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

• Stony Hill, McLean Refuge, Granby, CT
• "Nick's Hill", Metacomet Ridge, West Suffield, CT
•  Cowles Metacomet
• The Pinnacle, Metacomet Trail, Penwood State Forest, Bloomfield, CT
• Crag Mountain, Lucy and Seth Holcomb Preserve, Granby, CT
• Coye Hill, Nipmuck Trail, Union, CT
• Lead Mine Hill, Nipmuck Trail, Ashford, CT
• Boston Hollow Hill, Nipmuck Trail, Ashford, CT
• Turkey Hill, Nipmuck Trail, Ashford, CT
• Hampden Overlook, Hampden, MA
• Goat Rock, Hampden, MA
• Minnechoag Mountain, Hampden, MA
• 880', Hampden, MA
• Pine Mountain, Hampden, MA
• Rattlesnake Mountain, Hampden, MA / Somers, CT
• Perkins Mountain, Somers, CT
• Pinnacle, Climbed the Cooley Pond Hill Section, Somers, CT
• Sodom Road, Shenipsit State Forest, Stafford, CT
• Gulf Brook Hill, Shenipsit State Forest, Somers, CT

DL and I celebrated our anniversary today;  it's been a wonderful journey.  Unfortunately, I have come down with the flu!

Everyone should have this with someone else...

Black Lizard / Vintage Crime #8 for 2020...  "Carny Kill", written by Robert Edmond Alter in 1966.

Black Lizard / Vintage Crime Edition Cover

Original Black Lizard

Another 3-mile late night run on Main Street.

3-miles along Main Street at night.

Music 2020...

Effort #6,  "Hell and Back Again"...  the fourth track from the Dark Heart Duo's Sweating Out Demons Sessions of  July 26th, 2019...

I'm in despair, I cannot win,

I have been to hell and back again

Got out to McLean with K2 to work the pain out of my legs from yesterday's marathon.  Completed a slow 3.7-miles.

Nipmuck - Natchaug Marathon - February 8th, 2020
Ashford, Union,  & Eastford, CT

.

I met up with Andy Hillbilliage early to attempt a Nipmuck / Natchuag Marathon.  The Wuzzam was planning to meet up with us to ramble through the last 9 or 10-miles with us, as his legs were still feeling last weekend's 17-miler.

The route is fairly easy:

• Boston Hollow Road, Ashford, north on Nipmuck Trail to Bigelow Hollow (~8-miles).
• Return via the same route, opposite direction (~8-miles).
• South from Boston Hollow along the Nipmuck Trail to the turn onto the Natchaug Trail just prior to Ladies Room Rock, down to Moon Road (~4.5-miles).
• And then return along the same sections (~4.5-miles).

What isn't easy is the trail really rolls up and down.  A lot.  5760' of ascent and descent for the full gps measured 24.6-miles.  It was also somewhat cold (around 22-degrees at the start), but that didn't stop Hillbilliage from going with shorts and a short-sleeve top for the last 9+ miles (where it might have gotten to 32-degrees or so, outside the Hemlock forest).

We completed what we wanted, pretty much averaging 4.1 mph the entire day.  At 2-miles we were at 4.3 mph, at 8 the same, at 16 the same, at 20.5 we dropped to 4.2 mph, which we almost maintained to the end.  Very steady rolling.

Completed in 6:01:00, which I felt pretty good about.  It was really awesome of Wuzzam to meet up with us to help with the company, that I (we) really appreciated, as Andy and I were getting a bit tired by the last sections.  Great day, outstanding mileage builder!

This was my 58th completed marathon all-time.

Black Lizard / Vintage Crime #7 for 2020...  Wild at Heart #3 "Sailor's Holiday", written in 1991 by Barry Gifford.

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!