Friday, June 29, 2012

Tuesday, June 26th: Lost Valley Trail (8 miles)


Had to take advantage of the 67 degree temperature at 8 a.m. and no humidity to take a summer hike before unbearable temperatures set in. This was the second to last day of unseasonably cool temperatures--then there would be a string of 105-108 degree days.  I couldn't believe how cool it was on the morning I hiked, though. Perfect.no other hikers, but periodically, bikers. Finished in about 3 hours and twenty minutes. At the end of the hike, the temperature had just reached 80.

Friday, June 8, 2012

June 6: Crane Beach


Dena--native St. Louisan who know how cool it is to experience large bodies of water.

Dena took me to Crane Beach in Ipswich, near her condominium.  We walked along the beach--and I was even able to take off my shoes and walk in the sand as the weather momentarily became a little balmy at last.  She spotted the dead sting ray. Now, I really am envious of living near Crane Beach. Obviously, there's nothing even close in the Midwest.  I saw a woman in a large hat in a beach chair reading, with the soothing sounds of the waves flowing in and out nearby.

June 5th: Tower Hill Botanical Garden

 The cold and rainy weather continued, but it was still warm enough to walk, especially wearing a fleece wrap, like I was.  (I'd left my heavy sweater back in Pennsylvania--accidentally.)  The friends I visited out East (Marty, Evelyn and Dena) were all very kind and took me on walks/hikes that I loved.  Evelyn, who lives in West Boylston, took me to the Tower Hill Botanical Garden where we walked around and had a delicious vegetarian lunch.

One of the ubiquitous stone walls in Massachusetts. I loved them!

Moss Steps!


 I hadn't seen Evelyn in about nine years--and then I forced her to have her picture taken with Pan. Walking around with warm tea and coffee while catching up was an afternoon well-spent.
Me, hiking around outside in cool weather, with coffee, in my favorite Christmas gift ever, (a fleece wrap, given to me by my sister-in-law Lynnie) by a stone wall. Life is good..

Danforth Falls, Hudson Massachusetts



Zooey (also known as Zippy), age 3

During the four days I spent with the Richardsons in Massachusetts, I walked to Danforth Falls a handful of times with Zooey and Lily.  The unseasonably cool and rainy weather brought out the best in the Falls--they were teeming with water rushing over the rocks. The last morning I was in Hudson, I took Lily and Zooey alone up to the Falls--and spent a dark, rainy morning walking around, taking photographs.  Amazingly peaceful, and this time, I really was wearing Steven's New York Yankees stocking cap.Again, having Danforth Falls in your neighborhood would be schweeeet, possibly on par with living a half mile from a vista that overlooks the Mississippi River, as we do!

June 3rd: Gates Pond Walk, Berlin, MA

I was lazy and didn't take the camera, but Marty, Gary, Zooey, Lily, Nathan, Steven and I walked for an hour around Gates Pond.  The weather was very cool (in the 50's) and damp--almost autumnal. We wore jackets and a stocking cap would not have been out of place. Gates Pond is near Berlin, Massachusetts, a rural farming community--but not far away (by car) from the Richardson homestead in Hudson.  The Pond is a reservoir for drinking water, but people are allowed to fish in it as well.  No one seems to mind if you let your dogs off leash.  I have to say that it would be sweet to live near this place.  I bet it's amazing when the colors change in the Fall.

May 31st: Walking around Bedford, Pennsylvania

Thinking that I would definitely get poison ivy after the morning hike (the trails are a bit overgrown because of a shortage of park rangers (employees of Blue Knob split their time working there and at Shawnee State Park, which is also in Bedford County, Pennsylvania), I drove to the small town of Bedford (population around 3,000) to attempt to fill a prednisone prescription.  Employees of the Golden Eagle Grocery on East Pitt Street were amazingly helpful, and although I never developed the rash, I had the security of knowing I had prednisone on hand, just in case. While I waited for the prescription to fill, I walked around with Lily. Our meandering took us by the high school--across from which was a cemetery with many graves of people who had been born in various counties of Ireland, including Kildare and Tipperary. Being the cemetery lover that I am, I took many photos of the headstones--and then had a short conversation with a special ed aid named Sherry. She saw Lily and wanted to pet her.


Lily's hind end near the grave of an Irishwoman.






 I stopped to journal in a gazebo behind the public library. It was part of a garden planted by a woman's group in Bedford.

Solid stone fireplace


Dunkel's Gulf Station, circa 1930's.  I had a full service fill-up by the present owner.

The Lost Children of the Alleghenies Monument on the Lost Turkey Trail

 One of the more enjoyably creepy (and yes, also sad) hikes I've been on is the hike to the Lost Children of the Alleghenies Memorial.  Lily and I had returned from the town of Bedford to find the weather at Blue Knob still cool and sunny.  I noticed on the map that you can hike to the monument by following part of the Lost Turkey Trail, a 26 mile back pack trail that extends beyond the park.  We could access the trail easily from our campsite using connector trails that were offshoots of the Chappelle Field Trail, although there is a parking lot on the road for visitors to the monument who want to reach the monument by car.

 Here's the story in a nutshell: Lost children in the mountains in 1856. Strange and prophetic dreams. Discovery of dead boys. And then hikers like myself wondering if Dibert was in on it--a pedophile perhaps. This is an unfair accusation but probably a result of living in 2012 when every other head line is about pedophile abduction or some other strange perversion.


Lily's shadow by the shrine.

The hike goes downhill from the campground--and then follows the road for awhile. There's not much traffic, if any at all.  You reach the parking lot on the road and cross a bridge to get to the spot. The woods are quiet except for the water rushing over rocks--and occasional bird calls through the trees.  I hiked about four miles, I think--the going back up the hill to the camp site is a steep, never ending incline.I stopped to catch my breath quite a few times.

Mountain View Trail: Blue Knob State Park, May 31st

 Lily and I awoke early, ready to hike. We started with the Mountain View Trail, which is five miles in length and difficult hiking.  We didn't begin at the official trailhead, but at the Willow Springs Picnic Area. It was probably 58 degrees when we began and sunny.  The trail is rocky, with many downed trees crossing the paths, but Lily stopped and nimbly leaped over each limb without pulling or causing me to fall.
 Lily is awesomely leash trained. She patiently waits and never pulls--and doesn't require a gentle leader or halter.
 When we descended from the ridge and reached the Beaverdam Creek, I had to make a judgement call. Although I  believe Lily probably would have made it across (she sat there, waiting for me to give her the go ahead after removing her leash), I was afraid she'd be swept away in the rushing water. We turned back and hiked back up the steep hill we'd just gone down.

 Lily at the end of the hike. I think we probably hiked a couple of hours--maybe three miles.

Stone marker on the trail in the middle of the woods.  Sue Meyer called me on my cell phone while I was hiking to see if I was going to book club later that day. .



 . .

May 30th and 31st--Travels with Lily: Hike to Chappelle's Field, Blue Knob State Park in Pennsylvania

Lily, age 10
 The story goes:  I offered to transport Lily from Missouri to Massachusetts for  Marty, who has been a friend for almost 40 years. Lily belonged to Marty's mother, who recently passed away--and Marty had promised her mother she'd take care of Lily. I rented the car, and the estate paid for me to travel to MA and then fly back. We spent the second and third nights camping in the Allegheny Mountains at Blue Knob State Park.  Blue Knob, as you can see above, is not technically part of the mountain range but is an isolated knob, created by the erosion of rock layers underneath the Burgoon Sandstone on top. I chose the park for its elevation (the temperature is 6-10 degrees cooler in the park than in surrounding areas)--and its trails: there are 8, ranging from easy to difficult hiking.
Knitting and sipping some contraband wine from paper cup in front of the fire

The tree I camped under the second night; it rained a little but I didn't feel a drop even though I hadn't covered the tent.

Lily slept in the car.  When she'd get tired, she'd go to the door to be let in.
This is the view from Chappelle's Field.  Luckily, our campsite was right by the trail head, so we were able to walk up there the first night we arrived.  There is a nifty overlook with wooden benches and trees.(See below).










The first picture with the tent is my first campsite at Blue Knob.  Had to move when some campers told me they'd reserved the horse shoe for the weekend, starting Thursday night. They were a sedate crowd (this is sedate and clean campground--with a no alcohol policy.) I just transported my tent, Lily, and of course, the plant I was taking to Mary, Marty's sister, to the next site.