On the road to avoid the ice-sections the woods possess.  Took myself around the 7-mile Hill Street Loop in 1:06:00.  That was a 6.2 mph average, which I was really pleased with (and surprised).

As I was running, I thought that I should do this loop more often.  If that ends up being the case, I should set a goal of sub 1-hour for the run before the year is over.

After the heavy rain and warmth yesterday I was dreading the conditions in the woods.  I managed 3.8-miles along the trails of McLean, with about 75% of the trails in decently good shape.  The other 25% varied between wet and slushy and difficult slippery ice.

The other thing noticed were  the streams and brooks really exceeded their banks.  The small bridge I usually cross was totally underwater.  The following picture is the flooded bank and trail, a couple hundred feet before the brook.

Drove out to Hoosick, New York with my folks to pick up beef.  Terrible rain and fog throughout the journey.

Sticking with the DAR and Goshen geodatabase, I've added the USGS Topographic Quadrangle Image for Goshen to the geodatabase.

Goals 2018

Of the two Geodatabases I planned on working through this year, DAR State Forest and McLean Reservation, I've begun work on DAR.

The Daughter's of American Revolution State Forest (DAR) is mostly located in the town of Goshen, Massachusetts.  A bit of it does run north into Ashfield, which I'll address soon.

Here is the location of Goshen in relation to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Dolmens and Standing Rocks, Evidence of Ancient Civilizations

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Prosser Public Library - Community Room

I assisted my friend the "Woods Walker" with his program at Bloomfield Library tonight.  We spent a few days looking over his materials and readying a power-point demonstration.

I thought that the presentation went very well, and I enjoyed seeing Geoffrey shine.  I believe we are "on" again at an additional library in February.

Goals 2018

Another Goal I've set for 2018 is to visit a four of Mass Audobon's properties, one per quarter sounds about right.

• High Ledges                                   Shelbourne Falls
• Conway Hills                                 Conway
• Roads End                                      Worthington
• West Mountain                               Plainfield

Music 2018...

Effort #02, I Need You...

Eurythmics...

Another very cold day;  ran around some streets in Suffield, 5.2-miles.


Marathon Archive Department...

On this day in 1996, I participated in the annual "Fat Ass 50" in North Adams, Massachusetts.  It consisted of many loops on the road, on a cold, gray day, and I believe there was a pretty bad snowstorm on the drive home.  I have a time listed of  5:32:35, and I think that was for 26.2 miles - not 50k.  This was my 8th marathon completed.

Single digit cold and very windy;  got out to jog 4.1-miles along Main Street.

Incredibly cold after the snowstorm through yesterday.  Single digits with 20 - 30 mph winds, with drifting through the open areas.

It was later in the afternoon than I had hoped to start snowshoeing, and I didn't know what would be plowed for parking.  I drove to Sunrise Park since it is a favorite location of mine, plus it gets plowed quickly after storms and is close to home.

One pair of tracks was slightly visible in the snow, but the wind obscured and covered the majority of the impressions.  The snow was slippery (very cold and dry) and deep (at least a foot along Whites Pond Shore for the most part, and much deeper when the wind felt like piling on).  I snowshoed the mile around the pond, and then headed back for a 2-mile semi-run.  It was very difficult going out in the deep, unbroken snow.  The cold and wind were bearable.  All in all, a pretty good day.

What Sunrise Park looks like at 8-degrees in January

Today's Route

GOALS 2018

Another Goal I've set for 2018 is to visit a dozen "WilliamsburgWoodland Trails Properties".  I've taken some liberties with a few of the properties not being WWT but close enough to make sense.

While I'm at it with these, I can also make another attempt at locating the 1926 Memorial Plaque set in a rock in Williamsburg / Conway, which I did not find in 2017.  I'll be in the neighborhood on the Henhawk Trail.

This group also makes sense with the mapping / geodatabase for DAR State Forest.  South of the forest there was a snowmobile route that traveled through Tilton Farm Trails, Goshen Open Space, into Bradley, Historic Dam and then Conway State Forest.  I may even pick up Breckenridge and the Devils Den as well from exploring this again (it's been many years).

Here is the Williamsburg Woodland Trails list... 

• Bradley
• Breckenridge
• Big View
• Briar Farm
• Graves Farm
• Hall / O'Neil
• Henhawk
• Historic Dam
• Petticoat Hill / Locke's Loop
• Tilton Farm (North & South), Goshen Open Space
• Lily Pond, Goshen
• Devils Den

Old Marathon Reflections,  This day in 1997... 

Looking back in time, I completed my 13th marathon on this day in 1997.  It was the Grupa Dupa held at the Talcott Mountain State Park, home of the Hueblin Tower.  I believe Tony Weisgram and Janice Kuhl were the organizers of this "Fat Ass 50" type event.  I recall it consisted of loops up and around the tower, but I do not recall how many.  It was 50k, and I recorded a time of 5:11:13.

Goals 2018

One Goal I've set for 2018 is to visit a dozen "The Trustee's of Reservation's properties".  I whittled my list down to eleven, and used as a final twelfth location Keystone Arches, a "non-TTOR site".  This is a spot I want to visit, and it is right in the vicinity of Chesterfield Gorge and Glendale Falls, so it makes sense to include it with this set of "goals".

The Trustee's of Reservations (11 total, plus a bonus site, average one per month)...

• Notchview                                      Windsor
• Bear Swamp                                    Ashfield
• Chapel Brook                                  Ashfield
• Bullet Reservation                          Ashfield
• Bryant Homestead                          Cummington
• Bartholomews Cobble                    Sheffield
• Peaked Mountain                            Monson
• Glendale Falls                                 Middlefield
• Keystone Arches                             Middlefield (non TTOR)
• Chesterfield Gorge                          Chesterfield
• Monument Mountain                      Great Barrington
• Tyringham Cobble                          Tyringham

And from the "Twenty-Years Ago Today" department....

M. SPRINGS & SMILING SNOWMEN

Seeing as we missed out on BD’s FA50 and also TW’s Gruba Dupa, a few leftover wannabees considered multiple loops around the forest of Hawley, specifically Moody Springs. Although we wouldn’t come close to the holiday achievement of 50Km, we did spend a wonderfully long time sampling the unseasonable warm temperatures and deep wet snow that Hawley State Forest had to offer. And oh yes, drink from the spring we did...

The Basin Brook Trail is a particularly beautiful section of this forest during the winter months, so much so we ran it in both directions. There is something wonderfully relaxing and peaceful about running in snow along side a frozen snow covered brook rolling along slowly not in any hurry. Infrequent blast of hot blowing air contrasted sharply with the cold wet pocket of air within the bottom of the steep banks of the brook, causing us to wonder and laugh each time we felt the change of temperature. This was a real charge for us, for at this point of the day each of us was feeling tiredness creep in and our judgment may have been a bit cloudy. As each of us admitted feeling the difference, all became sane again. Well, sort of.

We actually circled Moody Springs twice, filling our bottles and drinking long and deep both times. The shelter had a huge snowman perched on it’s roof, looking out for approaching visitors and greeting them with a welcoming hand raised in salute. None of us could figure out how anyone managed to raise the big balls of snow up onto the roof, but the frosty thing sure did look happy sitting there alone at the magical place known as Moody Springs. Come to think of it, so did we.

MOODY SPRINGS SNOWSHOE RAMBLE I

JANUARY 3, 1998 HAWLEY, MA

K2               12km             5:45

JT                15km             3:05

Keen-Eye    13 miles        3:59

Bandit         13 miles        4:05

Farmer        13 miles        4:05

Music 2018...

Effort #01, Auld Lang Syne...

Just past New Year...

Happy New Year 2018!  Another very cold day, I ventured out to the Metacomet for an easy 3.5-miles from Phelps Road north.

I wrapped up the year with a visit to the West Suffield Quarry, aka Manitook Mountain.  I do not visit here often, as this is only the second or third time in the past twenty-years.  Honestly, I can't get too close to the edge, it is too steep a drop and it slopes downward.  It is an awesome view though.

Used snowshoes until I exited the ridge north of the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail on Quarry Road.  I jumped onto the bike-path before jutting through a field to my landing spot.  3.5-miles for the entirety.

View northeast, Mt Tom & Holyoke Range in distance

  View east, Soapstone slightly visible between the "notch"

Again, east