in an aquaduct above the Nine Mile Creek. That's a complicated piece of engineering!

I road about 5 miles along the trail. There was a section of the path west of Sim's Store Museum that turned to multiple use near a rod and gun club. This section was very rough macadam. About 2 miles further along, I came to a quiet park outside a quiet, small village. Stopping for a snack and a drink, I wondered if there were any geocaches in the area. One was very close, so brompton and I took a look.

Here I found a small cleared area and a sturdy bench around a tree. The micro cache was easy to find, and when I looked it up on the app on my iphone, it described the area as having been cleared as part of the Eagle Scout project of a young man who lived nearby. 

I took the road back. Another wonderful ride!