SCENES FROM A RUN: SALT MARSH TRAIL IN MARINE PARK

Marine Park after Sandy?
The same, but nearby
Salt Marsh Trail is open, sweet!

Continuing my tardy re-visits to places I ran to in the past, this morning's destination was Marine Park, the park itself, not the area.  I entered the park's outer path around Avenue T but only went a quarter of the way and did not make a full loop of the park.  I did not notice anything unusual about the park.  It's been over a month since Sandy so perhaps whatever uprooted trees were already dismembered and removed.  Every time I visited Marine Park I thought of the Salt Marsh across Avenue U.  February 2009 was the last time I got inside the marsh's nature trail.  I had some time to kill when the women were shopping at nearby Kings Plaza.  I was with my son, nephew, and a niece.  It was nice to walk on the wide path and take detour into the tall reed-grass.  But kids being what they were, they did not want to stay long.

My second and last visit to the Salt Marsh Trail, in February 2009, before it was closed for restoration.

Late 2009 when I decided to resume having a more active life style, through running etc, one day I rode the bike to the marsh, only to be disappointed that it was closed until who-knows-when.  Back then I did not think of running that far and had to use the bicycle to go the approximately 12-km round trip.  Over the years, I kept re-visiting the marsh in hope that the restoration would be   done, but only to be disappointed time and again.  Until today!

No Trespassing!  Argh!

The Salt Marsh Trail is open!  That open gate, what a welcoming sign!  My plan was to run 5 km out then head back, but with the trail open, what's another kilometer or two?  I made a big loop of the trail, going clockwise.  It was about 8 in the morning and there was only a male dog-walker and a Chinese couple on the trail.  The trail did not look too different from what my feeble memory can recall.  I noticed that there was no other exit from the trail.  There was a fenced-off area, that's probably the path that would lead to Lenape Playground, what I think of as Big Snake Playground.  Near the southern edge, where the trail meets the water of Jamaica Bay, there was a dirt path leading toward the Belt Parkway.  Some day on a long run I'll take that route and see what's out there.

Open Sesame Chicken!

The long and winding road.

The buildings in the distance reminds you that you are still in a big city.

There are few trees in the salt marsh, but what few there were some were knocked down by Sandy.  Or maybe this happened before Sandy.  Was anyone around to hear the trees make sounds when they fell?

No extra raised middle section on the bench means that the area is not frequented by people who like to sleep on the bench.

A few words about the haiku poem that introduces the blog post.  It's been a while since I dabble with haiku so I had to re-acquaint the rules.  There should be three lines, seven syllables on the first, five on the second, and seven again on the last.  There should be a reference to time, ideally a month name or season name, but I got by with "after Sandy".  There should be a "cut", a contrast of images, which I think I finagled by using "sweet" and "salt" in the same sentence.  Would you like to see more haikus on this blog?  Or did my lousy haiku already made you change your mind about Japanese food for the rest of the year?