2/29/20 Mt. Carrigan

Last weekend I headed up to the whites to get another taste of real winter. This time I met up with a friend of mine and we got an early start on Mt. Carrigan. The first couple miles of the hike were along a road which is closed through the winter. The road climbed gently but steadily up into the valley. As it turns out, this really set the theme for the hike, and the gradual slope just about continued all the way to the summit. The climb was long and steady, and with the mild temperatures we had no trouble staying warm. At last we crested the ridge and got our first glimpse of the summit. The view from that exposed ridge was quite nice, even though the weather hid some of the more distant peaks.

Perhaps the strangest part of the view from this ridge was how little wind there was. It was actually quite peaceful to stand there and take in the views. After taking some photos we continued up to the summit and climbed the observation tower. This turned out to be where the wind was hiding, so we started back down relatively quickly. As we descended the weather slowly improved, and we were even treated to a touch of blue sky by the time we were navigating the river crossings back at the start of the trail.

All told the hike was 14 miles, with nearly 4000′ of elevation gain. We hiked out without incident and made our way back down south to get some well deserved pizza.

2/22/20 New York City

A couple weeks ago we went to New York City to see the “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”. We took the train down and stayed at a hotel near Broadway. We spent most of the day on Saturday walking around the city and attending the play. Although I still don’t know who this “cursed child” is, the play turned out to be pretty good. The special effects in particular were top notch.

On Sunday the weather was amazing, so we decided to spend our day outside, and headed to Central Park. It was a little odd to have it feel like spring in February, complete with the flowers coming up! All in all it was a great trip to New York.

2/15/20 Wachusett Reservoir

A couple weeks ago I decided to get out and go for a little photo hike nearby. After driving by Wachusett Reservoir a couple of times recently, I have been thinking that it would be a good spot to watch the sun set, so I decided to give it a go.

I actually started off with a stop at the Sudbury Reservoir and Southborough Rural Cemetery on my way out there. The cemetery was pretty and well maintained, but didn’t provide a lot of excitement. On the other hand, the strange ice formations all around the edges of the reservoir were fascinating. I probably looked quite strange kneeling at the edge of a lake taking pictures of these things, but I think it was worth it.

Once at Wachusett Reservoir, I spent some time exploring the dam and the surrounding trails. The spillway was particularly scenic, cut right out of the natural rock. Though a nice spot, the dam did not seem like the best location to watch the sunset, so I continued down the shore to Sawer Bluff.

This turned out to be just the kind of spot I was hoping for. I spent quite a bit of time at the little beach at the end of the point watching the sun sink below the horizon, lighting up all of the frozen waves, sand, and rocks on the shore.