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Took a walk today

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    • It is something between sleet and snow here, my morning walk was very short. The previous photos got me itching to see some art, so my wife and I took a walk around Harvard's Art museums.


      1) Still Life with Commode, Paul Cezanne
      2) Self Portrait by Vincent Van Gogh. He gave this painting to Paul Gauguin who turned around and sold it for 300 francs.
      3) Negro Soldier, Robert Smullyan Sloan
      4) The Drunken Silenus, Francesco Fracanzano
      5) Little Dancer of Fourteen Years, Edgar Degas
      6) The atrium.

      If you ever come to Boston I do recommend a side trip to Cambridge to visit Harvard. They have a nice Art Museum and Natural History Museum.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • BTW, if you are taking the train to an AT trailhead and have a long layover in Washington DC, walk a few blocks west from the station to the west entrance of the National Gallery of Art. There you can check your pack while you look at the art. Of course you can also go to other museums or out to lunch too, just be sure you get back before they close or you're screwed. The museums are free and so is the bag check. I did have to unload my whole pack for a security check, but they were very cool about it. While there you can see the only DaVinci in the Western Hemisphere. The Annuciation by Van Eyck has to be seen to be believed. Come to think of it, I've seen it an I still don't believe it.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by odd man out ().

    • odd man out wrote:

      BTW, if you are taking the train to an AT trailhead and have a long layover, walk a few blocks west from the station to the west entrance of the National Gallery of Art. There you can check your pack while you look at the art. Of course you can also go to other museums or out to lunch too, just be sure you get back before they close or you're screwed. The museums are free and so is the bag check. I did have to unload my whole pack for a security check, but they were very cool about it. While there you can see the only DaVinci in the Western Hemisphere. The Annuciation by Van Eyck has to be seen to be believed. Come to think of it, I've seen it an I still don't believe it.
      I assume this is the Chicago Amtrak station. Taken many connections thru their to the AT.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Astro wrote:

      odd man out wrote:

      BTW, if you are taking the train to an AT trailhead and have a long layover, walk a few blocks west from the station to the west entrance of the National Gallery of Art. There you can check your pack while you look at the art. Of course you can also go to other museums or out to lunch too, just be sure you get back before they close or you're screwed. The museums are free and so is the bag check. I did have to unload my whole pack for a security check, but they were very cool about it. While there you can see the only DaVinci in the Western Hemisphere. The Annuciation by Van Eyck has to be seen to be believed. Come to think of it, I've seen it an I still don't believe it.
      I assume this is the Chicago Amtrak station. Taken many connections thru their to the AT.
      Oops, sorry I was talking about the Washington DC train station connecting to HF or northern VA. Different trip. I should have mentioned that.
    • odd man out wrote:

      Astro wrote:

      odd man out wrote:

      BTW, if you are taking the train to an AT trailhead and have a long layover, walk a few blocks west from the station to the west entrance of the National Gallery of Art. There you can check your pack while you look at the art. Of course you can also go to other museums or out to lunch too, just be sure you get back before they close or you're screwed. The museums are free and so is the bag check. I did have to unload my whole pack for a security check, but they were very cool about it. While there you can see the only DaVinci in the Western Hemisphere. The Annuciation by Van Eyck has to be seen to be believed. Come to think of it, I've seen it an I still don't believe it.
      I assume this is the Chicago Amtrak station. Taken many connections thru their to the AT.
      Oops, sorry I was talking about the Washington DC train station connecting to HF or northern VA. Different trip. I should have mentioned that.
      Been thru that station multiple times too. Love the free museums in DC. Well actually we already pay for them with our taxes (but definitely a positive ROI in this case). Also recommend checking out Library of Congress if you have not been there before. :)
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • I grew up just outside of DC. The Library of Congress was one of my favorite places to visit. I especially liked the main reading room. But you were only supposed to go in if you were doing research, so I would just walk In to look around for a few minutes until they asked me to leave. I suppose security is a lot tighter now. Next time I am in town, maybe I will use my University credentials to get a pass and come up with some obscure book I supposedly need to look at, just so I can get in.
    • IMScotty wrote:

      Tell you what, I will commit to take at least one short walk in the coming week and post if the rest of you do too
      i completed the "scotty challenge" today and drove the 88 miles from my house to the springer mountain parking lot and hiked the 1 mile up to the summit and back. grand total of 2 hiking miles.

      good day despite the low mileage. was able to take "the obligatory starting picture" as she put it for a young lady from NYC sitting beside the springer mountain plaque and then chatted with a couple hikers at the shelter. all of these people had hiked up from amicalola falls state park on the first day of their prospective thrus.

      they told me about 2 other prospective thru hikers who started at AFSP, hiked the approximate 1 mile up to the top of the falls, realized they were in no condition for a thru, and terminated their thru attempt at that point.

      back at the parking lot chatted with a couple GATC volunteers who assist when the ATC caretakers are off. the ATC has caretakers stationed at AFSP, springer, hawk mountain, and gooch gap shelters. there is also one ridgerunner who gets paid to hike georgia. they told me it got really cold last night on springer, and the hikers in hammocks had a rough night.

      2018 was first year i did not hike on the AT since i moved to the atlanta area in 1978. it was good to be back.
      2,000 miler
    • max.patch wrote:

      IMScotty wrote:

      Tell you what, I will commit to take at least one short walk in the coming week and post if the rest of you do too
      i completed the "scotty challenge" today and drove the 88 miles from my house to the springer mountain parking lot and hiked the 1 mile up to the summit and back. grand total of 2 hiking miles.
      good day despite the low mileage. was able to take "the obligatory starting picture" as she put it for a young lady from NYC sitting beside the springer mountain plaque and then chatted with a couple hikers at the shelter. all of these people had hiked up from amicalola falls state park on the first day of their prospective thrus.

      they told me about 2 other prospective thru hikers who started at AFSP, hiked the approximate 1 mile up to the top of the falls, realized they were in no condition for a thru, and terminated their thru attempt at that point.

      back at the parking lot chatted with a couple GATC volunteers who assist when the ATC caretakers are off. the ATC has caretakers stationed at AFSP, springer, hawk mountain, and gooch gap shelters. there is also one ridgerunner who gets paid to hike georgia. they told me it got really cold last night on springer, and the hikers in hammocks had a rough night.

      2018 was first year i did not hike on the AT since i moved to the atlanta area in 1978. it was good to be back.
      Good to see you back on the AT. :thumbup:
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Kathy and I went out to some state land (7200 acres) and took a walk this afternoon.
      The sky was partly sunny and partly cloudy, the temperature was in the low 50s at the start and high 40s at the finish with a pretty good breeze. It's a Pine Barrens area with a variety of scrub oaks and pines with a few other types mixed in. There's a mix of hiking trails, mountain bike trails, and horse trails to choose from and not too many people using them today. I think we managed to stay off the bike and horse trails and covered 7.1 miles at an average speed of 2.6 mph. The highest spot was 233 feet above sea level, Long Island is flat, and we had a total ascent of 430 feet. Maybe the best part was that we only saw a few other people all afternoon :)
    • Had a nice walk today on the BMT with Time Zone. We hiked along the Hiwassee River in Reliance. I visited Webb Bros and took some photos of their resupply offerings for future reference. It was a glorious day with good company. My face is pink, even though I used sunscreen.

      I wore a full pack as a warm-up for my FHT trip and my legs are now a little stiff.

      The hike was a test of several things. I thought about wearing an old pair of running shoes as I’m not crazy about my new pair of cascadias. Nope...they aren’t going to work. I also tried carrying my CCF pad on top of the pack. It was ok. Part of the hike, it was too far forward which bothered my neck but after pushing it back, it felt much better.

      It felt so good to be on the BMT. That trail has a very special place in my heart. The River was beautiful but for some reason, I didn’t take a photo.
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      Lost in the right direction.
    • Traffic Jam wrote:

      ...............The River was beautiful but for some reason, I didn’t take a photo.
      You probably wouldn't have enjoyed the moment as much if you had taken a photo.
      Kathy and I has a moment like that in New England as a moose walked past us, I instinctively knew that I could either enjoy what was happening or I could be busy trying to get a photo......so there is no photo. BUT I'll have that picture in my head for a looooong time.
    • Ran across some pics I thought I lost...Linville Gorge loop hike with my son, wife and his friend from NY...I recommend the hike highly, but dont do it in July...if I didnt have a heat stroke then I never will...good thing about hiking with these guys, they refuse to let you not have fun. I didn't post pics of the best views because they just didn't do justice.
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      I may grow old but I'll never grow up.
    • jimmyjam wrote:

      DB, very nice! Linville Gorge has been on my list for a while now. Beautiful area!
      You will see some some scenery uncommon to the east, more like out west, wish we had known then what we know now...we would have stashed a vehicle at the Table Rock picnic area and carried day packs rather than backpackings the first day.......Ribeyes....cold beer....bourbon....dry clothes....would have been only another hour from where we camped the first night...we did get to see an awesome fireworks display in the distance from our campsite on top of the mountain though.
      I may grow old but I'll never grow up.
    • Walked 4 miles along the Ephrata to Warwick Rails to Trails. It is so beautiful here in PA. It rained a little and I had to don the rain jacket but it ended up being a beautiful, cool, breezy day.

      Still waiting on baby...he/she is obviously not 4/20 friendly and certainly isn’t affected by storms or the full moon! Come on baby! We’re ready to meet this new human.
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      Lost in the right direction.
    • 13 miles Saturday, my body can tell it hasn't hiked in a while.
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      I may grow old but I'll never grow up.
    • Not today but yesterday Kathy and I got out for a quick 4.79 miles on a local suburban trail.
      The hardest part was not slipping and falling into one of the very many mud patches and puddles.
      Or maybe it was getting across a 6 lane road without getting run over. In any case it was a good walk and we did get to see some deer,
    • Kathy and I took a 6 mile walk in a local county park today despite pouring rain and temperatures in the mid 40s.
      So to keep warm and dry I donned my Outdoor Research Seattle Sombrero rain hat and Marmot Precip rain jacket.
      Below the jacket I was was soaking wet, but so what since I was warm enough.
      I like the hat because it has a nice wide brim all the way around. That opens up my field of view compared to the hood on the jacket. Also the brim carries the rain water out past the collar of the jacket.
    • Actually, it was yesterday, Saturday, that Kathy and I decided to go for a walk.
      Here on Long Island the weather was beautiful with a high of 70, no wind, and clear skies.
      We had some things to get done in the morning but decided to go for a walk in the afternoon.
      We headed east to Long Island's Pine Barrens region with no destination in mind but we did have our hiking maps of the area in the car with us. As I drove Kathy picked out a place for us to hike, some county parkland that is minimally developed with a parking area and marked trails for hiking, mountain biking, and horse back riding. We set off on the orange loop trail which one trail head map called 7 miles and another called 8 miles. Either way, it wouldn't be too far considering we didn't start walking until almost 2 in the after noon. And what a nice trail it was going through a nice mix of environments, meadows, dense woods, sparse woods and more. The biggest surprise of all was that there actually were some hills, not too high or long, but hills none the less. For Long Island that's unusual as the highest spot on the island is only 410 feet above sea level. According to the GPS unit our total ascent for the 7 miles was 1092 feet with the highest hill top being 301 feet above sea level. Nothing compared to what we'll find in Maine this summer but better than a dead flat walk. When we were almost back to the car we came across another couple out getting bird photos. They had the longest lense I've ever seen on a camera and also had some great photos that they showed us. Then it was back to the car and the drive home, which included a stop at a diner for dinner. The day made me appreciate the fact that both Kathy and I enjoy this hiking and backpacking activity. That seems unusual for both people of a couple to enjoy.
    • LIhikers wrote:

      As a result of Saturday's hike Kathy and I have been picking ticks off of ourselves the last 2 days ;(
      Kathy has already had Lyme disease once and I'm still waiting for my turn.
      Anybody know if Lyme disease has made it to Maine?
      I hope you never get your turn. And I don't want one either. :thumbdown:
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • LIhikers wrote:

      As a result of Saturday's hike Kathy and I have been picking ticks off of ourselves the last 2 days ;(
      Kathy has already had Lyme disease once and I'm still waiting for my turn.
      Anybody know if Lyme disease has made it to Maine?
      For sure..
      Although from the look of this map you will be in the 'low risk' area.
      ticksinmaine.com/risk
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • Took a hike on the Mountains to Sea trail today. Well, not really a hike. My daughter lives in Wake Forest NC. We are visiting for the weekend. She lives about a mile from the Neuse River Greenway so we took the dog for a 20 min walk on the paved bike path. After I got home I found it is part of the MtS trail. We we're walking WeBo. Could have kept going to Clingmans Dome, but the dog was hot and our flight home leaves this afternoon. Along the trail I saw this plant growing. Looked and tasted a bit like dill. Does this grow wild down here?

    • odd man out wrote:

      Took a hike on the Mountains to Sea trail today. Well, not really a hike. My daughter lives in Wake Forest NC. We are visiting for the weekend. She lives about a mile from the Neuse River Greenway so we took the dog for a 20 min walk on the paved bike path. After I got home I found it is part of the MtS trail. We we're walking WeBo. Could have kept going to Clingmans Dome, but the dog was hot and our flight home leaves this afternoon. Along the trail I saw this plant growing. Looked and tasted a bit like dill. Does this grow wild down here?


      Not sure what that is.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference
    • odd man out wrote:

      Took a hike on the Mountains to Sea trail today. Well, not really a hike. My daughter lives in Wake Forest NC. We are visiting for the weekend. She lives about a mile from the Neuse River Greenway so we took the dog for a 20 min walk on the paved bike path. After I got home I found it is part of the MtS trail. We we're walking WeBo. Could have kept going to Clingmans Dome, but the dog was hot and our flight home leaves this afternoon. Along the trail I saw this plant growing. Looked and tasted a bit like dill. Does this grow wild down here?


      Please be sure to post in another day or too, so we can confirm it was also safe to eat. :D
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • This past Saturday my wife Kathy, our friend Sandy, and I took a drive to Harriman State Park. Knowing that the park would be crowded due to the Memorial Day weekend we parked on route 9W on the east side of the park and walked a 6+ mile loop. It seems the climbs were a bit much for our friend and it was really slow going. That's OK because we really enjoyed sharing a good time with our friend. Maybe the best part is that we didn't see many people all day, a dozen at the most and at least half of that was one family.
    • Astro wrote:

      odd man out wrote:

      Took a hike on the Mountains to Sea trail today. Well, not really a hike. My daughter lives in Wake Forest NC. We are visiting for the weekend. She lives about a mile from the Neuse River Greenway so we took the dog for a 20 min walk on the paved bike path. After I got home I found it is part of the MtS trail. We we're walking WeBo. Could have kept going to Clingmans Dome, but the dog was hot and our flight home leaves this afternoon. Along the trail I saw this plant growing. Looked and tasted a bit like dill. Does this grow wild down here?


      Please be sure to post in another day or too, so we can confirm it was also safe to eat. :D
      PS Still alive.