Round Valley Regional Preserve is a nice park in the East Bay, in the Bay Area, California. It is located in the east of Walnut Creek, and east of Mount Diablo.
Walnut Creek is an expensive town in the East Bay. The entire Bay Area is expensive, but Walnut is particularly expensive. AND it has this nice park.
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| Iconic Easy Bay's hills |
This is an iconic East Bay park: rolling hills, spread trees, grass, and wide trails. When you hike after the rainy season, these hills become amazing green as I wrote several times at this blog.
Winter, however, these hills are all brown. This season is not as popular as green season, but I still love the East Bay's rolling hills. It is amazing to see the dramatic changes in these hills. It is fun coming back to this area in a different season.
Somehow, since I was little, I always like the open vista. East Bay's climate is really hot in summer, and then dry except for short rainy season, so deep forest can't be formed. Such weather pattern makes the hills are mainly on for grass with sparse trees. I like to oversee the coming rolling hills ahead from below or look over undulating hills.
Another feature of East Bay's parks are cows. A lot of parks has livestock owned by farmers. They are sometimes on the trail. It is fun seeing them.
East Bay's trail in winter and summer is not popular, because summer is very hot and winter hills are not green. However, I like this winter brown hills, too, as much as green ones. Besides there are not many people, so it is good.
A lot of parks in the Bay Area used to be place for American Indian tribes. This Round Valley Regional Preserve was home of tribes, too. According to the brochure, East Bay and San Joaquin Valley groups of native Americans met this area for trading.
Until I came to the U.S., I know little about native Americans. I am not a really big fan of history at school, however, it is interesting to learn Native American histories. A lot of mountains, national parks, forests, local trails are related to Native American histories and it can't be separated.
Most Bay Area hiking trails are related to California Indian history. One of National Parks in Colorado, Mesa Verde National Park is all about dwelling of Native Americans. I would like to write about those trips on another occasion on this blog.
After I moved to New England, I think back winter in the Bay Area is NOTHING. It is just chilly. Of course Sierra has severe winter and snow, but Bay Area hiking is pleasant for all round year.
カリフォルニア・イーストベイの公園、ランドバレー・リージョナルプリザーブ。イーストベイのウォルナッツクリークという街、マウントディアブロの東ににある公園だ。ウォルナッツクリークはイーストベイの高級住宅街。大きな家に素敵なトレイルがすぐそばにある。。。羨ましいものだ。
私はここのトレイルが大好き。イーストベイ特有のローリングヒルズ、散らばった木々、広いトレイル。冬は茶色、春は緑に全体が染まる。その変わり方はすごい。イーストベイの夏は蒸し暑い。イーストベイがベイエリアの中で一番変化に富んだ場所かもしれない。
もう一つイーストベイの特徴は家畜の牛が公園で放牧されていること。時々、牛がトレイルに立ってたりして面白い。まあハイカーが近づいて行くと普通は逃げるがたまに逃げないヤツもいる。
さらにもう一つ、ここはかつてはネイティブアメリカンがいたところ。ほとんどのベイエリアのハイキングの場所はネイティブアメリカンが住んでいたところだ。ここは イーストベイのトライブとサンジョキアンバレーのトライブが時々あって物々交換などをしていたと考えられている。
アメリカの国立公園や森、山などはほとんどが元々はネイティブアメリカンが住んでいたところが多い。ベイエリアもそうだし、例えばコロラドにあるメサバーデ国立公園はネイティブアメリカンの住居跡をフィーチャーした公園だ。いつかメサバーデに行った旅もブログで書きたいと思う。
ベイエリアにも一応冬はあるが、ニューイングランドに来てから思うと、厳寒とは言い難い。。もちろんシエラは厳寒だが。
BODYPUMP is a workout program by Les Mills and great for keeping a good hiking body.
BODYPUMP has new releases every 3 months and currently newest version is 111.
My gym has 4 BODYPUMP instructors. 3 of them keep up with the newest version always. However, 1 instructor knows only version 80 to 99. I don't know exactly which versions she knows, but always version 80's or 90's and she has never done after version 100 nor older than version 80.
So I have actually opportunity to learn relatively old versions, despite the fact I started Bodypumping a little after 107 was released.
So today I will review version 99.
So now, each track's review.
Track1: Warmup
Music: Mad World (Radio Edit) by Hardwell feat. Jake Reese
Nice light rhythm for warmup track. Some clean and presses with power presses.
Track2: Squats
Music: Power Glove by Knife Party
Not too hard like version86, but some repeats of "4 singles + 4 bottom half" are tough. Still doable. I increased my weight recently when ver.111 was released and I was able to do this version with that. My current weight for squats is 27 kg.
Track3: Chest
Music: In The Dark by 3 Doors Down
This is SOOOOOO hard. It is the hardest chest track I have ever done. Using a bar during the entire track, so lighter weight than usual is better.
A lot of 8 bottom half and ALSO 16 bottom half. I had to decrease the weight since I didn't know this is such a tough one.
Track4: Back
Music: Winterburn byAndrew Rayel & Digital X feat. Sylvia Tosun
Not a hard one. It is funny doing after recent ones (109-111), it is simple. No high-pull no pull like that. 4 clean and presses usually and only 1 of 8 clean and presses.
Music is a little too quiet, but OK.
Track5: Triceps
Music: Something In The Way You Move by Ellie Goulding
Although there are many bottom half with a bar, it is not a very hard one either. However for me I got tired at chest track, so that damage came a little.
I feel Les Mills likes lady songs for Triceps. This is a good song for triceps. Well fit.
Track6: Biceps
Music: Emperor’s New Clothes by Panic! At The Disco
This is a very good one. Not too hard, but hard enough. Feels like 3-1 lasts forever. AND a lot of pulse pulse pulse pulse....
Song is great.
Track7: Lunges
Music: Won’t Stop Rocking by R3hab & Headhunterz
With a bar for the entire track.
First 1/3 is squat.
Then a lot of 3 pulse + 2 single lunges. The hardest part is twice there is 16 bottom half squats!
Track8: Shoulders
Music: Old Skool byArmin van Buuren
The hardest part is the last shoulder press. 2X (8 overhead press then 8 overhead press with legs) meaning 32 consecutive presses.
This definitely makes my shoulder ON FIRE.
The song is great. Generally Les Mills brings good beat song for shoulder tracks.
Track9: Abs
Music: Work by Rihanna feat. Drake
This was my first time doing speed-crunch. Wow. It is a punch. Hope it will help someday I have six packs.
Track10: Stretch
Music: Torches by Daughtry
Basic. Good song for strech.
Overall ver.99 is not the hardest, but chest is the real killer. 99 has a lot of 16 pulse, which is probably the feature. It made me realize I still need to grow more chest muscles.
LOVE BODYPUMP!
Late November we went small 5 mile hiking in the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Concord, Massachusetts. The trail here are along Concord river and impoundment. We had before kayaked on the Concord river of this portion and saw hikers walking along. We thought that it might be interesting to hike in this area, so now we came.
Hike started with dike trail east. It was peaceful area. As you may notice, this area has a lot of birds, and therefore it is National Wildlife Refuge. Continuously you can hear the songs of birds. It must be very good to live for birds. There are trees, ponds, river, and marsh grounds. Tree sections and marsh land area is clearly separated. One side of trail is forest and river, and the other side is marsh meadows without trees with vast view. This is not a type of hike to climb and check the hard mountains, but ambling and listening to the birds.
One thins I had to be very careful was poison ivy. There is a big sign to make hikers realize that the area is poison ivy. Poison ivy contains oil called urushiol and it can cause very irritating and itchy rashes on your skin. I am extremely sensitive to the oil.
My history related to urushiol started a number of years ago in California. In California, there is a huge habitat of poison oak. Poison oak and poison ivy has the same oil, urushiol. This oil is actually the reason why the plants are called poison. When your skin gets contact with the oil, the rash will come in 1 or 2 days later. It is all immune response.
As an immunologist, I will tell you what happens. First of all, the oil itself is not toxic at all. However, the oil is absorbed in the skin and conjugates with protein in the skin, it will cause immune responses. That conjugation takes at least several hours, so the rash comes later. Oil-protein conjugation is now recognized by immune cells in the skin, then those cells migrate into lymph nodes, then immune memory will be established. This steps takes up to 24-48 hours. After that, finally many immune cells infiltrate into the area oil was contacted, then rash will happen.
The rash is not only ugly in appearance, but it is super itchy. I am okay if it is just rash on the skin. Being itchy is unbearable. It is 100 times itchier than mosquito bites. It is too itchy to work and sleep. When I had bad rash everywhere, I had to put ice packs on the rashes to work. Otherwise, it was too itchy to do anything. I put ice packs when I go to bed and I woke up by feeling itchy in the middle of night because ice packs fell from the rash area. The rash last 1 week to a month depending on how severe it is.
Although it is super itchy you should not scratch. If you scratch, you will be likely to be infected by bacteria in the nail. If this happens, antibiotics are necessary.
Treatment for rashes is steroid cream. Depending on severity, steroid intensity will be determined.
I have experienced from mild to very severe ones many times. My immune memory was completely established, so I am so sensitive to poison ivy and poison oak. Even if I pass near the poison oak I get rash.
So everytime I come back from hiking when I saw poison ivy/oak, I wash my body with Tecnu. This detergent can extract oil from skin. Be careful. If oil-protein conjugation process is already done, this wash doesn't work. Washing should be as soon as possible after finishing hike.
Luckily poison ivy is not abundant compared to poison oak in California. Massachusetts is too cold for poison ivy but California is great for poison oak. 
Now on this post, more poison ivy/oak than actual hike, but this is very important!
We went hiking in Pisgah State Park in New Hampshire. It was an 8 mile hike with 1152 feet elevation gain/loss.
Maybe you notice it is not much elevation gain we usually do. That is true, we wanted to do a little leisurely walk.
First as our ritual we stopped by a coffee shop. This time we choose a local coffee shop in the town of Kneene, NH, on the way to the Pisgah park.
Their coffee was great. I got Colombian decaf coffee. I am a decaf drinker, so there is always limited option. Usually normal brewed coffee in the pot prepared has only one kind decaf. This place has 2 kinds decaf available!
Another exciting fact about the pot is that they use Zojirushi pot. That is a Japanese best brand for pots. That made my day.
New Hampshire culture is different. Usually baristas are very friendly. It seems that local people interact and chat a lot more than big cities like San Francisco or Boston.
Coffee shops are good places where those culture can be seen.
One of the baristas asked us, "Are you guys on a little adventure?"
She asked so, probably because we were wearing hiking pants and shoes.
Mr.N answered, "We will go hiking."
The barista asked, "Nice. Where are you going?"
Mr.N answered, "Pisgah State Park."
The barista was excited and "Nice. I went there last week. It is beautiful this time."
We talked about the trail there. It was nice.
Then we started hiking from trailhead. We started from Kilburn loop trail, then went to an unnamed trail. According to the map on the Alltrails (the App I use), there are no names on the trails except for Kilburn loop trail. Also there are many more trails in addition to trails showed on the Alltrails map.
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| Peaceful forest |
Hikes are pleasant. Not many people there but some local people. We hiked up to the hills and found a viewpoint. So we decided to have lunch there. A couple with a dog also stopped nearby and had a snack. Probably because of the dog they sat down relatively far, but we heard the dog moving since the dog had a bell. Sometimes the doggy came near us for food smell, but then the dog was called by owners. It was cute and funny.
The couple left earlier than us, then we passed them. At some point I went to the "restroom". Mr.N went to the toilet as well, but guys are much faster than girls. I left my backpack along the trail and went far, because it was hard to find privacy. While I was on business, I heard the bell ringing. The doggy passed Mr.N standing by my backpack.
When I came back to the trail, Mr.N laughed and told me, "The lady with the dog said, ""We don't look at. Everybody does."" hehehe"
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| Frozen Lake |
All the ponds we passed were frozen. Despite those facts, it was not so cold, probably because elevation was less than 1500 feet above sea level.
Around the lake were marshy. It was a pretty view. We stopped by a lake and sat on the rocks. It was peaceful.
１１月後半のとある週末にニューハンプシャー州のピスガー州立公園にハイキングへ出かけた。この日はカジュアルなハイキング。やく６キロ、４００メートルの高低差。
まずは近くの街でコーヒーを飲んだ。ニューハンプシャー州のカルチャーとして人々がフレンドリーでいい人達というのがある。この日もコーヒーを飲んでいるとバリスタが話しかけてきて我々が行くピスガー州立公園が綺麗だよと教えてくれた。
そしてキルバーンループトレイルからハイキング開始。私たちが使っているアップ、 Alltrailsには載ってないトレイルが次々と出てきて間違えそうになったがとりあえず予定したルート通りに行くことができた。
ここピスガーの森はとても静かで綺麗だ。そしてローカルの人が少し歩いているだけでほとんど遠くからここまで歩きに来る人はいないようだ。そのためかとてもピースフル。
途中でベルをつけた犬を連れたハイカーに会った。途中でお昼のサンドイッチを食べていると匂いにつられてか犬が近くまで来たが（笑、飼い主に呼び戻されていた。可愛い。
このハイキングではいくつか湖を通り越したが全て凍っていた。冬の到来を感じさせるハイキングではあったが、海抜３００メートル程度のためそこまで寒くはなかった。
ハードコアなハイクもいいがたまにはこういったカジュアルなハイクも楽しいなと思った日だった。
A day after thanksgiving is the hiking day. Well, not officially, but why not?
We hiked up to Mt.Flume and Mt.Liberty in the White Mountain National Forest. It was an out and back, total 12 miles. I am not a big fan of out and back, but in the winter it is important to know the trail is safe to go back. So winter hikes are usually out and back.
Since it is a long distance for a winter hike, we decided to start hiking as early as possible after sun rises. To do that we left Boston at 4 a.m.
We stopped by Starbucks. This Starbucks is on the way to White Mountains, so we always stop by before hiking. This branch is in the outlet mall. If you go there before 10 a.m. hardly anybody there, because outlet shops are closed. However, today was completely different. It is Black Friday. Before 6 a.m., outlet malls are decorated with shiny little lights, already many cars were parked in the parking lot. Wow. People are so eager to shop.
Upon arrival at the parking lot of trailhead, I was surprised. There were a couple of cars already parked. A couple drove in next to us with a huge camper while we were getting ready in the car. The camper had many stickers including 4000 footers of NH, 52 NH peaks with view etc. They left slightly earlier than us. We passed the on the way 2 miles after starting point.
Trails are all covered with snow. Nice thing is that snow is soft. I like winter snow much more than spring snow which is hard and icy.
Snow covered trees are pretty.
As you can imagine from these pictures, it was very cold, but the view from Mt.Flume was good. Although clouds mostly blocked the view for down, half part of the sky at the top was blue sky. In that direction the blue clear sky contrasts white winter scenery. The clouds were moving very fast, so the view was changing second by second. It was dramatic. However, standing there was dramatically cold, so we headed for the next peak.
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| Mt.Flume |
To head for the next peak, the trail descend about 500 feet, then ascend 600 feet. Because of out and back hike, that means 600 feet descend and 500 feet ascend were waiting ahead. Mentally those kind of hike is tough, especially in the snow, but it is what it is.
The top of Mt.Liberty was completely in the clouds. It was also an extreme scene. At the same time it was freezing cold and we headed back immediately.
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| frozen water bottle |
When we came back to Mt.Flume we saw a camper couple reached the Mt.Flume. Considering the sunset time, I thought that they should head back instead of Mt.Liberty, but they might go there. I took out a water bottle and tried to open a lid, but it was frozen and took some time. COOOOOOOLD. It was too cold for me to have a lunch at the top. So we ate sandwich by standing.
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| Trail condition |
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| snowshoe hare track |
Trail is covered with soft snow not hard, so it was fun sliding down to go back. When it is icy, I need to be slow and cautious. Also soft snow I can see many bunnies' foot tracks. I want to see snowshoe hare someday.
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| sitting pad |
After we descended for a while, the temperature was a little higher, so I ate the rest of sandwich. It was too cold to finish at the higher elevation.
This time I brought a small sitting pad. I got it with 20% off at REI's thanksgiving sale. It was so comfy to sit there, instead of cold snow.
Although it was cold, the view was nice.
At the beginning of November, we went hiking in Mount Whiteface area in White mountains, New Hampshire.
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| Whiteface |
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| Whiteface |
Now daytime is getting shorter and shorter, so we had to leave Boston around 5 a.m. in the dark to start hiking early. We did a loop including Mount Whiteface, 12 miles with +/-4380 feet. To the top to the Whiteface is only 3 miles from the trailhead with 2800 feet elevation gain via blueberry ridge trail. It was a nice sunny day and blue sky with sun and clouds are beautiful (left pictures). The objects on the sky made an attractive 3D structure.
Then the trail continues to the next viewpoint. This one doesn't have a mountain name, but there is a view. To the viewpoint is a spur of 0.2 mile. There is 200 feet elevation loss in the 0.2 mile, so it was kind of steep. I was thinking, "Ah I will have to climb up this to go back, I hope it was a good view to worth descending/ascending."
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| Viewpoint |
Well, view was good actually, but it was very windy, so I sat down along the bush and ate some snacks: banana and M&M chocolates.
On this hike I tried a new pair of shoes. Lonepeak 4 from Altra. I have wide feet, so I had been looking for good shoes for wide feet. When I was at a great outdoor shop in Pindale, Wyoming after finishing backpacking in Wind River range, I found a nice pair of trail running shoes. They looked good for wide feet. I couldn't buy them there since I was on travel, so I took a picture and I bought at REI after I came back home.
I didn't get extremely excited, but I didn't have any problem with the new shoes for 12 miles with +/- 4000 feet. That is a good sign. The good thing about Altra Lone Peak shoes are waterproof. Not many trail running shoes are waterproof. They are more designed to be breathable with mesh.
Hiking with trail running shoes are new to me. I don't know it is good, but I found that sturdy hiking shoes are too sturdy and heavy for me sometimes, especially for multiple day backpacking. Trail running shoes should be good for being on trail, and they are lighter than hiking shoes. Maybe stability is less good than hiking shoes, but I will see.
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| dusk |
Due to the very rocky terrain with short day time, the last mile was a little light. It was pretty at dusk in the forest. Nobody was hiking at dusk, so it was very peaceful.
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| Moon |
As sun set, the moon rose. It was half moon. Moon between trees at dusk was beautiful.
１１月の初めにニューハンプシャー州ホワイトマウンテンにあるマウントホワイトフェースへハイキングへ出かけた。
今回は１９キロのループで、高低差は１３１０メートル。
１１月ともなると日が短いのでハイキングに行くとなると朝早く出発しなければならない。今回も約５時にはボストンを出発。
トレイルヘッドから約５キロ、ブルーベリーリッジ トレイルを歩くともう頂上に着いた。ここまでは８５０メートルの登り。なかなかの眺めだった。この日はよく晴れた土曜日で青空と雲と太陽が魅惑的な立体感を出していた。
さらに５キロほど歩くと山の名前はないのだがビューポイントがある。そこまで行くのにはスパートレイルで６１メートル降らなければならないので、行く価値があるかどうか迷ったが（行ったらそのぶん登りで元の場所に戻って来ないといけないので）、せっかく来たのでチェックすることにした。眺めはものすごくよかった。ニューハンプシャーの連なる山々を一気に見渡すことができるのだ。しかし風が非常に強くブッシュの脇で風を避けながらチョコレートとバナナを食べた。
今回のハイクでは新しい靴を試してみた。 アルトラのLonepeak 4。トレイルシューズだ。私は足の幅が広く、幅広の靴を探していてこのモデルを見つけた。トレイルシューズはメッシュのものが多くなかなかウォータープルーフのものが見つからないのだがこれはウォータープルーフ。特に１９キロの工程で問題は無かった。後何回か使ってみて判断したいと思う。
日が短くなって最後の２キロは少し薄暗い中を歩いた。その時間の森はとても静かで美しい。 日が沈んでいき、月が昇ってきた。周りには誰一人おらず静かで美しい時間だった。
At the end of October, Ms.L visited us and we went for a walk near Walden Pond.
Walden Pond is a lake in Concord, Massachusetts. It is famous because of a writer Henry David Thoreau. He lived in a cabin along the Walden pond. He lived in a cabin for about two years for a simple living in the woods. Later he published this experience in "Walden" or "Life in the Woods".
You can actually see the place where exactly he lived. It is now just a place marked by stone, but there is a replica near the parking lot (so that people don't even need to walk to the shore from a parking lot....).
The cabin is quite small. Stuff inside is a fire place, a small bed, and a small desk. No restroom, no sink, no mirror. No iPhone, no TV, no video games. Only woods around. Interesting. I am sort of interested in a simple life: hiking and writing about adventures. However I am not confident if I can live like this for two years, without stuff.
Walking around the shore is nice, especially at the end of October when leaves are colored. I heard that swimming Walden pond from one edge to the opposite edge is a thing to do in Mass. I saw several people swimming in summer when I was there last time. I was surprised to see swimmers even at the end of October in Massachusetts. It is not warm like California in October here.
Another point to write about is the fee. I don't like to pay fee to hike. Hiking place should be open to everybody for free. Walden pond parking lot has fee. It is $8 if you are a Massachusetts resident. It is a rip off. However, there is a way to enter for free. If you hike from adjacent park, there is no fee. Of course we hiked from nearby park. Actually it is nice in the next park, since nobody is usually there. Interestingly, the sign on the tree in that park has "amble". I didn't know the meaning of the word, but I learned from Mr.N and Ms.L. I am a little wiser.
Lastly these are some picture of fall colors. It was the last weekend in New England when the fall colors were still alive.
ウォルデンポンドへちょっとしたハイキングへ行ってきた。このウォルデンポンドはわりと有名な地元のウォーキングスポットだ。なぜならここはアメリカの有名な作家ヘンリー・デイヴィッド・ソロー（Henry David Thoreau）が住んでいたところだからだ。そう、彼は湖のほとりの小さな小屋で”シンプルな生活”をするために2年ほど住んでいたのだ。今はその跡地が石に囲まれる形で残っている。
レプリカも駐車場の脇に作られている（跡地までも１キロ程度歩きたくない人は駐車場から数メートルのレプリカの小屋を見るだけで済ませられる＾＾；）。小屋はいたってシンプルで小さなベッド、机、薪のストーブがあるだけ。マサチューセッツは寒いので冬はさぞかし大変だったろう。たとえ薪を燃やしたとしても。。。
私はここを訪れるまで ヘンリー・デイヴィッド・ソローのことは全く知らなかったが（言い訳としては理系、文学が大の苦手）、日本語訳の本も出ているみたいだし日本人のファンもいるようでびっくりした。
英語だと昔の英語ですごくわかりづらい。数々の引用が石に掘られていたり、ビジターセンターに飾られたりしていたのだが。。文学的すぎて分かりづらい。。。日本語で読んだ方がいいかもしれない。
この１０月末の週末が今年は最後の紅葉を観れた週末となった。
Stay in shape is the key to enjoy climbing mountains. However, I want to enjoy training as well.
BODYPUMP is the most fun training I have done in my life. My training style is stated here at How to Stay in Shape for Big Hiking
BODYPUMP releases new versions every three months So now here I will review version 111.
So far I did 111 four times. At first I thought, "Wow, this is not really hard! Especially squats tracks and biceps track. It seems that I am not wrong. My instructor said that it was a good chance to increase a little heavier weight than usual, which implies 111 is not as tough as other versions.
So, I increased the weight. For example, usually I use 25 Kg for squat tracks (each side 2 plates of 5 kg, and 1 plate of 2.5 Kg). This time I used 27 Kg (each side 1 plate of 10 Kg and 1 plate of 2.5 Kg and 1 plate of 1 Kg). For biceps tracks, I used 9 Kg instead of 7 Kg. As a result, grrr, it is tough version. The reason why I titled this entry "easiest version ever, but..."
BODYPUMP is always hard.
So now, each track's review.
Track1: Warmup
Music: Speechless (Nicolas Haelg Remix) by Robin Schulz feat. Erika Sirola
I like more as I listen to the song every time. This is a medium hardness of warmup, but including slow clean and presses.
Track2: Squats
Music: Chase The Sun (Extended Mix) by Hardwell & Dannic feat. Keli- Leigh
At first I thought this is really easy, because only first half is done with a bar. Even with a bar, there are not many bottom halves. There are a number of repeats of "2 singles, 3 bottom halves", but not like 8 bottoms, which is a butt-killer. This is why I added a baby plate each side from the second time I did 111. Although just 2 kg increase, this has a real impact: you know this feeling if you are BODYPUMPer.
Second half is squats with plates and strengthen calves by standing on the toe. Once I had a big sore on my calves from other training, so that day was really tough. However, I am not sure this version. I still think this is too easy. Come on Les Mills!
I like the song.
Track3: Chest
Music: Youngblood by 5 Seconds of Summer
First of all, this music video starts with old Japanese couple's conversation saying thank you for 60 years. The rest of video is also apparently recorded in Japan. The dancing guys in Tokyo look a little weird, but I am happy to see Japan featured in American popular music.
This chest track can be done by chest flies with hand weights, or with a bar. My first instructor only gave us hand weights options, so I didn't know that bar is an option until I took another instructor's class. Using a bar is more difficult in my opinion. Again there are walking pushups, which is recent trend. This is not the hardest one I have ever done in the chest tracks, but it is good one.
Track4: Back
Music: Reserve by Egzod feat. Leo The Kind
It is not very hard, unless you increase the weight. The new choreography here is low-pull, high-pull, clean and press. This repeat (8 times) is hard! I am totally fine with previous weight I used at 110, but now I have 2 Kg more. HARD.
Also another new choreography is double dead rows. Doing twice is hard. Usually dead lifts and dead rows are inserted as a recovery from clean and presses in back tracks, but this time not.
Choreography fits very well with the song.
Track5: Triceps
Music: High Hopes by Panic! At The Disco
This is a popular song in the U.S. and before 111 was released I listened to this on the radio so many times. Songs were on everywhere. So I heard this at BODYPUMP, I was like, "Ah! This was in the BODYPUMP!"
There is not really new movement here, and right intensity. Also it is fun doing with this song.
Track6: Biceps
Music: Walk Me Home by P!nk
Again P!nk. Les Mills loves P!nk to the level almost obsession. I like P!nk, but not much of this song, because the rhythm is not very good for doing BODYPUMP.
Actually this is not hard. There are many mini breaks between movement, and many biceps rows, which makes this track easy. I hope that next version is harder.
Track7: Lunges
Music: Face My Fears by Hikaru Utada, Skrillex
It is nice to see again Japanese-related song here. Hikaru Utada is Japanese (actually she might choose American citizenship), anyway Japanese name and speaks Japanese at least.
111 use a platform and there is new movement. Both squats and lunges are held with one foot on the bench and the other on the floor. Especially this squat style is a little unbalanced and not sure if it is good.
Track8: Shoulders
Music: Focus by Deorro feat. Lena Leon
There are a lot of side raises, mac raises, front raises. Front raises are recently not incorporated, so it is good to have a variety.
I usually shoulder tracks' "beat" music. This one is good, too.
Track9: Abs
Music: Foolish by Meghan Trainor
My instructor said that this is a weird song, but I like it. This track is all crunches and no harbors. Harbor, then crunch, then harbor....is usually too busy, so it is good to focus on crunches.
Track10: Stretch
Music: Imagine by Ariana Grande
Not much energy left by the time of stretch, so I don't really care about songs for stretch songs. This song is just okay.
Instructors at my gym usually play music before class starts. They usually play music from BODYPUMP45 min version. I think some songs from 45 min is different from 1 hr version. One of the songs from 45 in the version 110 is
This Feeling (Tom Staar Remix) The Chainsmokers feat. Kelsea Ballerini. I like this song a lot. It is a great "pre-pump up" song to start BODYPUMP.
LOVE BODYPUMP!
In mid-October in a cold day we went backpacking. This time we did a loop covering Mt.Willey and Mt.Field in New Hampshire. Total was about 15 miles with 4500 feet elevation change.
Starting point was at the train station of Crawford. The hike starts by crossing the train track. As I went up high, the air got cold. Actually it was so cold.
Two weeks ago when we went backpacking, we saw very pretty fall colors: yellow, orange, and red. Now all leaves are gone. There are still colorful leaves on the ground, but the view is brown. It was amazing how quickly seasons change in New England, especially summer to autumn, then winter. Now, long winter has began.
Only a few miles from trailhead, the view was already winter wonderland. Trees were snow covered and trail were also covered with white. Wow. We didn't know it was already winter there and didn't bring microspikes. Winter seemed to come in such a hurry, and still red berries were on the ground with snow as if they were saying it was too quick transition.
Also my shoes got wet. Due to heavy rains on weekdays before our hike, the trail was extremely wet and muddy. Then trail went up about 1500 feet and we reached a junction to the Mt.Tom. To go to Mt.Tom it was 0.6 mile of 300 feet elevation gain. Because it was a spur trail, I didn't feel like going. Besides, a hiker who just came back from Mt.Tom said, "There is no view and the trail is muddy."
While Mr.N and I were thinking if we went or not, the hiker said, "But you can go to 4000-footers."
Grrr.... to be honest I am a little annoyed by 4000-footer list.
4000-footer is a list of mountains those are higher than 4000 feet in New Hampshire, or New England. There are separate lists for each. A lot of people do the list. So if the mountain is 4001 feet high, I see many hikers on the trail, even if there is no view at the top. If the mountain is 3999 feet high, there is barely no hikers even if the view is really great. I am not a list person, and I would rather enjoy nice view for hiking. I prefer to do 3999 feet with nice view.
There is an official 4000-footer club managed by Appalachian Mountain Club, but you need to pay to join. Upon completion, you can buy patches. Still paying for completion?! I personally don't like it. Hiking should be always free! OK. It is okay to pay a little. For 2-week John Muir trail for $5 as I did.
Well anyway, the U.S. is a free country. AMC can do whatever they want, but I can say my opinion freely as well!
So we just skipped Mt.Tom and continued the hike for the next viewpoint. After passing Mt.Tom, there was hardly nobody, which was nice. This was the 4000-footer list effect. After a few miles later, we met two backpackers on the trail heading towards Mt.Tom. They said, "You guys are the first hikes we met today" You see how big the 4000-footer effect is.
Soon after that we started to look for a place for lunch. We found a nice disperse campsite near the stream. The ground was dry and nice. I found a fire place. As a campfire junkie, I couldn't help starting fire during lunch break. There are many birch trees nearby, so I was able to find paper birch everywhere to start fire. Campfire at lunch break. SOOOOO much fun.
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| Nice Pond |
After lunch break, clouds were cleared up and blue sky came. The air got a little warmer. It was really nice. The trail was also nice along some ponds and ridge.
We passed near the Zealand hut. We didn't pass exactly the hut, but turned the junction nearby. The junction has a hanging sign saying "hot food for sale at hut". Ha. Hot food sounded nice, but I knew that the hut foods were very American, so I didn't check it out. Also it was a detour. As a Japanese, I always like hot Japanese food in the outdoor setting: ramen, udon, soba, Japanese curry, Japanese pasta, etc....I am picky.
On the ridge there was talus. It is quite unusual to see talus in New England. My memory of talus is always linked to pika. Pikas live in the talus. I always see whenever hike in the high county in the Sierra or Rockies I see many cute pikas. Sadly there are no pikas in New England, probably because it is not high elevation enough for them. I miss pikas.
Soon near the talus region, we saw a hiker with big beard. He was a though Appalachian hiker! He did southern states, then did Maine, then came back to New Hampshire and going south. Mr.N said that this kind of thru hike is flip flop hike. The hiker was cool. He said, "I see a light in the tunnel" Good luck to the hiker.
After 4 p.m, we started searching a campsite. The official campsite was along the Ethan pond. There are several developed site (still dispersed) at the Ethan pond. Usually those official site, 0.25 mile before and after the site was prohibited to camp. We were hoping that fire was allowed there, but we saw a sign it was prohibited. White Mountain National Forest allows fire below tree line, because it is National Forest. However, Appalachian Mountain Club that is maintaining the forest on behalf of National Forest makes their own strict rules and some portions, such as official campsites, are not allowed to have fire.
Because campfire is always my highlight of backpacking, we decided to continue walking. However, it was only 0.6 miles to be flat. After that really steep climb starts, so it was unlikely to have flat camping spot.
We searched a possible camping spot, however, all the ground near the trail was extremely wet. Actually trail has continuously small log bridge due to the wet. Along the trail was very mossy, meaning probably tent would be sunk if it was pitched.
We searched 0.55 mile of 0.6 mile. I was optimistic: I thought that there would be something we can do always. I thought that we could avoid a steep hill and continue a different trail or worst case we could go back to Ethan pond. In contrast to me, Mr.N was upset.
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| campsite |
At the 0.59 mile, I found an established dispersed site!!! An establish site means a flat spot without trees and obviously it has been used for camping for many times by many hikers. Even nicer fact about the site we found was that the big fire place was there! (see the picture left)
We had a biiiiig fire at night and had a biiiiiig fun.
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| Campfire |
Next morning, we of course had another morning fire.
While we were having breakfast by the fire, a group of backpacker guys passed by. The site was a little off to the trail, a lot of people could miss it.
The guys' conversation we heard:
A: It is stinky here. Did you fart?
B: No, it is from campfire there.
A: Oh campfire there.
B: And I farted.
A: OK.
It was funny. Mr.N said that farting was not a big issue between guys.
Ha! In-tere-sting.
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| Ladder |
2nd day's climb was tough. 2000 feet in 0.8 mile. Grrr. It is like Mount Shasta.
Some portion has 8 sets of ladder.
As we climbed, the scenery got fall from winter. Above 3500 feet is covered with snow and ice.
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| Winter |
We didn't know that trails are already such icy and snowy, so we didn't bring microspikes. We will do need them for sure at next hike.
From viewpoint Mount Washington was visible. It was snow covered. It was pretty.
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| Snow Covered Mountain |
Then we finished the hike. All is good.
Our priority for the weekend activity is backpacking. If Saturday and Sunday are both sunny, we go backpacking. If only one of them is sunny, we go day hiking or kayaking. We mostly go hiking, but it is also nice to go kayaking. Variety is good.
A weekend in September, we went kayaking on North Conway Lake in New Hampshire. It is in the town of Conway and the lake is very close to Maine actually.
First 2 miles only I paddled. Even though our kayak is for 2-person one, I like to paddle by myself for a little. For my solo part I like to record the activity with app called Runkeeper. It records where and how the activity goes with GPS.
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| My activity log |
Since I paddle at the front of 2-person kayak, it is difficult to go straight. It is hard to keep straight from front. Kayak or canoe, direction control is mostly done by a rear person. For that reason, my kayaking record path is very wavy. It is very funny.
As you can see in the left picture, my line of paddling is left-right-left-right.....due to this I paddled 2.5 miles, but maybe less than 2 miles of actual contribution of the whole trip. Importantly, however, I didn't paddle on the ground as indicated by red line. I think that GPS was not accurate or shape of lake is not correct on the map. By rain it is easily bigger on the day of kayaking. Or the size of lake gets different as time goes by.
After I paddled 2.5 miles, Mr.N took over and now he paddled for a while by himself. I ate sandwiches, and drank water and chilled. It was a princess time. Mr.N paddled 2 or 3 miles, then suddenly got cloudy and very windy. Due to that we decided to go back. Unfortunately winds were against us to go back to the starting point. It was better to go back as soon as possible, so we took the straight line: meaning paddled in the middle of the lake. Usually it is better to paddle along the shore as you can see in the GPS log above, but sometimes it needs to be flexible.
Winds made a lot of waves on the lake, so our kayak bounced a lot. We got wet, but paddled together as strongly as possible. After an hour of hard paddling, we safely arrived at the parking lot. Wow. What an adventure!
９月のとある週末、ニューハンプシャー州にあるコンウェイ湖へカヤックへ出かけた。
MrNと私の週末のプランは、もし土日とも天気が良ければバックパッキング、もし片方だけ天気が良ければその日にデイハイクかカヤック。デイハイクに行くことの方が多いが今回はカヤックすることにした。バラエティに富んだアクティビティが我々は好きなのだ。
我々のカヤックは２人用なのだが、最初は私一人で漕ぐことにしている。筆者は記録が好きでランキーパーというアップでアクテビティを記録している。やはり自分の記録となるので一人で漕がないと自分の記録にならない！ということで最初の２、５マイル（４キロ）は私一人でのカヤック。上の写真がGPSでの記録。ぎゃー。酔った人の歩いた記録みたい。。。GPSが悪い。。。のではなく、GPSは正常かつ正確。２人用のカヤックを一人で、しかもフロントの席で漕いでいるとなかなか真っ直ぐ進むのが難しい。通常カヤックは後ろの席の人が方向をコントロールしているのでこういう結果になった（笑
そして４キロ漕いだ後はMrNにバトンタッチ。ここから私はしばしリラックスタイム！至福の時だ。まず、ランチに持ってきたサーモンサンドイッチをカヤック上で、しかも湖上で食した。美味しい。贅沢な時間だ。
そしてMrNが４−５キロ漕いだので写真でも撮るかなーと思っていると、なんだか急に雲が出てきて一気に風が出てきた。しかも風は逆風。逆風に向かってスタート地点に引き返さなければならない事態に。天気が悪いのですぐに戻った方がいい。ということで湖の岸沿いに漕ぐのではなく最短距離の湖の真ん中を突っ切ってスタート地点に引き返すことに。
風が強いので湖の波も大きくカヤックも揺れまくった。２人がかりで筋肉痛になるまで１時間一生懸命漕いでようやく元の場所に戻ることができた。ついた時は身体中濡れていた。ぎゃー。予期せずすごいアドベンチャーとなったが。。。楽しかった。
Whoa. Luxury car camping!
Why luxury? There is Wifi at this campground in Camden State Park, Maine. This was my first time having Wifi at campground in the U.S. It was a suprise, although I don't really need Wifi, and in fact camping is the best way to be away from devices. However it is exciting to know that a campground with Wifi exists in the U.S.
Not only Wifi, there is hot shower in the rest room. It is individual small room, no coins are needed to get hot water without time limit. Wow. What a campground.
The only thing it could be challenging in this campground is first-come, first-served. For us living in Boston, going to Maine in early morning is hard. We can't beat local Maine residents. Luckily we got a one second to the last available site around 11 a.m. Yay.
We set up a tent and went for hiking. It was a short hike starting from campground. Just a quick climb, we were able to see nice Maine coast along the ocean. My ocean is always Pacific (I am from an island on the Pacific), but Atlantic is pretty too. In fact all oceans are connected.
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| Maine Coast |
The line of Maine coast is pretty. It is soft and worm. The line is not sharp, so it gives me the impression of sweetness and relaxed pace.
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| Rocky coast |
East coast is known for rocky coast, but this side of ocean is not really rocky. After we came back to the campground, we went to the different side of coast. Now this one was very rocky. We sat on rocks and enjoyed looking at ocean for a while.
Then we went back to our campsite and started campfire. Campfire is a must, especially during car camping. Even if car camping, I love to forage. A bunch of firewood were sold at the entrance. I dislike to buy those. I LOVE to forage. Each bunch was $7! There are so many trees everywhere, and tons of dead logs are just on the ground on the campground. Why not foraging?
Forage-lover is not only me. Mr.N's uncle, Mr.B2 is a foraging junkie.
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| BBQ |
Over the fire, we had BBQ. Chicken and corns were delicious. Then we continued fire. While we were having cups of tea, neighboring campers came and gave us some firewoods for us. He said that his truck has a full of woods and wanted to get rid of some. I think that he was just nice, not really need to get rid of woods. Probably he is a local Maine person and he can bring woods back home. It was very nice of him.
Next morning, I started a morning fire (yah, I LOVE fire SOOOOOO MUCH. Because I used all the logs I gathered the previous night, I started collecting some woods on the ground between our site and next site. A couple was camping at the next site (probably local people in their 50 or 60's). The female saw me foraging and said to us, "Do you guys need woods? We are done and there are some here". Mr.N and I said, "Oh thank you." Then we visited their site.
Mr.N said, "Are you sure you don't want to bring back home?"
The woman said, "No, we are done, and we just go home now."
The guy also said, "Take as much as you want :)"
Wow Maine people are so nice!
Two neighbors gave us firewoods! Maybe they all saw us foraging and it was weird for them, because Maine people should have firewoods at home for winter. Anyway after getting woods gift both Saturday and Sunday, I was happy and love Maine people.
On Sunday we had a plan to kayak on the nearby lake. We arrived at the lake and got concerned, because it was very windy. Probably due to the strong winds, nobody was kayaking there. It is always better safe than sorry. So we decided to go hiking to the trail nearby instead. This trail goes up to the lake we had planned to kayak.
I didn't have a high expectation, but the view was fantastic. Many small islands were floating on the lake. Blue sky reflects the lake and the contrast with green was pretty. From the hills, I could tell how windy by seeing waves on the lake. It was a good choice to hike up this time. Next time it would be nice to kayak on a calm day. The lake looks very good for kayaking.
While we were enjoying the view, we saw a man and woman in their 60's hiking together. Their dog was adorable. He came to me and enjoyed being pet. The each eye color is different (blue and green, I don't remember clearly though). After I pet for a while, I started walking, but the dog followed me instead of staying with his owner. The owner laughed. Soooooo cute. I wish he could follow me more!
The guy and a female were talking while we pet the dog. Actually only the woman talked how he broke up her ex-husband and the guy was just listening. Obviously she was interested in the guy, but since the guy didn't say a word, I was not sure he was interested in her as well. He was only laughed when the doggie started following me. In-te-resting.
I really liked the lake and glad we went there.
October is the best season for fall color backpacking in New Hampshire. First weekend of October, it was luckily sunny both Saturday and Sunday. So we went backpacking in Northern part of White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire. Because fall colors start in north then go south, the northern part of Whites is good to check out in early October.
According to the book of New England backpacking, the area we went this weekend, Killkenny loop, is the first portion in the Whites to get fall colors.
First we parked at the Berlin fish hatchery. Then we walked to the another parking lot where we would finish the loop. There were two options: road walk at the beginning or the end. This time we did at the beginning, because it is kind of tiring to do at the end. We had done several times finishing backpacking by road walking. It was tiring to walk on asphalt after long walk. This one was not bad, because it was unpaved road in the forest.
Besides, there was a pond along the road and already we saw fall colors, which was a plus. Especially fall colors along the shore was very pretty. After 2 miles of road walking, we started hiking on a trail. The forest is in yellow. It was really pleasant to be in the cheerful color.
Soon four backpackers passed as. They had a cute excited dog.
They asked where we were going to stay. We said Unknown pond (this is the real name. Not meaning I don't know the name!) or Rogers Ledge campground. They were going to stay at the cabin near the Mount Cabot. The cabin is free and there are some bunks. Nothing is fancy, but small pad is attached on the bunks. There is no need to bring a tent if you stay there, and of course it is protected by rain or snow. They asked where we would stay, probably because they were concerned if they could get bunks, since there is no reservation system but first-come first-served. It was only 4 miles from the trailhead, but they started early enough to get there by 2 p.m. The cabin looked nice and it would be good to stay there in the winter for snowshoeing hike trips.
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| View from the Horn |
After we chatted with them we continued to the viewpoint just before the summit of Mount Cabot. The view from there was really nice. At the viewpoint, we saw a nice guy who lived down the Mount Cabot. Wow. It should be nice to live near mountains. He said going down after view point without going to the top. Soon we knew the reason. The summit is in the forest with zero view. The guy recommend going to the Horn. A 0.3 mile side trip on the way to Unknown pond. The Horn was.....nice, but the view was blocked by trees. There were two side trips and this one is "recommended" in the hiking book, the other is "highly recommended". So I hoped to see a better view the other one.
We passed a group who was going to camp at Unknown campsite. They seemed surprised when we said we were going to the next campsite which was 2 mile more walk.
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| Campsite |
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| Campfire |
We deserved! The next campsite was exclusively ours! There are four official tent site in the Rogers Ledge campsite, but nobody was there. There is a square portion to pitch a tent (see the picture). The campsite is surrounded by yellow and red trees. It was completely silent. It was lucky to be only us.
There is only one fire ring to share, but all for us. I was so excited about having fire. Tons of trees were on the ground, so it was easy to forage for the fire. To start the fire, paper birch is excellent, because it burns super good. Birch trees were everywhere in the region, so fire was easily started.
Mountains in NH in October is really cold. This Saturday night, it was below freezing point. At that cold night the warm fire was quite nice.
The next morning, we did another short side trip to Rogers ledge. The view was marvelous. Red, yellow, orange were all down there! It looked like really someone painted one by one with paint brushes. We are lucky to go hiking in the right time to see fall colors.
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| Rogers Ledge |
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| fish |
After we hiked out we came back to the fish hatchery where we parked. We checked out fish there. They expand trout. Wow. Each section had small, medium, and large trout. It was impressive. However, I don't and will never understand why the plural form of trout is trout!!
The weekend was nice.
One weekend in August we went car camping in Vermont. This time we invited Mr.C and Ms.M2. They have camped a couple of times before, but not backpacked. So this time we did car camping.
Mr.N suggested leaving Boston 8 a.m. on Saturday, but Ms.M2 suggested 9 a.m. since she is a night owl.
Mr.N and me in one car, Mr.C and Ms.M2 in another car, we separately headed for the Moosalamoo campground, even though we live only a couple of miles apart. The reason? There is no reason. It looks like Mr.M2 doesn't like to carpool.
A little before noon, we arrived at the campground and ate lunch at the picnic table. The site was very spacious. There was a plenty of space for setting up tents, a set of picnic table, and a big fire pit.
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| Viewpoint |
After lunch we went out for hiking. The trail starts in the campground, which is convenient and nice. We hiked up to the Mt.Moosalamoo. It was gentle and easy climb and we didn't take long to the viewpoint. Ms.M2 said that it was not difficult. So we decided not to go back from the viewpoint, but continue to another viewpoint and make a loop to go back to the campground. It was an easy hike of 8 miles.
At night we had BBQ. Mr.M2 and Mr.C brought skewers of meat and veges. We grilled over the fire. We also grilled corns. It was really tasty!
After dinner we chatted around fire. Ms.M2 got freaked out several times due to spiders.
As night went by, we got sleepy. Now time to go into sleeping bag. Because Mr.C and Ms.M2 didn't bring light source, I loaned my headlamp to Ms.M2. Mr.C and Ms.M2 went to the outhouse with the headlamp.
Mr.N and I were near the tent and ready to go to sleep once they came back and return my headlamp.
They came back but at the tent I heard a lot of curse words. There were spiders in their tent. Mr.N and I laughed and waited the spider drama will be gone. Then they went into the tent. Hmmmm. My head lamp... after a while there was no hint of it coming back.
I sent Mr.N to get my head lamp back, because I am shy to ask to return stuff. I needed it in case I want to search something in the tent and to go to the restroom in the middle of the night, which happens once in a while.
OK. We went to bed.
Zzzzzz....
I woke up with voices of Ms.M2 in the middle of the night. I heard some F words.
I thought, "OK. They had spiders again"
I tried to go back to sleep, but their cursing and noise didn't stop.
Mr.N asked from our tent, "Are you okay?"
Ms.M2 screamed, "No!"
What's going on?
After a while, Mr.N went outside and asked if they needed help.
I stayed in the tent, but from the noise I figured out that Ms.M2 vomited in the tent.
OMG. We loaned the tent, and sleeping pads.
Mr.C went to the toilet and got toilet paper and wiped inside. After the mess for an hour at 4 a.m., Mr.M2 went into the car and lay down until 7 a.m. Mr.C slept back in the tent.
After such scene, I couldn't sleep deep. It was getting light soon after, so body didn't seem to want to go back to deep sleep. Due to that I had a headache in the morning.
We planned to kayak Sunday morning, but Mr.C and Ms.M2 went home straight in the morning, because Ms.M2 was still feeling sick.
What was the cause? Most likely meat. However, only 1 person got food poisoning. Maybe one specific piece she ate was bad?
Ms.M2 said, "I don't know, but anything could happen after such exhausting hike." At this point, Mr.N and I noticed that Saturday's short hike was too much for her. A lot of times when Mr.N plans hiking for a hiking club, some people who participate in them hate him, because hikes are much tougher than the statement Mr.N describes. He say, "moderate", but for some people it is "extremely challenging and exhausting".
Mr.C and Mr.M2 returned the tent and sleeping pads with X!@#S.
We paid for the campsite and We washed the tent and sleeping pad at home.
In the late September, we went backpacking in Bigelow range in Maine.
The previous backpacking on the labor day weekend was extremely hard (2.5 days with +/- 12,000 feet), so this time we decided to do an easy one. The distance was 12 miles, and the elevation change was only 3,500 feet. Another factor we chose this one in Maine was that the internet said that fall colors was happening in the region.
Hiking in New England. One of the most famous things in the area is fall colors. New England has clear four seasons. Then, there are many trees in the mountain. So, New England is the great place to see fall colors.
This fall is my second autumn since I moved to Boston. With taking advantage that I can go hiking in New England every weekend, I plan to see fall colors from beginning to the end. This backpacking is the start of fall colors.
Saturday early morning we headed for the trailhead of Bigelow. It was 4 hours from Boston. Maine is not very close to Boston, but I like Maine. Compared to New Hampshire where mountains with trees are dominant, Maine has more variety: mountains, meadows, lakes, coast line, peninsula on the Atlantic ocean.
In fact, the hike started in the lake along the meadow, then went into the forest.
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| Lake |
Near the lake, there were several campsites. I am not sure these are called backpacking campsites or just campsites, because it was only 0.5 mile from the parking lot. It is free and fire rings were already there. A lot of logs are all over the place. That means an endless campfire can be had! My favorite thing during backpacking is fire in the mountains with logs by foraging (read: free).
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| Forest |
After passing the lake, the trail went into the forest. The left picture is the first portion of forest. It's nice green. Humm? The internet fall color site said it is fall color peak in this area. OK. Green. Well, it is still nice to be in the pretty place.
Then uphill started. Some portions were really steep. There were a lot of steps made by rocks. The hikers on downhill said to us, "This is the fun part." Me in mind, "On downhill."
After a while, we reached the junction. From the junction we hiked on Appalachian trail. We saw a couple of AT hikers hiking with sandals. After seeing more than 10 AT hikers wearing sandals, I am considering to try hiking with sandals. I am curious.
Actually I got blisters during the trips in the Grand Teton. Because my feet's shapes are quite unique, it is difficult for me to find shoes that fit well. This problem leads to blisters. Maybe sandals prevent me from getting blisters.
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| From West Peak |
0.3 mile after joining AT, we saw a nice view, AND some fall colors. It is pretty.
There was a dog on the peak. He tried to catch a bee. The owner laughed and said, "Aw, stop catching a bee!" The dog still tried to catch it. He was adorable!
After only a couple of miles, we reached our destination, a pond. The pond has no name. There are designated backpacker's campsite. It is interesting system. There are many flat dirt spots for tent campers. Probably I saw 12-15 sites. Then, there are 2 lean-to. For those who don't know lean-to, it is a flat space made by woods with roof. One side is completely open (no wall). If it rains, it is great to avoid getting wet, but with winds, you will get wet. The two lean-to are very large, probably 10 people can sleep in one lean-to. However, everyone was on the dirt site with their own tent, and nobody was in the lean-to. Surprisingly there was only 2 tent site open and others were all occupied. We arrived there around 5 p.m., not too late. It seems that people like to do relaxed backpacking there. We usually arrive at campsite after 6, so it was nice to have long chilling evening at the campsite even though fire was prohibited.
There was a chatty AT hiker in the campground. She and her partner had been hiking AT for 6 months. She is from GA, and she said, "Hiking in New England is amazing, love it." It sounded like hiking in GA is not great. Also I wondered if she had ever hiked in the West. Mr.N told me that a lot of people on the East coast have never been to West. Whoa. I am sometimes surprised by the fact Americans don't travel much. I heard that many people don't have passports, and even don't go to other side of their own country. Although I know many people travel a lot here in the U.S., it seems people's activity patterns are really divided.
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| Pretty red |
Sunday was a short hike with only downhill. We saw more fall colors here and there. The left picture is some red leaves. It was nice with sun.
I am looking forward to seeing upcoming fall colors in this season.
Trails are all covered with snow. Nice thing is that snow is soft. I like winter snow much more than spring snow which is hard and icy. 
Snow covered trees are pretty. 
Another point to write about is the fee. I don't like to pay fee to hike. Hiking place should be open to everybody for free. Walden pond parking lot has fee. It is $8 if you are a Massachusetts resident. It is a rip off. However, there is a way to enter for free. If you hike from adjacent park, there is no fee. Of course we hiked from nearby park. Actually it is nice in the next park, since nobody is usually there. Interestingly, the sign on the tree in that park has "amble". I didn't know the meaning of the word, but I learned from Mr.N and Ms.L. I am a little wiser. 
First we parked at the Berlin fish hatchery. Then we walked to the another parking lot where we would finish the loop. There were two options: road walk at the beginning or the end. This time we did at the beginning, because it is kind of tiring to do at the end. We had done several times finishing backpacking by road walking. It was tiring to walk on asphalt after long walk. This one was not bad, because it was unpaved road in the forest. 
