Welkinweir, January 2014

I've been determined to be active and outdoors despite the winter. The previous winter cold hit me very hard for some reason. It could have been my sedentary condition following surgery, it could have been a side effect of prolonged Coumadin use, I don't know. But I've been out in the snow so far this season, and Monday I visited Welkinweir. 

This curiously named preserve is 200 acres on parallel ridgelines south of Pottstown, PA. My friend Josh joined me on this trip. The visitors center and parking area wasn't opened when we arrived, but a knock on the door of the manor house led to a quick conversation with a volunteer and permission to hike the snow covered trails. Josh borrowed my boots, and I hiked in hiking shoes. The snow wasn't deep on the ridgeline, but when we began to descend to the Great Pond we had eight inches of it to go through. I stayed dry until near the end of the hike, and besides, I was having fun. 

We hiked two miles up and down, to the Great Pond and back. As I noticed on a previous snow hike the cold isn't biting me as it last year, which bodes well for my stamina as the seasons change. And I'm looking forward to my next visit to Welkinweir, in the spring when the gardens are in bloom. Although winter is alleged to be bleak, it wasn't at Welkinweir, where as the name implies, the sky seems to meet the water.....

You can find more information on Welkinweir, including how to plan your visit, at http://www.welkinweir.org/index.html