SlimCache

Last week a 1.6 mile section of the Eastern Trail opened between Old Orchard Beach and Scarborough. There was fanfare and news stories like this one in the local media. These are what caught my attention. I was thinking this would be a great spot to check out now that I'm living in the O.O.B. area. So I headed out here today for an early Sunday morning jog like last week.

Like I've found caching as well, there is nothing like greeting the sun on the trail. This area was so peaceful and quiet this morning. It was a welcome alternative to the insanity of this busy beach town on the weekend of the 4th. It's really not far from all of that either yet it seems a different world. I hope people will take advantage of that fact and this place does not get overlooked.

As I entered the trail on Milliken Mill Rd. I was somewhat uninspired. I should have waited and let myself get a little farther in before I passed judgement though, because this trail has sections with lovely woods as well as saltwater marshes that abound in this area. In the middle of these beautiful woods I also spotted an area I believe will be a pond or rest area of some sort, with extensive masonry work going on. The rock walls looked nice, and I can't wait to see what this area becomes upon completion.

So what kind of workout did I get? I am getting more comfortable jogging now and have found that I'm conditioning myself in the process. While jogging the other day in Portland my heart was running in the low 160s. Today at the same pace I was getting about low to mid 150 bpm range, so I had to push a little harder to get it up there. My average was 144 bpm and my maximum was 162. This was a pretty quick jaunt so I only killed 489 calories, 45% of which came from fat. This seems like a pretty good place to get an early morning outing so I anticipate coming back to this spot very soon. Please do the same to support an interesting local project, either here in Maine or one similar in your area.