Training Log Archive: bl

Nottingcook hike with Beth, point to point, 2 cars. We started between the Woodbury places and went to Woodbury Lookout and then down. Beth lost a Yak Trak early & it was slippery but we found another one on the trail (pretty sure it was from the guy who hiked past us & did not come back looking - as we did not go back to look for her's) so that was most helpful. Fair amount of straight thru woods. Saw more opportunity for classic, waxless skis than I would have guessed, both in woods & on trails. Warm day.

C • Classic skiing opps 2

Whimpy entry - pretty much for archives. Went to BHS for a jog after first seeing what was left of the nordic surface - which was quite sliced up but still soft at 5pm. Skied on it for 20'. It's been 2 weeks tomorrow since any snow. Walked some at the school. It was getting late & I did not feel like jogging.

Spent the best part of the day with Beth, Jennifer & Cai going door-to-door for Bernie Sanders. I've thought of myself as a Clinton voter but when Jen called & asked would we participate, I agreed for the experience. We teamed up (me w/ Jenn) and the two of us knocked on 35 doors in a fairly dense Concord neighborhood. Beth and Cai had a similar length list. Item #1 was that too few people were home. We had a few interesting conversations. I particularly liked seeing the neighborhoods - the homes & yards, quite a few rundown and thinking of differences. Lots of younger people in the area as to be expected. We had lists of names, ages, voter status etc etc. It was a nice way to spend 3 hours with family. Cai & Jenn then drove back to Burlington. Cai had a 6pm hockey game. In youth, energy burns brightly.

Not interested in running. In fact, fell asleep briefly in the car in NHH parking. Grabbed a wink & went to the Y.

Stopped at BHS on the way home & the nordic kids were still having a ball on the available snow. Some of it must be better as late as 3:30 (or later) than it was at noon yesterday. Wanted to go take a look to see specifically what they were doing but that required negotiating a gauntlet of youngsters. One skier passed wearing a cotton T shirt & gloves, no hat.

Also stopped at Turee. To my amazement, there was a Toyota station wagon parked well out on the ice, trailer attached and a new ice house nearby. This has to be an example of science triumphing over faith. No way would one do that w/o a full assessments of risks vs benefits....

C • Full assessment? 2

Had to try BHS, around noon. Crust in the shade was excellent if not small, 100m by say 40m. Yesterday's nordic tracks were still too hard & uneven to be of use. About 35F today.

AM DP at the brush dump was soundless: not a breath of air, bird or passing car in the distance that I noted.

SPS sample after work, slushy and uneven depth for large parts, OK though elsewhere. There was an older fellow classic skiing around the front field. Mostly w/o poles - handles need to be glued to poles and baskets likewise as they can rotate some. Did not notice any of this until today’s episodic suction.

Stopped at BHS on the way home to see what was up, if anything. The nordic team was out, 22 of them having a relay race/game, skiing an oval w/o poles, while throwing a ball between team members. Conditions looked pretty damn good - in a narrow, closing window. I did not feel like using the empty upper field - was post work and done for the day. Sat in the car by Turee Pond watching the sunset & reading I am Malala. The Monitor mentioned 8” of ice on Turkey Pond recently. Turee was covered with water pools but I could see someone ice fishing at a good distance (as well as an accompanying nonstop small dog). So presumably safe there, too, for a brief while.

Went back to BHS at end of day, about 4:45. 41F. No kids training. Soft, a bit too soft but the softness was over either still hard base or grass. Tried the first 2 fields.

Then stopped at the track & sampled mostly the infield. By then it was dark but it gets so it's pretty easy to feel the changes & move laterally to where it might be better - a thin layer of snow on grass will pass and thick isn't slick.

Lots of cars & some busses at the school. Lots at the White Rock Hill & Logging Hill Rd intersection & finally lots on BBR, as in "what is with all these cars?"

Then on BBR, I came upon a Volvo stopped in the middle of my lane with its yellow flashers on. So something there but no indication what so I slowly passed after a reasonable enough wait. Then I could see an injured deer on the shoulder. Got out, walked toward the deer which got up and sort of crashed into the woods. The lady said "didn't you hear me say it had a broken leg?"

I did not hear her say that. Around then, a Bow PD car passed and turned around. The lady had called them of course to deal with this most unfortunate animal which was still a very short distance away. I wish this driver had made clear (ie, be out of the car to explain) what was going on & told her so. I picked up some car plastic debris in the adjacent lane and threw it off the road. More cars were coming. Some sub-moron had done a hit & run. We are a dumb species, as I read in a letter today from a friend in AK. In the previous sentence, he'd asked me if I had seen Race to Extinction. It wasn't a nice drive home.

At BHS, pretty good conditions, firm, bit hard for edges though. No grass or debris. The untracked areas were too soft at 10am. Has been the best bet in the Concord area - and now odds are changing.

C • Skate Skiing 7

Tried SPS after, first time there this season. Surface too hard for edges in most areas. Also some bare spots, needles etc. A nice mix of woods and fields, needs new snow. Started sunny, then overcast and then some rain drops.

Started west on Clinton and right leg got to feeling "strange" around 0.4mi - no pain but perceptibly weaker and felt slightly less under control than the norm of the left. Then a knot in my calf so it was better to stop. I walked back to the car. Doesn't bother me now walking in the house. Hamstring oddity, it seems. Though nothing specific to precipitate it.

Nice Nottingcook wander beginning along S. Bow Rd where Beth dropped me off. January woods can be so pleasant when temp is mild as it was - mid30s. Didn’t see anything alive but also had an O map & was involved with map reading. It is surprising to see all the prints in the snow but virtually never their owners. Wearing running shoes, I fell only once - along a marsh when the ice gave easily because it was undermined by grass - and as I was thinking that, along came a fairly deep, hidden hole.

Nine years ago I was mapping this forest - there’s always change, mostly vegetation. There are a lot more downed trees than I recall from the past. More micro bursts, heavy snows or just plain strong local winds. Early on the outing, a manmade “X” marked an old auto by the SVT. There it was but looking a bit “more refreshed” than I though it should have. And then the contours, the start of the swamp, the location of the few rock faces were all a bit off which wasn’t fun. I must have done a better jpb mapping than that. But then 100m beyond, the real “X” stood up to be counted. And then everything made sense. Another thing that makes sense is the likelihood of game trails at contour bottoms along marshes - saw several & found them helpful.

Winter woods
Beaver dam

QRT

As PG used to say, too much time on AP doing this but serves to refresh the methods. QRT resolution needs improving.

Not a molecule of precipitation of any kind here yesterday. There was a full moon but cloud-obscured. An UNO moonlight walk and a BOS Kearsage climb were featured on calendars. Mocha wanted out around 0300 this morning and the moon light was flooding the yard, 8 hrs late. We had a night out in town - tried Margueritas but there was an hour wait so we made the RR 6:10 movie & were back at Margueritas around 8:45, late for us for dinner and no wait. Saw Room, fairly spooky, and very good as have been the others we've seen there in the past 6 wks: Spotlight, Brooklyn, The Danish Woman.

C • Loved Spotlight and Brookly... 2

From NHH parking after rounds. Gray, NE wind, big storm in middle Atlantic states, but no precipitation fcst for here. Forgot to start the 310 until about a mile so resorted to gmaps. Had in mind that the distance was 4 miles from times past - didn't forget that.

Route

Start Robinson Rd parking on the way back from putting snow tires on at Focus. The first portion was packed SM trail, quite good, no icy spots. Had considered going to OJR (maybe 5 mi total) but had to get home. Pleased to realize how much local forest there is in a town I do not consider rural. Bow seems to be just off lidar coverage per NH GRANIT which is unfortunate.

The usual stuff at Y

At Rollins Park - had intended a run but change of plans intervened. It's a nice place for laps when there is no snow.

AM DP on the power line revealed actually skiable snowmobile tracks since Sunday night's snow. It has been cold so no melting. At nearly the same time, I heard, then saw two robins. Also walked on a small pond reasoning that it was at most 2' deep (and likely less) in case the ice wasn't strong enough. Mocha walked out first adding a slight bit of reassurance.

Rollins-Patch ccw midday. Low 20s but no wind to speak of. Quite nice. Winter days can be. Hills a struggle though. Have been as much as 10' faster.

Cold, NW windy led to Y after work/car wash. Possibly such wind chill could be met head on but it would need to be early in the day.

Stopped at BHS on way home. Ski team was leaving so I waited about 10' for that & did some poleless skate on a pretty good dry powder surface. The wind was whipping off Turee thru a thin line of trees and roaring thru the tree tops. A 3/4ths moon was welcoming evening's beginning.

Another walk - MIT environs. We stopped in Cambridge on the way back. It was windy along the Charles, a biting wind. So I wandered thru the MIT campus - more to see anyway. Beth stayed in the car knitting. But after we went to Harvard Sq & Brattle Street and that perked her right up. Temp in mid 20s plus wind chill. I saw 2 kids running in shorts along Memorial Drive, one of them w/o cap or gloves (hands retreated into long sleeve cotton top). No wool hat is no brain in such cold.

Tried crust opposite Cilley in dropping M off and at BHS on way back. Crust did not get as hard as I thought it would. Not good over grass, pretty good over the track but only along NW side. On SE side, snow had drifted some making it too deep. No free fields today.

From New Bedford YC, viewing local environs before Jim & Colleen’s. Two hours in the car, boat assessment (nearly 6 wks) etc make a jog or run of some effort an effort - too much to do. But time for a reflective walk.

I was thinking how rare snow is in the Cape Cod area - not a single white patch south of 128/Boston (Blue Hills ski area was the last) but it started snowing after dark in Mattapoisett. The drive from S. Dartmouth to Triad thru New Bedford was interesting. Ended up with about 4” snow. Monday evolved into one of those beautiful blue-white January days, everything laced/blanketed in white. Cold night aboard though. The 1500 watt heater wasn't up to it.

2 mi at BHS. Stopped by to see what last night’s rain to snow might have created - fresh, settling 2” on top of the football infield’s lakeflat crust-ice may be ok in the morning for some skating. The nordic sections hadn’t been touched. Got to 33F or so & ended up a nice day.

Spent time at Gibson’s with The Alpinist, found a most interesting article about the Waterman family - a father and two sons who died in the wilderness at their own hands. Dad/Gus climbed to the Franconia Ridge on a February day (to freeze to death), 19 years after his son Johnny intentionally disappeared in the Alaskan climbing wilderness. Billy did something similar but not in Alaska. Riveting story about challenges in nature, how the Waterman's took them on and responded to the consequences.

Found this in my archives from the mid-80s, far from winter white's deathly grip.

Two trips to BHS today - the first with Mocha along around 8:15. I had to get back for the arrival of the propane installation people, I so had about 30'. Then around 1pm, before school got out. Conditions ok enough but ice and grass in a few places. Crust elsewhere with 2" dry snow on top, slipped on that once. Last of any local ski options until new snow. Otherwise pretty much stay-at-home day that ended with an additional/new home heating solution.

Stopped by BHS on way home - a good # of kids at ski practice making do with the local snow conditions. Not enough in Concord, just 5 miles away. I guess partly due to grooming/packing but also perhaps there being more shade in Bow. Hopefully I can visit in the morning. Eastern propane is coming to install long-awaited tanks, pipe line and heaters inside the house so we'll be less reliant on the wood stove/heat pump-electric combination. Expected this done by early December which was record warm anyway. But 54F downstairs around 0330 today.

A genuine winter day in January: cold and windy, last night's snow rising and swirling across open space around NHH. I opted for inside at the Y. Wondered about the possibility of a BHS nordic opportunity later in the day but noted mostly windblown bareness on the CHS nordic trails at noon.

"No problem, just do it", HTFU and "been there done that" could sum up the lifespan of endeavor. For me, a bit of back and forth between the second and third. Today, inside in Concord.

Three times around Stoneybrook - legs flat, leave it at that.

Prospective easement walk with Ken. Started with a wall but when the wall ended, there were very few streamers (c. 2007) but eventually fragments became more frequent. No blazes but old fence fragments, pieces of streamers on them, too. We went on & on - I thought we'd gone too far but finally came to a clearly marked corner. The back was adequately blazed and we found the second corner easily. Crossing Bow Bog Brook and a few other streams and wet areas took time. On the home stretch side, there were no blazes. We stuck with a compass bearing, got by the end of Arnold but could not cross the brook just beyond that point - where there was an old dam. The stream was just a bit too wide & deep and either upstream or down was too wet considering width. Needed Yak Traks or microspikes which I'd gone back inside the house to get. Ken slipped a few times. I had the spikes, he the Yaks. Time was about 110'. Was pretty sure I turned the watch off but seems not.

From White Park, on the cold & NW windy side. Out-back, not a lot of choice given Merrimack paths not likely enjoyable. No ice/good footing/stuff to look at. Passed by the grim NH state prison, the backlit barbed wire fences looking like the glistening icicles they sort of are. Open fields are mostly bare now.

Had considered running but went to Y around 4pm. Funky gray rainy day that reached 50F around dark. Wanted to try softening crust in the afternoon but steady rain discouraged it. Did try the snow surface on the am DP by the middle school. It was raining enough that an umbrella was sensible. But the thought occurred that I could still try skate skiing with the umbrella, being more and more interested in skate skiing w/o poles for balance improvement and just plain improvement anyway. So I tried it, back and forth on decent crust under an umbrella and it was pretty good. There were quite a few cars in the school lot but I think only empty classrooms faced the field. Pretty odd perhaps but also insightful. A very wet day.

C • skate skiing with umbrella 7

Along Old Battle Road in Concord. We headed off to the NEOC winter party. I wanted a jog somewhere in Concord-Carlisle. First choice was Walden, second the Cranberry Bog. Driving along 2A, I spotted the Minuteman NP bike-walk trail. I'd driven by in early December, noting its potential but had slipped my mind. It had to be this route! Beth dropped me off opposite the Minuteman Voc-tech HS entrance. At the outset, I’m thinking it’s maybe 3.5 mi to Concord Center. We agreed to meet at the DD on Thoreau St. I’m not sure where it was but CC is small. Off I go into a splendid landscape (largely snow-free) of natural beauty and American history, stopping a bunch of times to read signs - e.g., where Paul Revere’s ride ended when captured by the British. There were numerous old homes and cellar hole remnants. The path system got more complicated but there were no signs indicating direction to Concord Center. Finally I asked a man who said “Yes, straight”, then “but turn right at the fork”. 200m later, there was the fork where I turned right. But I could see another jct in 150m. It was a pyramid-shaped enclosure of woods by stone walls. On the far side was a small exit path that looked more like an MTB path, nothing like what I’d been on.

But there were 3 young people across the pyramid that I pursued a short distance, finally asking them if they knew which path led to Concord Center. These were two women, early 20s, and a young man, late 20s at most, with an accent I was curious about but did not inquire. Not surprisingly, he had his gps/cell in hand. It was easy to see exactly where we were. It surprised me that this path system was on the screen but there it was, incl. the pyramid and the small path I thought was an MTB path. We scrolled the way to CC on the Old Battle Rd-trail. It appeared circuitous and too far given party time, Beth expectation time etc. He came up with a predicted of 53’ w/o distance or manner, bike vs foot, also assuming no confusion, perhaps. They had offered to take me to CC & by this time I said yes. So we walked & talked for 15’ to their car near the top of Bedford La. They were from Worcester & came to Concord for the day as they'd been there before many times. The two woman were U Mass students & he was living with them yet working at Logan airport. We talked about maps & mapping & somehow that led to his telling me that he and one of the women were from Argentina (the other from Spain). I said I’d been there, to San Isidro…which is where they had grown up. Her father once was in the boat building business. We talked about the wide, muddy Plate ("river of silver") estuary.

It was the driver’s b-day. She'd bought herself the spanking new 2016 we were in. They dropped me off in CC. Now to find Thoreau. I should have recalled where it was having lived in Concord for some 4 yrs. -- but that was 30 years ago. I asked a woman coming out of a store. She sent me the long way so it was another 3/4 mi to the DD lot where Beth was. Beth said she wondered what would become of me seeing that the distance to town was more than thought. Not what I expected in the way of adventure without much time but at least as good. The sat view is like turning on a light.

After, we drove by 251 Fiske to the Bog entrance, fed Mocha there & went off to the usual excellent NEOC party hosted by the Parsons. Amazing how dark Carlisle & streets are after dark.

Old Battle Road & Trail
310 was on & off one too many times.

It had to be this route!


Colonial America

C • Would be... 3

Pretty undecided as to what I wanted to do. Had entertained O at Bear Brook but had not planned ahead & it was getting too late for that. I did open Parallels/XP & OCAD and did some mental refreshing, esp as to where I might find pertinent files.

Ended up on River Road for a run. Not a breath or ripple on the Merrimack. River Rd. is pretty quiet, with scattered businesses and a few forlorn homes. Returned on the RR track which started as good crust surface but became camouflaged slick. Four times in the past 2 days, I've outwitted a fall by 'residual agility'.

BHS around 5:15. Stopped by on way back from SPS visit earlier. There were some 20 nordic kids out on the oval or in parking getting ready. When I returned the surface was very good - thin soft slush on the hard pack. No poles & balance seemed off, particularly on the dark stretch. There was a large parking lot light that lit 1/3rd of the oval - so I utilized that. Poleless makes poles appreciated for the most part. Yet I'd say poleless also demands better technique for optimal propulsion.

Another cold am but warm pm. SPS wander, tired from Gillmore visit last night & had a mostly bare hamburger at lunch that left some heartburn. Was at a noon meeting in town & that seemed the optimal time but it was a work day.

Good walks out back these days on the hard crust over marsh-wetland to the Contours w/o concern for wet feet. Mocha is happy to go this way & I'm generally pleased not to have to take her somewhere in the car for her DP.

Nottingcook wander - started colder than yesterday, close to zero. Then when I finally got out around 12:30, it felt like a March day, up into the 30s. After last night’s BOS meeting, I had a hankering to appreciate Nottingcook again. Very little use of paths, virtually all supportive crust and visits to places I tend to pass up now. Also a fair share of thick vegetation. Usual prints-in-snow display of all the critters I seldom see. Home along the brook at the end.

Afternoon light

At Y - might have jogged after but forgot running shoes. 4F this am but bright blue and OK at midday.

Local woods wander starting off Parsons. Had been there earlier today with M & decided I’d go back with simple map & compass & look around - the crust was supportive enough to make the idea inviting. Not really sure where I was until I spotted the SS pump house. Then went basically mag N (tho my mag N lines were a guess), even found what appeared to be a path with boot prints etc but that finally turned S. By then, I was only interested in N by E. The terrain looks the same & yet it doesn't. Finally spotted a familiar field & then it was return to car on familiar paths. Quite a few wet areas & stream crossings. Lots of prints in the snow, mostly deer & turkey, but snowmobile (on Br. Londonderry) as well as one skier, maybe 2 walkers, even one MTBer. Colder than I gave it credit for (16F by time I realized it was cold) & hands were not happy most of the time given skimpy, knit BHT gloves.

C • BHT gloves 2

Poleless practice at BHS, got there at 3:45, still pleasantly light at 4:30 - white ground helps a lot as does clear sky. Surface was generally ok, still a bit too crusty (36F didn't soften), and best on the stretch running toward the sun which was just perceptibly softer. It also was more satisfying where I could see the surface in detail which was less than half the time.

Went to Red River with Beth to see The Danish Woman - powerful and
completely absorbing with marvelous photography of parts of Denmark as well.

At Rollins Park about 11:30 but crust too hard for an edge - surprised me, it was nearly 40F. Spent less than 20'.

At BHS - without poles & in outer lanes, sl smoother surface.

Noticed that the grooming surface extended on to the adjacent field as I was leaving. Did not think anyone in charge of grooming would think it worth it. But they did. Actually best at the upper field. Who should come by dog walking but Martin M & Mango.

Back at the car, met a lady who turned out to be related to the groomer. Guess she was the wife of the BHS nordic coach. She was coming to try the surface. She had been at Bretton Woods earlier in the day for a HS ski race where conditions weren't so good.

BHS looking for a better surface than this morning. Noticed it had been groomed - hard to see this initially given the late pm light & lack of sun. Turned out it was an 8 lane, tight oval - the surface crust-granular but groomed anyway. It was not possible to use un-groomed surfaces - still to crusty, even after a reasonably warm day.

Along Old Battle Road in Concord. We headed off to the NEOC winter party. I wanted a jog somewhere in Concord-Carlisle. First choice was Walden, second the Cranberry Bog. Driving along 2A, I spotted Minuteman NP bike-walk trail. It had to be this route! I'd driven by in early December, noting its potential but had slipped my mind. Beth dropped me off opposite the Minuteman Voc-tech HS entrance. At the outset, I’m thinking it’s maybe 3.5 mi to Concord Center. We agreed to meet at the DD on Thoreau St. I’m not sure where it was but CC is small. Off I go into a splendid landscape (largely snow-free) of natural beauty and American history, stopping a bunch of times to read signs - e.g., where Paul Revere’s ride ended when captured by the British. There were numerous old homes and cellar hole remnants. The path system got more complicated but there were no signs indicating direction to Concord Center. Finally I asked a man who said “Yes, straight”, then “but turn right at the fork”. 200m later, there was the fork where I turned right. But I could see another jct in 150m. It was a pyramid-shaped enclosure of woods by stone walls. On the far side was a small exit path that looked more like an MTB path, nothing like what I’d been on.

But there were 3 young people across the pyramid that I pursued a short distance, finally asking if they knew which path led to Concord Center. These were two women, early 20s, and a young man, late 20s at most, with an accent I was curious about but did not inquire. Not surprisingly, he had his gps/cell in hand. It was easy to see exactly where we were. It surprised me that this path system was on the screen but there it was, incl. the pyramid and the small path I thought was an MTB path. We scrolled the way to CC on the Old Battle Rd-trail. It appeared circuitous and too far given party time, Beth expectation time etc. He came up with a predicted of 53’ w/o distance or manner, bike vs foot, also assuming no confusion, perhaps. They had offered to take me to CC & by this time I said yes. So we walked & talked for 15’ to their car. They were from Worcester & came to Concord for the day. The two woman were U Mass students & he was living with them yet working at Logan airport. We talked about maps & mapping & somehow that led to his telling me that he and one of the women were from Argentina (the other from Spain). I said I’d been there, to San Isidro…which is where they had grown up. Her father once was in the boat building business. We talked about the wide, muddy Plate ("river of silver") estuary.

It was the driver’s b-day. She'd bought herself the spanking new 2016 we were in. They dropped me off in CC. Now to find Thoreau. I should have recalled where it was having lived in Concord for some 4 yrs. -- but that was 30 years ago. I asked a woman coming out of a store. She sent me the long way so it was another 3/4 mi to the DD lot where Beth was. Beth said she wondered what would become of me seeing that the distance to town was more than thought. Not what I expected in the way of adventure without much time but at least as good.

After, we drove by 251 Fiske to the Bog entrance, fed Mocha there & went off to the usual excellent NEOC party hosted by the Parsons. Amazing how dark the Carlisle streets are after dark.

Old Battle Road & Trail
310 was on & off one too many times.

It had to be this route!


Colonial America