What's this strange white stuff on the ground? Seriously, although we've taken a few pictures in the snow, this is our first snowy adventure since early March of 2022! This was also our first adventure in eight days, which was the biggest break we've taken since we started these adventures back in March of 2020! This was due to both the weather, and the return of Lexi's mysterious back ailment that first flared up back in August. We were actually headed to this trail six days prior, but shortly after getting in the car it became obvious Lexi was in a bit of discomfort, so we turned around and returned home. While she seemed better by the next day, the weather was not cooperative. The extended rest was good for her anyway! Both dogs were bonkers by the end of the eight days! Anyway, this is a relatively new bike trail. The Natick section was completed in 2021. It's pretty nice. We started at the current southern end of the trail at Mechanic Street and headed northwest for two miles. Along the way, we passed the Cochituate Lake, made up of three connected ponds. There are informational signs about the history of the rail way and the surrounding area along the way. We made it as far as the "Wonderbread Spur", a connecting trail that named after bread. We completed about half of the Cochituate trail. We didn't quite reach the Natick Mall. It was sunny, but the temps only made it up to the mid-20's. Fortunately, the bitter wind chills of the past couple days died down, so we weren't that cold at all since we were on the move. We will have to return and finish the other half of this great trail at a later date, maybe in the spring when the weather is nicer.

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We returned in the spring to finish the trail. We parked at the end of Chrysler Road, very close to where we left off on the trail in January, at the "Wonderberead Spur" trail. The spur goes out to Spleen Street, across from the Natick Mall. We took the spur, and looped back to the main trail via Chrysler Road. There's an access trail that leads to Cochituate State Park. We briefly visited the park, before continuing northwest on the main trail, toward the bridge over Route 30. There wasn't actually much of the Natick section left. The bridge is less than a quarter mile away, and that's where the trail continues into Framingham. We continued into Framingham, where we walked to the end of the trail, before turning around and heading back.