Twenty-years ago today, February 13th, 1999, I directed the second event of the 1999 Southern New England Snowshoe Series (which became the WMAC Dion Snowshoe Series).  

This time it was in Bigelow Hollow State Park, Union, Connecticut.  There was not enough snow to use our snowshoes, but a 5km running event did take place with 26 starters and finishers!  The event was then, and forever will be known as...

1st Frigid Figure Eight 5KM (Lack of Snow) Shoe Race
February 13th, 1999 - Union, Connecticut

We never returned to Bigelow Hollow for an official snowshoe race, but we have snowshoed regularly at this beautiful location for more than twenty-years.  Thanks to the Old Goat for setting up the alternative course on race day, it's good to have friends!

It's a great day to remember a trail pal, Dusty.

Wuzzam, Dusty and my Pop's Old Truck at Monroe

Music 2019...

Effort #07, "I'm a Man", the Bo Diddley classic, as performed at Maziarz Garage in 1984, by the Primitives.

Continued with the long-run plan, visited Northern Nipmuck with Wuzzam and the Old Goat for 11.9-miles of awesome single track running.

Wuzzam and the Old Goat along the Nipmuck

Wuzzam and the Old Goat along the Nipmuck

Wuzzam on the final descent

Visited the Granby Land Trust "Mary Edwards" property, rambled on for 3-miles.

East Hill north of Ring Brook

Large rock on East Hill north of Ring Brook

Large Rock on the East Hill north of Ring Brook

3.1-miles along the Metacomet from Route 20 north.  Warm, and a bit muddy.

Black Lizard / Vintage Crime #6 for 2019.  Switched up to read a different author, Peter Rabe, and "Kill the Boss Goodbye".  This was written in 1956.

Music 2019...

Effort #06, "Needle and the Spoon", sent to me from my Road Warriors for Christ partner, the Reverend.  Wonderfully, and somewhat surprisingly, we are both still making "music" thirty years after we originally played together.

This is the Lynyrd Skynyrd song solo from the Reverend...

We have a trip to the Newark Earthworks planned for April of this year...  I am attaching a video that is really informative, and I am really looking forward to the trip.

Information from the Newark Earthworks website state that the Newark Earthworks are the largest set of geometric earthen enclosures in the world. Already a National Historic Landmark, in 2006, the State of Ohio designated the Newark Earthworks as "the official prehistoric monument of the state." 

The Newark Earthworks were built by people of the ancient Hopewell Culture between 100 B.C. and 500 A.D., this architectural wonder of ancient America was part cathedral, part cemetery and part astronomical observatory. The entire Newark Earthworks originally encompassed more than four square miles. Over the years, the growth of the city of Newark destroyed many of the Newark Earthworks, but three major segments survived because of the efforts of interested local citizens:

Great Circle Earthworks: Formerly known as Moundbuilders State Memorial, the Great Circle Earthworks is nearly 1,200 feet in diameter and was likely used as a vast ceremonial center by its builders. The 8 feet (2.4 m) high walls surround a 5 feet (1.5 m) deep moat, except at the entrance where the dimensions are even greater and more impressive.

Octagon Earthworks: Enclosing 50 acres, the Octagon Earthworks has eight walls, each measuring about 550 feet long and from five to six feet in height. The Octagon Earthworks are joined by parallel walls to a circular embankment enclosing 20 acres. 

Wright Earthworks: This earthwork consists of a fragment of a geometrically near-perfect square enclosure and part of one wall that originally formed a set of parallel embankments, which led from the square to a large oval enclosure. Originally, the sides of the Newark square ranged from about 940 to 950 feet in length, and they enclosed a total area of about 20 acres.

While we can never know with any certainty the Hopewells' purpose in designing the earthworks, one theory is that the Hopewell built these earthworks on such a massive scale for astronomical accuracy—long, straight embankments provide longer sight lines that increase the accuracy of astronomical alignments. In 1982, professors Ray Hively and Robert Horn of Earlham College in Indiana discovered that the Hopewell builders aligned these earthworks to the complicated cycle of risings and settings of the moon. They recovered a remarkable wealth of indigenous knowledge relating to geometry and astronomy encoded in the design of these earthworks. The Octagon Earthworks, in particular, are aligned to the four moonrises and four moonsets that mark the limits of a complicated 18.6-year-long cycle.

Black Lizard / Vintage Crime #5 for 2019.  Completed the 6th installment of the Burke series, "Sacrifice", from Andrew Vachss.  Written in 1991.

Met up with Wuzzam and  the Old Goat at Goodwin State Forest for a couple hour run along the beautiful trails maintained and monitored by the Friends of Goodwin State Forest.

Snowshoes were not necessary, and we had a fairly easy time of 9.3-miles.

Ten-Years ago during the winter months, I was able to take a couple of snowmobile rides, reenacting some of the old routes I rode as a young teenager.  

The first ride was on February 3rd, 2009, from Burlingame Hill in Adams to Notch Road in Cheshire.  This included a nice section over Stafford Hill.

The second of the two rides was a bit later, on February 16th, 2009.  This route left from Burlingame Hill. and traveled up to Little Egypt and the Tophet Brook, along the Hoosac Range.

The two rides covered a fairly large chunk of ground, and looking back causes me to wonder about exploring on foot in the near future?  In the meantime, here are the two routes together...

Back to McLean, but with snowshoes.  What a difference, I motored through 6.5-miles of bliss.

Return to running at McLean Refuge in the early afternoon,  Still a bit cold, maybe not even 20-degrees?  I should have worn snowshoes, but I didn't, and each step found me feeling every rough edge and bump along the route.  Managed 4.3-miles, very enjoyable for the mind.

Also, from the archives....   On this day in 1998, the 4th Annual Moby Dick Marathons were held over Greylock. I completed my 17th marathon in 6:19:40, with Johnny Bandit.  It was the second time I wore snowshoes for the 28-mile adventure.  It would be the last time I would snowshoe this distance!

Goals 2019

One Goal I had set for 2018, which is returning for 2019, 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

Music 2019...

Effort #05, "I Had to Tell You", another genius tune from the 13th Floor Elevators.

"... I can hear you voice, Echoing my voice softly.  I can feel your strength. Reinforcing mine."