ABOUT THE PARK:
Joseph Medwick Park - Middlesex County, NJ
DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates 40.595871, -74.247922
TRAIL MAP:
Joseph Medwick Park Map - Middlesex County, NJ
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HIKE DISTANCE: 2.7 miles
THE HIKE:
I thought we could do this on my lunch hour. Or two. Al the poodle is to blame for that.
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| Al stays with us during the week and he used to do 10+ mile hikes with us until a couple of years ago when I had to carry him most of the last two miles. That was the last time he went with us. That dog is darned heavy. But on this beautiful day, surely he could do a mile or two? |
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| A boardwalk to an overlook. |
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| That is a capped landfill with Hawk Rise Sanctuary on the other side of the Rahway River. |
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| As you can see, not even a mile in, we lost Al from the up front and center position. He was now lagging behind. |
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| Such a sharp contrast between residential/industrial and reverting back to nature. |
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| A park ranger passed us. He is the only motorized vehicle allowed here. |
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| The Rahway River comes into view. |
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| Lots of seagulls on the other side of the river. |
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| The second boardwalk to an overlook |
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| At the far end at a loop ... |
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| ... Al hit that spot of shade and plopped himself down. It was only 70 degrees so by no means too hot. I tied Al to the tree and let him stay there and rest a bit while Brodie and I walked the loop. |
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| "Hey, wait, where are you going?" So much for Al resting. |
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| He barked his fool head off while we ran around the loop as fast as we could. I could see Al at all times but I guess he couldn't see me. |
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| At the corner of a parking lot the path continues through the woods. This is all shaded so Al fared a little better. |
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| The New Jersey Turnpike up ahead. |
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| There is Al bringing up the rear. |
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| Now we can consider this a hike having found balloon #44. |
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| Retracing back. |
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| We walked in the shade as much as possible for Al. Even though Brodie was panting, he wasn't lagging at all. |
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| Mr. Cardinal and a bit farther along ... |
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| ... a preening Mrs. Cardinal. |
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| Al got his second wind or he knows we are getting close to the car. |
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| So much for that. He found shade and plopped back down. This is why I had to take a two hour lunch. |
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| Back at the parking lot ... |
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| ... where water was ready in the car. |
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| Al is just getting too old for this. |
Dogs are great company but have their own problems. Your adventure here reminded me of my own hikes, where one of my dogs and I have gotten too old to hike like we used to do. I enjoyed the kindness you demonstrated in this post.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bill. I don't have a problem with getting old, it's just all of the aches and pains that go along with it, for human and dog alike.
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