Black Lizard / Vintage Crime #6 for 2020...  Wild at Heart #2 "59° and Raining:  The Story of Perdita Durango", written in 1992 by Barry Gifford.

I have been re-reading the Wild at Heart collection by Barry Gifford: "Sailor & Lula:  The Complete Novels".  

The Black Lizard book publishing company was founded by Barry Gifford in 1984, and specialized in the reprinting of forgotten crime fiction and noir fiction writers and novels originally released between the 1930's and the 1960's, many of which are now acknowledged as classics of their genres.

Black Lizard was acquired by Random House in 1990, and became Vintage Crime / Black Lizard.

My reading list over the past couple years is an attempt at reading, or re-reading my collection of many of these novels.  It seems appropriate that I include Gifford's novels as well.

First up, recently completed as Black Lizard / Vintage Crime #5 for 2020...  Wild at Heart #1 "Sailor's Holiday:  The Wild Life of Sailor and Lula", written in 1990.

Black Lizard / Vintage Crime #4 for 2020...  "Terminal" from 2007, the 17th and next to the last entry to the Burke novels, by Andrew Vachss.

Black Lizard / Vintage Crime Edition Cover

Alt Cover

Music 2020...

Effort #5,  "Damn Good Sound"...  the third recording from the Dark Heart Duo's Sweating Out Demons Sessions of  July 26th, 2019...

It was going to be a fantastic day to be outdoors, so Wuzzam agreed to meet me to tackle the Hampden to Shenipsit / Whitiker Woods / McCann Farm wander.  Last recent visits were June 23, 2018 and January 19, 2019.

It was glorious running, and we finished strongly with 17.1-miles along much of  K. Simons route for the old "Lost in Hampden" adventures, from 1999 and 2000 era.

Normally, we run from Hampden to Galbreath Road in Somers, but this time we were extending into Soapstone and Shenipsit State Forest.  The "9-Peaks", were modified a bit, as we only climbed the Cooley Pond Hill on the north slope of Pinnacle, and skipped Bald altogether.  We did add the climb up from the bottom of Sodom Road as well as the long steady wind up Gulf Brook Hill.

1. Hampden Overlook, Climbed
2. Goat Rock, Climbed
3. Minnechoag, Climbed
4. 880, Climbed
5. Pine, Climbed
6. Rattlesnake, Climbed
7. Perkins, Climbed
8. Pinnacle, Climbed the Cooley Pond Hill Section only
9. Bald, Skipped
10. Sodom Road, Climbed
11. Gulf Brook Hill, Climbed

View off Hampden Overlook

Looking at Minnechoag from Goat Rock

Climbing Minnichoag

Minnichoag Signage

880 looking east

Looking south toward Pine off 880

Looking east off Pine

At Black Birch Turn climbing Rattlesnake

Top of Perkins at Camp Ayapo

High Stonewall north of Pinnacle and south of Cooley Pond

Along old forest road in Shenipsit in the saddle east of Pinnacle / Bald

Crossing Gulf Brook

Roadside Memorial on Gulf Road

Met up with K2 for my first run with him since May of 2019!  3.1-miles on the Metacomet from Phelps Road north.

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!

Run in to work, 5.5-miles.

Run home from work, 5.5-miles.

"High Points" along the trails I've visited in January 2020.

• West Suffield Mountain, Metacomet Trail, Suffield, CT
• Hank's Hill, Nipmuck Trail, Mansfield, Connecticut
• 50 Foot, Nipmuck Trail, Mansfield, Connecticut
• "Nick's Hill", Metacomet Ridge, West Suffield, CT
• Hart's Pond Hill, Metacomet Trail, Agawam, Massachusetts
• Spring Hill, Nipmuck Trail, Mansfield, Connecticut
• "Balanced Rock Hill",  Shenipsit State Forest
• "Stonewall Hill", Shenipsit State Forest
• "Bent Birch Hill", Shenipsit State Forest
• The Pinnacle, Shenipsit State Forest, Somers, CT
• Bald Mountain, Shenipsit State Forest, Somers, CT

Black Lizard / Vintage Crime #3 for 2020...  "The Locked Room", continued Martin Beck masterpiece by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, this time from 1973.

Black Lizard / Vintage Crime Edition Cover

Euro Version

Music 2020...

Effort #4,  "Belonging"...  the second piece for the Dark Heart Duo's Sweating Out Demons Sessions of  July 26th, 2019...

When will I belong here

Where will I fit in

Standing alone in this darkness

Waiting for sunlight to shine in

I can't feel sorrow anymore

I don't remember any pain

My life's turned so upside down

Deep inside I feel insane

Northern Shenipsit for 10.6-miles with Wuzzam on a really nice day for late January (mid-forties, dry, sunny).  We explored a bit at the start, completed our normal loop to get to Pinnacle, and then took the old path to the west of Bald rather than the Old Shenipsit Trail directly on the ridge to it.

Balanced Rock

Balanced Rock

Wuzzam at the old Whistling Tree (RIP)

Balanced Rock Hill

Stonewall Crossing

Carved Rock with sunbeam

Carved Rock

Twin Birch north of Pinnacle

At Todd Spring

Climbing Bald from the west

Another run through the Mather Loop, due to light rain throughout the day.  Opposite direction from yesterday (clockwise today), 5.2-miles.

5.2-miles just before dark on the Mather Loop.

The New England Trail (NET) offered another round of the Hike 50 Challenge in 2019, and they upped the ante by offering a Hike 100 Challenge as well.

In 2018, 340 of you completed the challenge, logging over 17,000 miles on the New England Trail! With over 1,500 signups from last year we have the feeling that some of you weren't able to complete your miles in 2018. Good news, we are launching a 2019 challenge! New year! Updated challenge!

In 2019, we are celebrating another important milestone on the New England Trail. March 30, 2019 marks the 10th anniversary of the designation of the NET as a National Scenic Trail. To celebrate a decade of adventures on the NET and to build on your momentum from 2018, we are launching a 2019 bonus challenge! In addition to our Hike50 challenge we are offering a Hike100 challenge where the rules are the same but the points required are doubled. To commemerate this anniversay, we will be offering a new special edition 10th anniversary patch for those who earn 50 or 100 points and complete the challenge in 2019! 

I completed the challenge for the second-year, and received a nice patch and certificate in the mail.