A walk in the park, and a late-season tick

After a chilly morning, I got out for another walk this afternoon, this time in the former Schenectady Museum Preserve, now the Mohawk River State Park. The state has done nothing with this property yet, and it hasn't changed much over the years. Knowing it well, I decided today to do some exploring instead of just walking the usual trails.

I parked at Lock 7, and followed the Mohawk River Bike Path a short distance, until I noticed an unmarked trail heading toward the river, near where the concrete piers jut out into the water. Following this trail, I hugged the river pretty closely, and then returned to the bike path a little further west. From there, I headed up the new Whit-Shaker Trail with blue markers, until I reached the white-marked former mountain bike route that is now a dead end. I decided to follow it and see how that worked. It actually circled around and dropped me very close to the blue trail again, so I followed that to Whitmyer Drive and the main parking area for the "park". Then, after wandering around some of the usual trails, I dropped back down to the bike path and returned to the car.

A little while later, at home, I noticed a tick crawling off my long sleeve and onto my bare hand. A TICK? In December? I threw all of the clothes I was wearing in the wash, including the outerwear, and did a quick body check, but there were no more. I suspect must have I picked it up on that brushy stretch of "trail" by the river early on, but it was certainly unexpected for this time of year. Guess that's the price I pay for my wanderings.