The thrill of the hunt

[hob...@techno-fandom.org]

Remember this list? A mere shadow of its former glory? Just because we
lost a lot of members in the Great Meetup Pandemic Purge, doesn't mean that
barefoot hiking is any less fun or rewarding. I've tried to keep up with it
over this relatively mild winter so far, and I think I've added a new twist
to make it even more interesting.

I described a recent outing in

http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/bf/amchunt/

and some of the embedded links explain why I'm no longer in the AMC. But
that doesn't prevent me from reading their trip listings and seeing which
destinations they favor as a guideline. Exploration that happens to occur
on the same day in the same place? Perhaps, and it can become a game. I may
not have encountered that group in Boxford, but I had a nice visible fly-by
of another group in Harold Parker on a chilly morning a few days later.

So here's another potential challenge ...

https://activities.outdoors.org/search/index.cfm/action/details/id/142809

in the Middlesex Fells this Saturday. From their description, they'll likely
enter from a small trailhead on Elliott St at the town line, or perhaps the
better-known Goodyear Ave trailhead north of it, and be on the Rock Circuit
trail at least some of the time [that's where the "Cascade" is]. I love Rock
Circuit, it's one of my faves, except maybe for the more flat boring northern
part of the loop. But the rocky up-n-downs along the eastern and southern rims
overlooking Melrose are fantastic barefooting territory, the grip is great and
the exercise can help shake off the doldrums of winter. You get several views
of Boston along the way too. It's like the "secret Skyline", on par with the
so-named trails in the Fells and Blue Hills but for some reason a little less
traveled.

So whether it's to hunt hiking groups or to just enjoy what promises to be
a nice day in the woods, who's up for a "winter" slam around some of the best
but lesser-known parts of the Fells? I usually park at the big rink lot on
Woodland Rd and head east from there. There's also a small lot along Fellsway
East near where Rock Circuit crosses it, but on a nice day that may fill up.
Saturday's supposed to be back to "seasonable temps" but after pushing 60F on
Friday, the conditions are likely to be fairly pleasant on Saturday morning.

I hear you asking "okay, so what do you do if you find the group? That sounds
creepy." Nothing more than a cheery hello and continue on, whether they're
coming the other way or I come up behind and have to pass them. While the
puzzle of figuring out where they might be at any time is intriguing, the
"publicity" in an actual encounter is passive, *unless someone asks*. We're
trying to simply normalize what they should already know is humanly possible,
nothing noteworthy about footwear choices, etc. But it helps plant a seed.
And if I never find them, I still got out of the house for the day!

_H*

[Tim McCormack]

On Tue, 7 Feb 2023 18:53:21 -0500, hob...@techno-fandom.org wrote:
> Remember this list? A mere shadow of its former glory? Just because
> we lost a lot of members in the Great Meetup Pandemic Purge, doesn't
> mean that barefoot hiking is any less fun or rewarding.

I'm still up for it! But it would have to be at least moderately warm
ground temperatures for me, and we're not car-enabled. We do go to the
Fells sometimes as it's easy to bike up to there from Somerville, but
won't be doing it barefoot for a few months.

(I did discover a meditation that allowed me to warm up my hands faster
than ever before, but it's still very difficult to get it to work on my
feet!)

> I described a recent outing in
>
> http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/bf/amchunt/
>
> and some of the embedded links explain why I'm no longer in the AMC.

Ah, sorry to hear that someone there has caught the liability
mindvirus. Some real goofiness for sure.

Glad you managed to tweak their noses a bit. :-) Sounds like a fun game.

- Tim

[hob...@techno-fandom.org]

Well, not a whole lot to report. Either my guess about their entry point
was wrong, or they were super-late getting started. I gave up, and headed
north along the big cliffs. The sun quickly warmed the ground to a lovely
temperature, a festival of dry rock and pine-needle carpets punctuated by
chilly little mud patches. I saw relatively few people at all, which was
odd because it was a nice day and there seemed to be a lot of cars parked
in the various pull-offs.

I only did 4.5 to the AMC group's theoretical 7, but it was fun. The Fells,
like the Blue Hills, is not a place to bring beginner barefooters... in
some places the DCR has thrown down this uniquely angular purple gravel on
some of the trails, just to keep it interesting [and I suppose, from eroding].

_H*

[D Tweed]

Hobbit --

I would have joined you, but I only learned about it yesterday morning, and I already had other plans for the day.

Also, I did about 4 miles on Friday at Cedar Hill in Northboro, near where I'm currently working. Just couldn't resist taking advantage of the beautiful weather!

-- Dave