Walden Pond Walk: Cabin Site of Henry David Thoreau

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。