It's Independence Day and I have the day off, so what better way to start it than by heading out for a little morning hike. At home, we've been a little distracted for a couple days, as my daughter-in-law's pregnancy ended in the birth of her first-born son, this past Monday evening. Amidst this happy news (and along with some sleep deprivation for everybody), a little peaceful time in the woods sounds like a refreshing change of pace.
It was raining when I woke up, but the radar showed that the showers would be past us soon. I joined my hiking partner, Jim, at our usual Dunkin' Donuts in Sterling and we set off. As I was putting my boots on at our step-off point, the rain starting coming down it buckets. It held us up for 5 minutes before we thought it safe to venture out. Today's hike is extremely familiar: beginning in the Wachusett Mountain Ski Area parking lot, head up and over Mt. Wachusett ending up just west of Princeton center.
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| The new grandson, Dominic Joseph. Born July 2, 2012 11:24pm. 7 lbs, 7 oz, 21 inches. |
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| Steve & Jim at the beginning of the Balance Rock trail. The rain stopped, but it's still a bit wet. |
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| Jim is re-adjusting Balance Rock to straighten it out a bit. |
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| Holding on at the top of the Polar Express ski lift. Yes, I admin it - I just can't wait for ski season! |
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| From the top: No view of Boston today. Geez, we can barely see the fire tower. |
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| This is an eft or a juvenile eastern newt. Alex tells me he is an amphibian so he has no scales. Picking him up is a bad idea, because the oils in your hands are not good for them. These bright orange guys were all along the soggy trail. |
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| Besides being on the trails, they were also all over this tree trunk. |
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| This is kind of strange. This body of water was bordered by a stone wall on the right and the one we are standing on. |
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| The trail passes through the Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary (Mass Audubon). They mowed the grass so we could make it across the meadow more easily. |
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| Back at Jim's car on Rt 62. By now the sun is shining brightly. I bet it's beautiful back at the top. |
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Today we hiked 6.21 miles in 2:35 with 1000' of vertical (Wachusett Mountain).
It's Independence Day and I have the day off, so what better way to start it than by heading out for a little morning hike. At home, we've been a little distracted for a couple days, as my daughter-in-law's pregnancy ended in the birth of her first-born son, this past Monday evening. Amidst this happy news (and along with some sleep deprivation for everybody), a little peaceful time in the woods sounds like a refreshing change of pace.
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