2019-07-30
2019-07-28
Kayaking on Lake Massabesic
<Japanese version is after English: 日本語は英語の後にあります>
We went kayaking on Lake Massabesic in New Hampshire.
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| Starting point |
At first at the launching area, I noticed there are many signs. No swimming, no wading. More specifically, it says "No Part of Your Body can Touch the Water". Kayak users are required to use rubber boots to get on it.
Probably because this is for drinking water source for people in Manchester, which is one of biggest cities in New Hampshire.
I was thinking, "Wow, strict!"
Then, a person came with a dog, and he went to the launching area and push his dog into water. The dog bathed in water then came out. The doggie shake his body. Then, again the dog went into the lake. The dog's whole body was in the water. The dog was not interested in water and tried to go straight to the trail in the forest, but the owner pulled the dog to the lake. Then dog was pushed into the lake, IN FRONT OF the sign "No part of your body can touch the water".
Funny. This is the New Hampshire's attitude, "LIVE FREE OR DIE"
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| GPS tracked first 2 miles |
Then we started kayaking. This lake is very big, so we did half of the lake this time. First 2 miles, I paddled by myself. (our kayak is 2-person's) and recorded with an app Runkeeper. The left graph is the GPS tracked 2 miles. The bottom of west side of peninsula is the starting point. It was hard for me to keep the kayak straight. That's why the red lines left-right wobbling, like a drunken person's walk.
One of the reasons it was hard to keep straight was that the rear portion of the kayak was much heavier than front. Obviously Mr.N's weight is 130% of mine. Also we had 4 litters of water at the rear.
Then, the east side of the peninsula, there is a portion the red line is not connected. The reason is that my iPhone was overheated by strong sun on the kayak and stopped working. Actually I was paddling alone for the portion without red line.
I put the phone in the insulation cool box for the portion without red line and then iPhone started working again and started recording again. So I am declaring here I paddled more than 2 miles.
The weather was really nice. This lake is good for kayaking and fishing. I saw small fish swimming. They are cute. Some people were fishing on the lake.
Water is calm unless motor boat pass by, and there are some loons. Once we were really close to loon. She just came out from water with fish!
Nice relaxed Saturday.
週末にニューハンプシャー州のマサべシック湖へカヤックへ出かけた。
ボートの乗り入れ場に着くと５−６個のサインが（１枚目の写真）。色々な禁止事項が書いてある。水泳や水遊びは禁止。カヤックに乗り入れる時はブーツを履いて乗り入れること。そして体のどの部分も水に触れてはいけない、というサインが。ここの水は近くにある大きな市の飲料水として使われるので汚染に気をつけているからこのような注意事項があるのだと思われる。
ほー、厳しいなぁ。などと思っていると、犬の散歩をしている人が通り過ぎた。犬はどんどん先にひっぱって行ったのだが、飼い主の人が犬を引っ張り水際まで連れてきて犬を湖に入るように促した。もちろん暑い日なので犬は湖に全身浸かり、出てきてプルプルっと水を払う。そしてもう一度水の中へ。
え〜。このサインの真ん前でそれする？（笑
思わず笑いそうになった。さすがはニューハンプシャー。この州のモットーは"LIVE FREE OR DIE"。自由に生きるかそれとも死ぬか。アメリカの独立の際のモットーが今でもここでは受け継がれているのだ。例えばニューハンプシャー州ではバイクに乗るときにヘルメットはつけなくてもオーケー。
犬の飼い主はまさにこのモットーで生きているっぽい。
そしてカヤックスタート。最初の３、５キロはアップを使って記録。この記録中は２人用のカヤックを私だけで漕いだ。２人用カヤックを前で一人で漕ぐとまっすぐ進むのが難しい。左側の赤い線の記録が酔った人の千鳥足のような記録になっている理由だ。
そして赤い線が繋がっていない部分：ここはiPhoneが強い日差しでオーバーヒートしてしまいアップが動かなくなっていた部分。iPhoneを凍らせてきた水のそばに置いてクールダウンさせたら再び動き出したので記録を再開。
この湖は水が穏やかで綺麗だ。魚が泳いでいるのも見れたしルーン（鳥）も５−６匹いた。景色も綺麗でカヤックや釣り、セイルボートには最高の湖だ。
リラックスできた土曜日だった。
2019-07-26
Moosilauke Peak
<Japanese version is after English:日本語は英語の後にあります>
Another day hiking in White Mountains, New Hampshire. This time we did Moosilauke Peak.
9.17 mile loop with 2625 feet elevation gain. Started via Gorge Brook trail, then Snapper trail, Carriage trail, Beaver Brook trail, and Asquam trail.
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| From top |
On a sunny day with good view. The good thing about is unique view at the top. Usually top of the summit in White Mountains are very rocky and windy. Moosilauke top is in the meadow area and looking down more meadow below, then trees below. It was nice to sit on the meadow and eat lunch with view. If you are familiar with northeast, you know how rare it is to sit on meadow in general. I had never imagined such thing in California. Now it is kind of funny how hard it is to find a hills with meadow. Terrain is completely different between East and Western coast.
I am getting to know more and more about various parts of United States. Sometimes people tell me I explore more America than Americans.
Another fun part of this hike was this mountain is very dog-friendly. We saw sooooo many dogs. I pet several doggies. They are so cute. Looks they were enjoyed hiking as much as getting attention from many hikers. These two pictures below were taken near summit and each has a dog. Can you find?
At the top, a hiker was complaining about her hiking friend's schedule. Her friend asked her, "Why do you go hiking on Saturday and Sunday? It is crowded."
She complained, "He says so, but I have job, no choice!"
It was funny.
またまたニューハンプシャー州、ホワイトマウンテンでのデイハイク。今回はMoosilauke Peak。カタカナで書くのは発音的に難しい。。が無理やり書くとムースラークピーク。
英語での発音に慣れていると地球の歩き方などに載っている日本語での表記を見てびっくり仰天することがよくある。
それはさておき、このハイキングは約１５キロのループ、８００メートルの登り。
ニューハンプシャーにしては非常に珍しく山の頂上が草原。草原が山の頂上にあるのはニューイングランドで珍しい。というか、これが初めての経験だ。通常は頂上には岩のみがゴロゴロしていて岩の上に座ってランチを食べるのが常なのだが、今回は草原に座ったので柔らかくてすごく心地よかった。カリフォルニアにいた頃はこんなに違うジオロジーだとは気づかなかった。アメリカ中を冒険していろんな山を経験するのは楽しいものだ。
そしてこのハイキングのユニークな点ナンバー２は、犬！この山は岩が少なくてトレイルも歩きやすいこともあって犬には最適なハイキングなのだ。２枚目と３枚目の写真には犬が入り込んでいるので見つけて頂きたい。
頂上ではあるハイカーが友達のハイカーについて文句を言っていた。”奴が私に聞いてきたんだよね。なんで土曜とか日曜にハイクに行くの？混んでるから俺は避けてるよ。って。私は仕事があるから選択肢がないのに！”
笑えた。
2019-07-23
Cataract Falls
<Japanese version is after English 日本語は英語の後にあります>
Cataract falls is one of the most popular hikes in Marin country in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Marin county is in the East Bay, just north of San Francisco, and it has a lot of great hikes. One of most impressive falls in the Marin county is Cataract falls.
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| Cataract falls |
The great point about this Cataract Falls trail is that there are many continuous falls along the falls. There is dense forest covered by moss, because it is wet area. The forest plus falls makes the scenery quite unique and beautiful. This wet beauty is rare in California, especially in the drought years. Since I had arrived in California, drought got worse and worse. Then Cataract falls became smaller and smaller. However, even those drought years, the beauty was there. This is one of few places where you can see many falls in such a short distance in California.
Now living in New England, I found similar New England-ish features in the pictures of Cataract falls. Mossy trees, and rocky trails. Falls here and there near the rocks. Such stuff is found everywhere in New Hampshire. It was actually a surprising finding, to be honest. I don't know why only this portion has similar characteristic views in Marin County.
Actually, this moist views with streams, moss, and rocks are often seen in Japan as well.
It makes sense this kind of scenery comes from climate with rainy season, humid summer, fall, then winter. However it is quite rare in California. AND, that is why Cataract Falls is so popular for Bay Area hikers.
If you have never been to, it is highly recommended: it is beautiful.
カタラクト滝は カリフォルニア州ベイエリアのマリン地区で最も人気のあるハイキングの一つだ。マリン地区はイーストベイ、サンフランシスコからゴールデンゲートブリッジを渡った北側にあたる。
このカタラクト滝がすごいのはは一つだけでなく、数え切れないほどたくさんの滝がここのこの場所数キロに渡って集中していることだ。そのたくさんの滝を合わせてカタラクト滝と呼んでいる。写真はそのうちの一つ。すごく綺麗な滝だ。
深い森の中にこんな滝が次々と現れるハイクはなかなか歩きごたえがある。木々に囲まれやや暗めの森。その木々は苔に覆われ、森の地面にはシダが。岩も苔で緑になっている。この濡れた森がとても綺麗で魅力的。
カリフォルニアの干ばつの真っ只中でさえこのような滝とみずみずしい森が見れるのだから、ここが人気がないはずがない。サンフランシスコの近くで滝の見るハイクはあまりないのでここは本当に人気だ。
現在ニューイングランドに引っ越してきてから改めてカタラクト滝の写真を見てみると、なんだかニューイングランドのハイキングに似ていることに気づいた。というか、間違えてもおかしくないくらい似ている。湿気に満ちた森。苔の生した木々と岩。そこかしこに流れるせせらぎ。カリフォルニア全体の中でニューイングランドに似ているところがあるとすればカタラクト滝くらいかもしれない。さらに、この湿気に満ちた森、日本の山にも似ている。そう考えるとなぜマリン地区のこの部分だけがこういった森になっているのか不思議だ。
何はともあれ、もし行ったことがなければ是非カタラクト滝をチェックしてみることをオススメする。
2019-07-21
Baldface Loop
<Japanese version is after English: 日本語は英語の後にあります>
This super HOT Saturday, we went hiking in South and North Baldface loop in White mountains, New Hampshire.
HOT HOT HOT! It was 38C (100F).
Total 9 miles, 3330 feet elevation gain.
We started at route13, via Baldface circle trail. There are south and north baldface (two mountain tops). First destination was South Baldface. 5 minutes after I started hiking, I already got sweat. First 2 miles was in the forest and mostly in the shade, but I was sweaty all the time.
Good thing was I brought frozen water bottles. To freeze 500 mL water bottle completely, you need to put it in the freezer at least for 48 hours. Wednesday night is the deadline to put water bottles in the freezer. I bring frozen bottles in a cooler box to a trailhead. Then I transfer bottles into my backpack at the trailhead. Because it was so hot, water started melting immediately. I get thirsty immediately, so all good. It was helpful to have cold water and wet my throat time to time.
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| Rocky trail |
After getting out of forest, now rocky portion. This is a typical pattern of New England hike. Forest--steep rocky part--top. The left picture is the section of rocky trail.
This was the toughest section of the day. I regretted a little why I came hiking on a day of heat wave.
However, after this section was not bad.
Now we reached the top of South Baldface.
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| South Baldface |
Luckily due to the heatwave in New England, there was nobody at the top. This is unusual and nice. Some winds made me feel cool at the summit. I ate half of sandwich and saved the other half for the next summit. To go to North Baldface, one needs to go down and then go up, but this time going up was not that hard.
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| North Baldface |
At the north Baldface, again nobody was there. All 360 view was ours. It was nice. We fell asleep after lunch and snack. It was a great nap.
In the distance the highest mountain in New England, Mt.Washington was visible.
Fully enjoyed the views and we started descending. On the way back, there is a pool for swimming. Mr.N found it on Google and brought a swimsuit. He swam and I waded. It was refreshing.
Then finally, on the way back to Boston, we stopped our favorite ice cream shop, Sandwich creamery. They don't sell sandwiches, it is in the town of Sandwich. Their style is interesting. There is a small cabin in the middle of nowhere, literally in the forest. There are several freezers in the cabin. Nobody there, you take ice cream, you put cash into a slot. Their ice cream is HBF (high fat butter). We brought a huge cooler with ice packs. Now we have ice cream for whole summer!
今週末ニューハンプシャー州、ボールドフェイスにハイキングへ。
この日はとにかく暑かった。３８度！！！
１５キロ、１０１５メートルの登り。
まずはボールドサークルトレールからサウスボールドフェースを目指す。最初の数キロは森の中で直の日差しがないのにもかかわらずとにかく暑くてすぐに汗びっしょりになった。やはり３８度は暑すぎる。
この日は凍らせた水のボトルを５本持ってきていたので冷たい水が飲めて助かった。冷凍庫で完全に５００mlの水が凍るには２日かかるので水曜の夜までにはボトルを用意しておくことが重要。クーラーボックスでトレールヘッドまで持ってきてそこからバックパックへ移した。すぐに水は溶け始めるがすぐに水を飲みたくなるのでちょうどいい。
森を通り過ぎると今度は岩場。足と手を駆使して登っていく。ここはこの日一番辛いところだった。なにせいきなり強い日差しが来るし、岩はでかいしで汗だくだくになった。ヒートウェーブの日にハイクするんじゃなかったかなぁなどとも思ったがここを越えると特に問題もなし。とにかく暑すぎるのでハイクしてる人もおらず（笑、眺めを独り占めできたのは最高だった。
２枚目の写真がサウスボールドフェースからの眺め。いい眺めだ。そして２枚目がノースボールドフェースからの眺め。ノースボールドフェースでは昼寝をした。気持ち良かった！
そして下りの途中で川に入りリフレッシュ。冷たくて気持ちいい。
最後、ボストンへの帰り道にお気に入りのアイスクリーム屋に寄り道。ここは森の中にあるアイスクリーム屋で無人のお店。冷凍庫にアイスクリームが置いてありとってお金をスロットに入れる仕組み。牧場のアイスクリーム屋だけあって濃厚で美味しいのだ。どでかいクーラーボックスを持参し、この一夏分のアイスクリームをゲットしたのだった。
2019-07-18
Stevens Creek Trail
日本語は英語の後にあります。
Stevens creek originates in the Santa Cruz Mountains on the west side of Black Mountain in Rancho San Antonio. It goes to the Stevens Creek Reservoir and also a branch runs north through Cupertino to Mountain View and finally ends at San Francisco Bay.
There is a Stevens Creek Trail from Shoreline Park in Mountain View along the Stevens Creek to El Camino in Mountain View. The entire distance is now about six miles. Since 1990 the trail has been extending, and eventually it will be connected to the origin of Stevens Creek in Rancho San Antonio.
I run this trail from time to time. I see a lot of local people enjoying the trail by running, walking, biking, and just relaxing watching the scenery. This part is along the San Francisco Bay, so the view is great. You can see the dry mountains in the East Bay across the water. The contrast of blue sea and brown mountains makes an interesting scene. This area is surrounded by slough, so you can enjoy seeing the natural habitat, for especially several kinds of birds. This is why this is a part of a nature study area.
This trail is in the natural habitat area, but at the same time, it is surrounded by a lot of famous industries and institutes, such as Google, Microsoft, Linkedin, NASA research area, and Moffett Field.
The view and the industries give me a sense I am in the Bay Area. When I am running in this area, I always feel how lucky I am. Not everyone is able to have an opportunity to live in a foreign country. When I am living in the Bay Area, I almost forget that how fortunate I am to be able to experience another country, because so many people here are from other places. However, the vast majority of people in the world are never able to live in different countries. I should appreciate all the people who support me.
I like Stevens Creek not only because it is scenic but also because it gives me an opportunity to think about a lot of things.
スティーブンスクリークトレイルはカリフォルニア、サンタクルーズマウンテン、ブラックマウンテンの近くから始まり、スティーブンスクリーク貯水池へと繋がる。さらに枝分かれしたスティーブンスクリークトレイルはクパチーノ市、マウンテンビュー市を通り、サンフランシスコベイまで続く。ほとんどが舗装されたトレイルで、自転車、ランニング、ウォーキング等にローカルな人々に広く使われる人気のトレイルだ。山から始まり市街を通り抜けそして、半分以上がサンフランシスコベイの脇を通っている。
このスティーブンスクリークを私はおそらく200回は走っただろう。私が走ったのはマウンテンビューからパロアルトの部分だ。海（ベイ）沿いなので景色も良い。ベイの向こう側にはイーストベイの山が見える。
そしてこのエリアはテック系の会社も多い。このエリアは、グーグル、マイクロソフト、リンクトインなどを走り抜けることになる。そしてNASAの研究所もある。すごいエリアだ。
スティーブンスクリークトレイルを走っていると、あー私はベイアリア・シリコンバレーに住んでいるんだ！という実感が湧いてくる。そしてここに住めるのがなんと幸運なんだろうという気持ちになる。
日々の研究でそういったことは忘れがちになるが、ベイ沿いを走っているとそういった感謝の気持ちが湧いてくる。
2019-07-16
Kayaking on Grafton Pond
<Japanese version is after English: 日本語は英語の後にあります>
We went kayaking on Grafton Pond in New Hampshire.
The highlight of this kayaking was baby loons!
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| Activity log |
This lake has nests of loons and it is protected well. Some portion of the pond is prohibited from entering by kayaking or boats. There is a lake host sitting on the boat launching area and she was checking everyone's kayak, canoe, or boat and making sure any residue from previous activity is contaminating into the pond. To be honest, we thought at first "dammit they are collecting money", but turned out to be free.
The entire kayaking was about 5 miles. I recorded 2 miles of the kayaking. The word, pond sounds small, but actually this pond is big. Some local people came here for kayaking, canoeing, and fishing. Some people are laying down on the shore to tan and chat.
When we started kayaking, the lake host said that three baby loons were hatched a week before. I was excited about seeing baby loon on mother's back.
The baby loons we saw were probably different ones who were born last week, because they were already swimming. However, they were with still fluffy puffy fur. Two adults and two babies were swimming together.
The babies are cute! Probably a little too big to be on mother's back.
Someday I really want to see little babies on mother loon back.
土曜日にニューハンプシャー州にあるグラフトンポンドへカヤックへ行った。今回ほハイライトはルーンの赤ちゃんを見たこと！
このポンドにはルーンの巣があり、保護地区になっている。ポンドの一部はカヤックやボートが立ち入り禁止になっている（その区域にたくさん巣があるため）。さらにレイクホスト（ボートやカヤックを乗り入れるところにいる人）がカヤックやカヌーをチェックし前回行った湖からの植物や水が残っていないかをチェックする。そういったものが持ち込まれるとこの湖の環境を変化させる恐れがあるからだ。レイクホストがいたのでお金を徴収されるのかと思ったが、、ボランティアだった。レイクホストによると先週３匹の赤ちゃんが孵化したそうだ。
この池の周りを一周カヤックすると約７、５キロ。ポンド（池）と言っても広い。最初の写真は最初の３キロ程度を記録したもの。
そしてルーンの赤ちゃんを発見！大人と違って茶色のふわふわした毛。かわいい。。赤ちゃんだがもう泳いでいるので１週齢の赤ちゃんではないと思われる。母鳥の背中に乗るのには重すぎるようだ（笑
まだ泳げない年齢の赤ちゃんルーンは母鳥の背中に乗って移動するらしいので、是非ともいつかそれを見たいものだ。
2019-07-14
Training: BODYPUMP 109 Review
Training is essential to stay as a strong hiker who can go deep into the wilderness.
Training does not sound fun? For me it is fun, especially BODYPUMP is so much fun.
I am soooo into BODYPUMP, and actually addicted. As I wrote before here at How to Stay in Shape for Big Hiking in this blog, I go to BODYPUMP class at least once a week, often twice a week.
BODYPUMP is a whole body workout with barbell or hand weights, or just body weight. Workout is 1 hour and consists of 10 tracks. Each track focuses on one muscle group (detail will be below). You carry relatively lighter weight and do repetitive workout, such as deadlift, clean and presses, overhead presses. This program is invented by Les Mills, a New Zealand company.
The unique feature of BODYPUMP is doing workout with music. That's why it is much more fun. Les Mills releases new version every three months. Each version has different music set, and different patterns of workout.
Here I will review version 109.
Track1: Warmup
Music: Jackie Chan by Tiësto & Dzeko ft. Preme & Post Malon
This is very typical set and there is not much new movement at ver109. I like the music.
Track2: Squats
Music: Natural by Imagine Dragons
There is new movement, pausing at the bottom. Pausing at the bottom means more work to back to stand up position, so 109 is considered harder according to Les Mills. However, I don't think it is hard. I personally think 108 is harder. Maybe I am getting stronger, or squats is using my strongest muscle group, so it might be different feeling for others. Music is okay, I wish it was more faster beat one. This music is kind of slow for BODYPUMP.
Track3: Chest
Music: Satisfied by Galantis feat. Max
Chest track is interesting. There is innovation: walking pushups. I don't know, is this a New Zealand thing? Anyway, it is a little tough but not too bad. For me, using bar is the most challenging part at chest track, so ver109 chest track is not too hard for me. I like the beat and rhythm of music.
Track4: Back
Music: The Island Pt. 1 (Dawn) [Skrillex Remix] by Pendulum
There is new movement. Pulling the bar from knee height to chest in one movement. The sounds and beat for the new movement part is really good.
Track5: Triceps
Music: I Like It by Up & Aside
Personally I think 109's triceps is hard. A lot of triceps pushups. Music does not really much with the track.
Track6: Biceps
Music: Shadowboxer by Good Charlotte
It is not too tough or easy, as expected. I like Good Charlotte, but this song is too slow for BODYPUMP. Biceps are not my strongest muscles, so more fast beat music helps.
Track7: Lunges
Music: The In Between by Elephante feat. Anjulie
This is a new (I think very old versions had it) movement, at least for me, using bench for lunges. I don't think using bench adds extra challenge. Maybe because legs are stronger in my muscle group. Also half of the lunge track is actually squats. I know much harder lunge track in other versions. 109's lunge track music is really good. I listen to music while lunge track and it really boosts my strength for lunges.
Track8: Shoulders
Music: Blah Blah Blah by Armin van Buuren
Rotation fly is still here as appeared in ver108. Shoulder track is always tough for me, so this one is also tough. What makes it tougher is the music. Weird. Blah blah blah for BODYPUMP? Not sure.
Track9: Abs
Music: Complicated by Mura Masa & NAO
I like the music, but I am not really convinced. "Complicated" reminds me of Avril Lavigne's song. I believe Avril's song is more famous as "Complicated". I love Avril's Complicated, so during ab track, I am always thinking Avril's song is better if using Complicated, and actually that helps to forget the toughness of ab track.
Track10: Stretch
Music: Deep End by Daughtry
Stretch is desert for the workout. Feels good with any music. This song is relaxing is slow, which is perfect for cooling down.
Overall, I like version 109. It is hard but I think it is not the toughest version.
Some new movements makes it more interesting, but personally I like really tough version to become stronger.
2019-07-12
Sanborn County Park Day Hiking
日本語は英語の後にあります。
Sanborn County Park is a beautiful park with redwoods. The park is in the Santa Cruz mountains, in the city of Saratoga.
Redwoods are iconic trees in California. Redwoods are found in Northern California and Sierra Nevada in California. Some are also found in coastal Oregon. Other than than, there is anywhere else in the U.S. Living in the Bay Area is really lucky: you can have tremendous opportunities to see redwoods.
Redwoods are very tall. Diameters are really big, because they can live thousands of years. In the redwood forest, you can smell their nice scents. It is relaxing. In the forest, no direct sunlight and cool. It makes me feel calm.
Sanborn park has many redwoods and oak. You can hike here in the woods peacefully, since not many people are hiking there.
I always like to have lunch in the quiet forest. This is a nice local park.
以前にレッドウッド国立公園へキャンプへ行った記事を書いた。レッドウッド国立公園には莫大な数の、というか全世界に存在する半分程度のレッドウッドがあるらしい。 しかしレッドウッドは北カリフォルニアの海岸沿いに広く分布している。そしてシエラのセコイアキングスキャニオン国立公園にもある。そう、レッドウッドはカリフォルアニアの至る所にあるのだ。
実際、カリフォルニアのベイエリアにも意外とたくさんのレッドウッドがある。なんとサウスベイ・シリコンバレーにもレッドウッドを誇る公園が意外と何個もあるのだ。その一つがサンボーン・カウンティパーク。カウンティーパークは地域の公園だ。ここはサラトガ市の近くにあるローカルな公園でレッドウッズの森の中にトレイルがたくさんある。
なんとなく、レッドウッド国立公園や、セコイア・キングスキャニオンにばかり目がいってしまうが、こんなに近くにあるレッドウッズ、行かない手はない。カリフォルニア住民は本当に恵まれている。
このサンボーン公園はレッドウッズ森のそばにピックニックエリアがありバーベキューなどをすることもできる。誰かが引っ越してしまう時など、何度かここでお別れ会バーベキューをしたりもした。
このレッドウッドの森の良いところはやはりとても静かなところだろう。例えばセコイア国立公園でシャーマンツリーを見るとなると常に誰かが木と写真を撮っていたり、セルフィーしてる人がいたりとせわしない。どうも静かに佇んでレッドウッズを眺めるということが難しい。ここのサンボーンだと、１０分もハイクすると誰もいないのだ。ローカルな人はほとんどバーベキューエリアに入り浸りで５分くらいしか歩かないので、森の中でレッドウッズの雰囲気をまさに独り占め状態で満喫することができる。
１枚目の写真はランチ休憩の場所から撮ったもの。土の上に座りランチを食べながら木を見上げる。贅沢だなぁ。そしてレッドウッズの森の土はすごく柔らかく、クッションみたいなのだ。気持ちよすぎてランチの後、横になって昼寝までしてしまった。
レッドウッドの森、大好きだ。
2019-07-10
Kayaking in Medfield
We went kayaking on Charles river in Medfield. Medfield is a southwest of Boston. It takes about 50 minutes of driving from Boston.
Charles river is famous in Boston, but that same Charles river is in the Medfield, too. Much quieter and in the forests in Medfield.
On lazy Saturday, I slept in, then went to BODYPUMP class at the gym. Then, we went kayaking. The weather forecast was rain and thunder, but it hadn't come yet. Accuweather said at least 3 hours free of raining, so we got outside.
After BODYPUMP, I hadn't had food: so I ate on the water. Egg and vege sandwich. Tastier on the water.
Luckily we saw two muskrats swimming on the river. Also I saw an entrance of their home! There is grass on the entrance. It looks comfortable home. How cute.
Then the app told us the thunderstorm was going to come in 1 hour, we headed back. We noticed that the kayak air pressure was lower than usual (our kayak is inflatable kayak). So same paddling strength made it slower than usual.
After back home, Mr.N heard hissing noise from kayak and put a patch on the hole. Now it was fixed...however, now it is a concern to go further from the launching area.
We are debating the future directions.
Options are:
1. Tell REI it was less than 1 year after purchase and see if there is product's problem.
2. Purchase normal plastic type kayak
3. Don't care and kayak with this inflatable kayak
To be determined....
先週の土曜日はメッドフィールド市のチャールスリバーにカヤックへ出かけた。メッドフィールドはボストンの南西にある小さな市だ。車でボストンからは約５０分ほど。
チャールスリバーといえばボストン市内を流れる川として有名だが川は長く、メッドフィールドの方まで続いている。ボストンのチャールスリバーと比べてここでのカヤックは静かだ。
この日の土曜日は雷雨の予報だったのでいつもより朝遅くまで寝てその後ジムでボディパンプのクラスに参加（ボディパンプは全身の筋肉を鍛えるプログラム）。そしてジムから帰った後もまだ雨も降っていなかったのでカヤックへ出かけることにした。
お昼を食べ損ねたのでカヤックでサンドイッチを頬張る。カヤックの上だといつも以上に美味しい。
マスクラットが２匹ほど泳いでいた。可愛い。泳いで行った方を見ると岸辺にマスクラットのおうちが。入り口には草で作られたカーペットが。居心地良さそう。
３マイルほど進んだところで１時間半後に雷雨が来るとのアラームがあり、引き返すことにした。そこでカヤックがいつもより空気の圧力が低いことに気づいた。カヤックが通常より沈みがちだったのだ。穴が空いているのかも？カヤックが沈みがちなせいで漕いでもスピードがあまり出ない。（我々のカヤックは空気を入れるインフレータブルのタイプ）
この日は特に問題もなくローンチングエリアに戻ってきたが、家に帰って小さな穴が空いているのを発見した。
今後どうするか。。。購入したお店に文句を言うか。。新しいインフレータブルでないカヤックを買うか、パッチを貼って修理はできたのでこのまま気にせず使うか。。。
悩むところだ。
2019-07-08
Mount Adams
Completed all the peaks in the Presidential range.
July 4th, we climbed Mount Adams. Mount Adams is one of the peaks in the Presidential range in New Hampshire.
Distance: 8.68 miles (14 km)
Elevation gain: 4206 feet (1282 meters)
Route:Lowe's path, Kings Ravine trail, Airline trail, then Lowe's path
July 4th is a holiday in the United States. It is an independence day. So why not hiking?!
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| trailhead |
Because of holiday we chose the route that is not popular: the longer way to the summit. People in New England have tendency to hike up to the top via the shortest way.
Trailhead's sign is in the left picture. We hiked up via Lowe's path. Trailhead does not have a parking, but there is a large parking across the road at Lowe's store as you can see stated at the sign. This particular Lowe's store is not the large chain of Lowe's in many shopping malls, but it is a small gas station store.
According to the sign near the trailhead, Lowe's path was built by a man named Lowe (his last name) in 1875-76.
After first 1.6 mile walking of Lowe's path, the loop portion starts. This is a "lollipop" hike, meaning first portion is out and back (stick of lollipop), then after that part is a loop (candy portion).
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| Mossy Falls |
On the trail there is a pretty falls: it is on the mossy rocks. Indeed the official name of the falls is Mossy Falls. When water flows on a soft fluffy green moss, the flow looks more smooth and water looks softer. Sun came into the forest between trees and shines the falls. It was a perfect reflection.
 |
| This is the trail |
The loop portion is via Kings Ravine Trail. First it was gentle climb. The last 1 mile to the top is really butt kicker! 2000 feet climb in 1 mile.
There was a party resting before the tough portion and they were saying that only 1 mile to the top. However, they looked tired and unhappy. We never saw them again (we took a loop and they might do out and back, but most likely they didn't finish the rocky portion).
The trail is like off-trail (the above picture). You can see the trail mark on the rock (orange paint). Also a pile of rock are in the picture on the upper portion. This lasts for 2000 feet!
After 4.5 hours of hiking for 4.5 miles, finally we reached the top. 1 mile per hour. This is like off-trail pace: however, this was like off-trail on trail, so it was okay. In New England, I realized that California is a "nanny state" (Mr.N taugut me this term). CA has always switch-backs for climbing steep portion even at Mt.Whitney. Never in New England.
Mount Washington was visible from Mt.Adams. There is an autoroad to the top at Mt.Washington. The road was visible from Mt.Adams. It was visible the teeny tiny cars driving up the mountain. It was funny.
It seems like normal people take off July 4th and drive up mountain and eat pizza at the top. Then stay at hotel or cottage and go to nice restaurant. For us, we went to Chipotle, but it was closed due to 4th of July. Damn. We ate ramen at home, which was delicious.
７月４日はアメリカでは祝日。独立記念日だ。とはいっても今年は木曜日が休み。金曜は普通に仕事があるので、４日にデイハイクへ出かけた。
この日はプレジデンシャル山脈のマウントアダムス。プレジデンシャル（大統領の）山脈は歴代大統領の名前のついた山々からなる山脈でニューハンプシャー州にある。マウントアダムスを登ると全ての プレジデンシャル山脈の山を登ったことになる。
ハイキングは以下の通り。
距離: 14 km
標高差: 1282メートル
ルート: Lowe's path, Kings Ravine trail, Airline trail, then Lowe's path
ハイキングはLowe's pathからスタート。途中でモシィ滝（日本語訳すると苔の滝）を見た。すごく綺麗だ。苔の生えた岩を滝が流れていく。滝がソフトで滑らかに見える。木漏れ日があたって和やかな雰囲気を醸し出している。我々以外誰もおらず水の音だけが山の中に響いていた。美しい滝だ。
なだらかな登りからスタートだったが最後の1.5キロがやばかった。1.5キロで９００メートルの登り。ロッククライミング状態だ。３枚目の写真がその様子。岩についているオレンジ色のインクがトレイルを示すサイン。オフトレイルと変わらない。。。そして岩の上の方に岩がコーンのようになっているのが見える、それもトレイルを示すもの。ニューイングランドのトレイルは容赦ない。カリフォルニアだとスイッチバックでトレイルを作ってくれてあるのだが。。。ここではただ単にストレートに上に登っていくのだ。
そして５時間後にようやく頂上へ。７キロに５時間もかかった。ぎゃー。きつい。見渡しはパーフェクトではなかったが満足。やはりプレジデンシャル山脈は眺めがいい。
そして帰りにメキシコ料理のファーストフード店（ Chipotle）へ行ったが独立記念日で休み（とほほ）だったので家でラーメンを茹でて食べた。
2019-07-05
Gear Review -Exped AirPillow UL
Gear Review -Exped AirPillow UL
Brand: Exped
Price: $30-35 depending on a retail
Weight: 1.6 ounce = 45 gram
A couple of months ago, I went backpacking in White Mountains in New Hampshire. It was in winter and of course it was cold!
In the tent I wore all the layers I brought, I rolled into a sleeping bag. I was still cold. So I literally slept by rolling.
Next day my neck hurt. Only left side hurt. I was sure it was because I slept in a bad position.
I had gotten neck pains from sleeping wrong several times. I thought that this time was the same. Actually I believed it was the same, but I had a mistake. I massaged neck and shoulder. It was bad and make it prolonged to recover from neck pain.
Indeed the severe neck pain lasted for 2 weeks. Then slight neck pain followed 2 more weeks.
From this experience, I realized how important to have a good sleep in wilderness. You never know you wear all your cloths and no more stuff to use for a pillow.
So, AirPillow UL.
I really like this.
UL is ultralight.
People might say if you are ultralight, why do you bring pillow which is not absolutely necessary? Answer is pillow is needed! The sleeping position affects the body condition. With severe neck pain it is hard to go backpacking. It is better to have a good sleep.
This is realultralight. Only 1.6 ounce, meaning 45 grams, and so small.
You can see how small it is in the sack in the left picture.
After taking it out from the sack, you inflate the pillow. It takes only 1 or 2 seconds.
After inflated, it is ready. The second picture is the one after inflated.
I have used other type of backpacking pillow, which was down one.
Down pillow is nice but it takes much more space in a backpack. Also it is not as high as this airpillow. I felt I didn't have anything on that thin down pillow. However, that was given by a person, so it was old and worn out, so new models currently available might be nice.
Anyway, carrying backpacking ultralight pillow is totally worth it and you will have a comfortable sleep.
ギアレビュー：AirPillow UL エアピロー（エア枕）ウルトラライト
ブランド: Exped エクスペド
値段: ３０−３５ドル（３０００円程度）
重さ：４５グラム
数ヶ月前にホワイトマウンテン・ニューハンプシャー州でバックパッキングした。まだ冬だったので寒かった。夜テントに入り持っていったジャケットを全部着て寝袋に潜り込んだがそれでも寒く丸まって寝た。
寝違えた。
首が痛い！
普段も寝違えることはあるので、同じだろうと思っていたら大変なことになった。最大のミスは首をマッサージしたこと。強いマッサージで逆に首の炎症を悪化させることになった。２週間ほどすごく痛い日が続き、そしてさらに２週間軽い痛みが続いた。ぎゃー。大変だった。
で、バックパッキングでも枕はやっぱり重要だと気付いたのだ。そこでエア枕のレビュー。
このエア枕のモデルは ウルトラライト。ウルトラライトなバックパッカーがなぜ荷物を増やすか？と言われるかもしれない。しかし、上に述べた通りきちんとした体勢での睡眠は重要だ。次の日のハイキング、そしてその後１ヶ月ものハイキングにも影響するからだ。
このエア枕、軽いし小さい。１枚目の写真にあるように空気が入ってない状態でサックに入れると片手の中にすっぽり収まるコンパクトさ。
そして空気を入れた後が２枚目の写真。
ダウンの素材のバックパッキング用の枕も使ったことがあるがエア枕に比べるとかさばるし、エア枕ほど高さがないので首にはあまり良くない（個人的には合わなかった）。その枕は昔のモデルなので仕方ない。現在は様々なバックパッキング用枕が出ているのでダウンでも良いものもあるとは思うが。
自分にあったものを探すのは大変だが、バックパッキング用の枕を持っていくのはおすすめ。
2019-07-02
Kayaking in Whitehall State Park
<Japanese version is after English 日本語は英語の後にあります>
There are many places to kayak in New England.
This time we went out for kayaking on the reservoir in Whitehall State Park, which is located in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.
Hopkinton is a city about 30 miles west of Boston. I had heard about this town before moving to Boston. Actually only two cities I knew in Massachusetts were Boston and Hopkinton. Why Hopkinton? Because it is a starting point of Boston Marathon. My friend used to tell me about this town while our Friday's morning runs. It took 40 minutes to drive to Hopkinton from Boston. I was thinking, "Wow. Boston marathoners run fast! Elite runners can run the distance of 40-minute drive in less than three hours!"
On this day the weather forecast was rain with thunderstorm. So our original plan was not going outside. However, it was not raining in the morning. Why not kayaking then!
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| Whitehall State Park |
We went to the Whitehall State Park and started kayaking. Surprisingly some people were fishing out there. Probably two or three fishing boats were there.
The lake was interesting. As you can see in the left picture many leaves were floating. Also it is hard to see from the picture, but there are very dense plants inside the lake. It looked like there was another forest in the underwater world. The dense plants in the water should be moose's favorite food. I wish they were in Mass.
These leaves on the water have two kinds of flowers. Some yellow, some white. 
Flowers on the water is really nice. Especially seeing them from kayak on the water.
On the contrary of the weather forecast, blue sky emerged (right picture). It was nice to see unexpected blue sky. However soon after we heard the thunder sound in the distance. We kayaked out along the shore, but immediately we kayaked back straight to the dock. It was much shorter if go straight back. Luckily we deflate and got in the car, the first rain dropping came.
On the way back home, we stopped a coffee shop in Hopkinton. The table was a chess table and I played the chess for the first time. Next time, I WILL beat Mr.N.
ニューイングランドはカヤックする場所がたくさんある。湖、川、貯水池など。
今回はマサチューセッツ州ホプキントン市にあるホワイトホール州立公園の貯水池でカヤック。
ホプキントンはボストンの約４５キロ西に位置する市。この市のことはボストンに引っ越す前から知っていた。決して大きい市ではないが、マサチューセッツ州で知っている市はボストンとホプキントンの２つだけだったのだ。
理由は、ホプキントンはボストンマラソンのスタート地点だからだ。ラン仲間と毎週金曜朝のランニンングでよくボストンマラソンの話をしたものだ。ボストンからホプキントンまでは車でも４０分かかるのにこれを３時間以内で走ってしまうエリートランナーはすごいものだ。
この日の天気予報は雨＋雷だったので当初はアウトドアアクティビティは控える予定だったのだが、朝起きて見ると曇りだが雨は降っていなかったので急遽カヤックすることにしたのだ。
誰もいないかと思ったが意外にもこのホワイトホールの貯水池ではすでに何艘かの釣りボートで釣りをしている人たちがいた。
池には葉っぱがたくさん浮かんでいる。名前は知らないが趣がある植物だ。この植物、黄色や白の花をつけていて綺麗だった（１、２、３枚目の写真）そして写真では見れないが池の中もたくさんの植物が。松の木のような植物が水の中にたくさん茂っている。まるで水の中に森があるようだ。ムース（大鹿）がいたらここはパラダイスだろうな。残念ながらマサチューセッツ州ではもう大鹿はいない。ニューハンプシャーやメイン州にはたくさんいるらしいが、まだ見たことはない。
そうこうしていると青空が見えて来た。予想外の青空はなかなか良い。
しかし予想外に今度は遠くから雷の音が聞こえてきた。池の湖岸沿いをずっとカヤックしていたが、雷を聞いた瞬間に一直線でボートデックに引き返す。直線だとかなり距離は短い。カヤックを片付けて車に乗ると大粒の雨がフロントガラスに落ちてきた。グッドタイミング！
帰りにコーヒー屋で一服。コーヒー屋のテーブルがチェステーブルだったので初めてチェスをしてみた。難しい。。。次こそMrNに勝つ！
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