This winter didn’t turn out as planned or expected for hiking. It seemed like all of my available weekends for hikes were single digits or snowstorms. So my last hike was December 4 (technically not winter). Now it’s March 20 and officially spring, so that’s zero hikes this winter.

Since it’s been three and a half months since my last hike, we figured something not too long and not too high. The forecast was for rain up north, so we did something new! We headed south to Massachusetts. Walden Pond to be exact!

Rainbow and I met at the trailhead at noon. Our original plan was for Mt. Misery (don’t be fooled, it’s mostly a 6 mile walk with only a few hundred feet of elevation gain). But being so close to Walden Pond, and neither of us had been there before, we figured we’d walk over to the pond and around it.

Part way around, we came to the site of Thoreau’s cabin. The cabin is no longer there, but the area is marked, including the hearth stone from the chimney as well as a pile of stones. The pile was apparently started by Bronson Alcott, who left a stone there to remember Thoreau and others began (and still do) add to the pile.

We took a detour on the far side of the pond to go to “Emerson’s Cliff”. They weren’t exactly imposing cliffs when you’re used to hiking in the White Mountains.

We swing back towards the pond, by way of a little river/boggy area with ducks, geese, and turtles. Then back to the car.

This was the perfect way to re-start hiking. Rainbow and I had a nice catch up. Sadly, my knees and feet hurt way more than they should have for such a short jaunt. As active as I am going to the gym, nothing gets you ready for hiking like hiking. Hoping I won’t wait 3 1/2 months this time.

• Distance: 4.9 miles
• Elevation: 230 feet
• Total time: 2 hours 31 minutes
• Moving time: 2 hours 17 minutes