Harrington Trail, Wachusett

A glorious Autumn day in Massachusetts deserves a vigorous hike. Hubby and I took to the backroads of Leominster and Princeton and parked at the Harrington Trailhead for a quick hike up Mt. Wachusett. During the hour up the trail, we breathed in clean, crisp air, saw a garden snake, waited for “traffic” to pass while crossing Summit Road, and lingered on the summit.

While lingering we were treated to 360 degree clear views of Boston, Worcester, Mt. Greylock and Mt. Monadnock. There were clusters of color but mostly it’s still green in central Mass. A few people had similar thoughts and were enjoying the views as much as we were.

Hiking down, Hubby and I reminisced the last time we hiked Wachusett: our second date in January 2006. Snow and ice covered the ground and the air was foggy. There were no views from the top except the view of each other wondering if this relationship was going to go any where…

More hike pics over at Flickr.

Wimp

With apologies to Mad Max…but I’m sorry…he drove everywhere. Did he cycle across post-apocalyptic Australia in his leathers? Nope. Unlike him, I spent my Tuesday doing a 45-mile bike ride around central Massachusetts, including a climb up Mt. Wachusett. 

I like using my bike to explore. I’m not the fastest cyclist, but I enjoy biking through the countryside and just soaking in the sites. I also like to challenge myself on occasion. So what did I see today?

It's True!

Sterling: Did you know the town claims Mary, as in Mary Had a Little Lamb, as a Townie? They have a statue for it, so it must be true.

Princeton: In 1676, Mary Rowlandson, a colonial American, was ransomed for twenty pounds by Narragensett Indians. The place where she was released, Redemption Rock, is a local landmark. I will never be able to afford a home here.

Mt. Wachusett:  Elevation 2,006 ft. Claim to fame of this mountain: Hubby and I had our second date there. Sigh… It took me about twenty minutes to climb up. Of course, I started climbing during the hottest time of the day: High Noon. It’s not the prettiest summit. In fact, it wouldn’t rank in the top 100 of pretty summits but I biked it and that’s all that matters. The descent strained my arms and breaks, but I felt bad-a$$ the entire way down.

It was a great day. Now excuse me as I partake of a Sam Adams Summer Ale. Check out my flickr site for more photos of the journey. Cheers!