Senaca Aqueduct to Horsepen

Saturday, January 16, 2010
1:30 - 4:00 p.m.
3.2 miles from Seneca Aqueduct (lock 24, mile 22.8) to Horsepen (mile 26)
6.4 miles roundtrip
Total to date toward goal =  11 miles (173.5 to go)
Temperature about 45-degrees

There is ample parking behind the lockhouse at Lock 24, Riley's Lock.  Two of the original three arches of Seneca Aqueduct are easily visible and there is a nice area for picnicking.  We saw fewer than a dozen walkers and runners during the entire walk.

Once on the trail, we could hear the noise of the water rushing over the dam immediately to the south.

Walking north, the towpath is quite shady, with trees on both sides of the path.  There are more birds and squirrels here than in the more heavily traveled areas below Swain's Lock and the river was always visible through the trees.  Further north, there are small islands in the river, many still with snow on them; the river had quite a few large pieces of ice floating in it and we saw ducks and geese, at several points.

The squirrels were busy in the woods on both sides of the canal, chasing one another and digging through the leaves.  We saw one blue heron, nearly hidden by the brush and fallen trees, fishing by the river.

We spotted at least a dozen pileated woodpeckers.  Additionally, we saw downy woodpeckers, some flickers, several thrush, titmice, goldfinch, chickadees, and sparrows, and a catbird.

The path was slushy with melting ice and snow.  The river was visible the entire way.  At times the canal was nearly invisible due to the underbrush and large trees that have grown in the canal bed.  Enormous bird nests dotted the treetops along the canal.

After we turned around at the Horsepen campsite, we heard gunshots nearby, presumably from hunters.  We hoped that the proximity was distorted due to the low cloud cover.

It was a pretty walk and the canopy of trees made it seemed all the more remote.  Back at Lock 24, we explored the attractive picnic area and the view downstream toward the dam.