Idyllic Trail Through the Charles River Reservation

When most people ride on the Charles River trail, they keep to the popular loop around Boston and Cambridge. However, the trail goes on (and on and on), through beautiful reservation lands along the narrowing Charles River all the way to West Newton, Waltham and Weston.

The last time I mentioned this route, a couple of people asked me for more information, since most Charles River Trail maps indicate that it ends in Watertown. The best online maps I have found are these:
. from Boston to Watertown (the popular loop)
. from Watertown to West Newton
. from West Newton to Weston
These show you the side-streets you need to look for in your neighborhood in order to get to the trail (everything represented in green has the trail going through it).

Once you pass the point in Watertown where the popular route ends, the trail continues across the street. The entrance is narrow and easy to miss, so watch for the sign above.

There are a few instances where the trail interrupts, in which case the connector route is marked on the sidewalk with these "Blue Heron tracks".

An actual heron on the trail.

Here are some photos to give you an idea what this lesser-known part of the trail looks like. It is narrower and more "woodsy" than the popular Charles River loop. Fewer people, too.

The river is quite narrow here, and most of the bridges across it are pedestrian. They are beautiful and fun to cross, offering views of lily pads and miniature waterfalls.

There are several unpaved stretches, and many long stretches of boardwalk over marshland, with built-in observation decks. We had no problems cycling through the unpaved stretches on the Pashleys, and we saw roadbikes riding through them as well.

Another wooden bridge, and the entrance to Landry Park in Waltham.

This is home to the Charles River Museum of Industry. We have not gotten beyond this point yet, but as the map here indicates, the trail continues in the same manner towards Weston.

Altogether, it looks like the Charles River Trail might be 15 miles or so each way. If you are looking to get from West Newton to the center of Boston like MamaVee, I am guessing that this is maybe a 10 mile trip? If you are local and do this regularly, I welcome your thoughts about this trail and its use as a commuter route.

Dogs

Sarah has three dogs. The first and oldest is Sasha the black Lab and Husky cross show in the first photo. The dark German Shepard is Ruby a dog she adopted after she found her almost dead from lack of food and water when she was about 3 months old. The light colored German Shepard is Lobo. Lobo is about 9 and has cancer in his front leg. The vet has no idea how long he might have and right now Sarah is just trying to keep him happy and comfortable. Lobo is a brother to a Shepard I used to have.
In the 2nd photo Sarah is playing a Navajo Indian flute for Ruby. Sarah majored in music in collage with the flute being her favorite instrument.

Childs Cup

These cups were very popular in 1950's. The little bird on the handle is a whisle and it says 'Whisle for Milk' on the bottom. This one was mine. I found them on line and they are worth about $5.00 now and sold for 39 cents orginally.

Myrtle Beach SC to Wauchula FL

Yesterday we headed south for our yearly migration to Florida. We went halfway landing in Brunswick, Georgia. We originally planned to spend a week there before heading to Florida but someone was anxious to get to Florida and asked if we could skip Georgia, so we agreed to alter our plans so we could accommodate that request.



We hit heavy traffic and it rained hard the second day so travel was slow. Much slower than it normally is. We were so happy to get to one of the places we call "home" which is Peace River Thousand Trails. Our friend Buddy and his pretty partner Diane are here. Rich and Donna are supposed to arrive at the end of this week. We picked out a nice spot that we hope to stay at for the next several months.



We will miss the beach while we are here but we will not miss the tempting (read fattening) food that we encountered in SC. This is one example of the food we did come across and Austin was brave enough to eat. Fried Corn:



We had fun what little bit of travel we did this year and we are looking forward to a wonderful winter with the good people that are here.

Cumberland Island :: Dungeness

The morning of Sunday, December 27, .. was another chilly, gray, gloomy, overcast morning; the same as the three previous mornings. I had been hoping for at least a little sunshine and a slightly warmer day but, based on its beginnings, I didn't think that was going to happen. Saturday I had gone to St. Marys to check out the town and find out about the ferry going to Cumberland Island National Seashore. Good thing I did, as reservations are recommended!

So the reservations were made, but not paid. I could still decide not to go. However, I figured with the way the weather had been, it was as good a day as any!

After a short drive into St. Marys, then paying the fees ($17 for the ferry and $8 for the National Park Entrance, the latter was covered by my wonderful National Parks Pass), and listening to a short orientation lecture, I boarded the ferry with the other passengers. I was amazed by the number of people with camping gear, it seemed like about half the people on-board were campers. The campsites on the island are primitive. The only facilities available are showers and restrooms and those only in the main campground areas. You're completely on your own in the backcountry. Whether they are staying in the campground or backcountry, everything that is needed by the camper has to be brought in by them and anything they bring in has to leave with them. I'm not quite prepared, yet, for that kind of camping, especially when the temperatures dip down below the 30s overnight!

There was a heated cabin area on the ferry where some passengers sat during the 45 minute ride out to the island but many, myself included, opted to sit outside in the cool morning air. Refreshing is how some might have described it. Most of the day-trippers like myself disembarked at the Dungeness Dock on the south end of the island while the rest went on to the Sea Camp Dock a mile to the north, where it was a short trek to the campground.

In order to learn a little about the history of the island and its inhabitants, I opted to take the Ranger Guided Tour of the Dungeness Trail. I've since found several websites that give more detailed information and they have added considerably to what I learned that day. Links to those websites will be listed at the end of this post. The Ranger who gave the tour was very knowledgeable and entertaining as well.

The Dungeness Trail leads you to the Dungeness Mansion, or rather, to the ruins of the second Dungeness Mansion. The first Mansion, four-stories high and huge, was begun in 1796 by the widow of Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene and her second husband, Phineas Miller. The mansion was completed in 1803. Shortly thereafter Dungeness became a mecca for the early Georgian high society. After the Civil War the Mansion was not maintained. It fell into disrepair and in 1866 burned to the ground.

About 1880-81 Thomas Carnegie (a brother and partner of Andrew Carnegie) purchased much of Cumberland Island. With his wife, Lucy, Thomas built the second Dungeness Mansion where the first had been. It was a 59 room Scottish-style castle complete with turrets, a pool house, 40 outbuildings, a golf course, and acres of manicured gardens. Thomas Carnegie died in 1886 leaving his wife Lucy with nine children. Over the years, four other mansions were built further north on the Island for use by the children. The house at Plum Orchard has been restored and is open for tours twice a month. It happened to be open the day I was there but I chose to explore the southern end of the Island rather than view the house.

The second Dungeness was used through 1929 then it sat vacant for 30 years. In 1959, it too burned to the ground. All that remains of that magnificent mansion are a few walls, standing like sentinels, guarding the past. Some day, they too will fall.

Left side of the Dungeness Ruins, from the front.

Dungeness Ruins from the front-left corner.

Dungeness Ruins from the rear-left corner.

Dungeness Ruins. Window detail.

The remains of the recreation building.

The Tabby house, which stands off to the right side of the Dungeness Ruins is the oldest house on the Island. Tabby is a kind of concrete made of oyster shells, lime and sand. Built around 1800, it dates from the time of the first Dungeness Mansion. It was the only building in the area that was spared by the Carnegie's when they built the second Dungeness.

To be continued...

See these websites for more information on the history of Cumberland Island and the National Seashore:

• National Park Service
• Outdoor Places
• CNN Article (Posted in 1998, but still valid.)
• Wikipedia

Safer, safe and ‘less dangerous’

Claire after her skydive yesterday. Not looking too scared

I was just listening to Amartya Sen explaining on radio about his ideas about justice in the world, and his way of looking at this aspect of humanity struck me as just as relevant in another.

His thesis in the world of justice is that we should think in a more pragmatic, and less idealist way in order to achieve the best possible outcome for people. Specifically he has the idea that we pour a huge amount of energy trying to solve completely particular injustices, with the intended outcome being to make them 100% ‘just’. But, he says, the ideal of a perfectly just scenario often remains out of reach. Instead, if we first seek out the biggest and deepest injustices, and measure success against their starting points, rather than against the ideal finishing point of perfect justice, we will end up increasing overall justice by a larger amount. So the focus on scrubbing out the last remains of stubborn injustice becomes not just a black hole for our resources, but a distraction from deeper injustice elsewhere.

It struck me that this parallels closely recent arguments about risk in life and society. Economics right now is teaching popular society a lot about the importance of risk. Namely that pursuing the ideal of eliminating risk is actually harmful to economies, just as very risky and unstable situations are. Similarly, a statistical perspective minus the blinkers of a ratings driven media such as this book on the risks we face highlights some of the ridiculous situations we find ourselves in when we attempt to eliminate tiny risks (such as terrorism) and allow these to completely distract us from huge risks elsewhere.

Amartya’s idea projected onto risk makes a lot of sense to me and to me reflects closely the decision making process I’ve aspired to in the risky climbing I do. Other climbing bloggers thoughts recently (such as Dougald and Will’s) have reminded us well that believing in complete safety in climbing will always prove a fallacy. So it’s important to try not to be distracted by making tiny risks tinier, if larger ones lie ignored in the background (and they often do in my opinion).

A common example that often worries me when listening to other climbers discourse on safety is a fascination with the fine details of climbing equipment systems. Nothing wrong with that whatsoever, so long as it’s seen in context of the whole picture of climbing safety, which is often isn’t. The trouble is that our safety systems relating to climbing equipment are only one link in a chain of factors that determine how much risk we face when climbing.

The ‘soft’ skills (I hate the term but can’t immediately think of a replacement) of our tactics, decision making and movement skill on rock, ice or mountains are the other, larger part, and they often suffer relative ignorance.

A more specific example; Out of the climbers I know who onsight E6 or harder, I can't think of any who aren’t expert at downclimbing (out of trouble). Why? Quite simply, having this skill allows you to go with far less danger where it would be hideously dangerous to rely solely on ‘up’ climbing ability and safety equipment. In contrast, the trad climber’s I know who’ve suffered a series of confidence destroying serious falls are more often than not poor at climbing down out of scary situations. I’ve had a million climbers ask me all sorts of weird and wonderful questions about the fine points of equipment, and strategies for it’s use, and it often shocks them when I don’t always know an answer. But I can’t recall ever being asked about downclimbing.

Important things are often at the mercy of things less important. Looking for dangerous things to make less dangerous will often be more successful than looking for anything to make perfectly safe.

Ice Crystal Sunrise at Hollow Rock

A recent sunrise image from Hollow Rock in Grand Portage, MN. The next several days are calling for temperatures in the mid to upper 30's... hopefully all this wonderful ice we've had along the shoreline lately won't fall prey to the warm temperatures!

Mirabelle's First "Hike" ..

So last Thursday we were running some errands in Shoreline and decided to stop by Shoreview Park as it was not raining and we needed something to do that was not our errands. Jennifer and I had stopped by there previously, but I think we were on bicycles and it was our turnaround point for a ride, complete with bathrooms. We only knew of the ball fields and were not fully aware of the wooded paths at the park. Heading there last Thursday, I presumed there must be some type of wooded trail system.

When we arrived last week we poked around a bit before discovering the map of the trails. We headed in for a walk. It turns out, for a city park, Shoreview/Boeing Creek Park has fairly rugged trails. Muddy eroded off camber trails provided us with some interesting footing as we headed down to the creek. Jennifer was fortunate enough to be wearing running shoes with some tread, while I was slip sliding around in my treadless Sanuks. There was a "wet" creek crossing that I had to help Jennifer navigate as she was toting around our precious cargo.

Some of the trees in the park were of good size too. (With signs telling you just how big they are.) Plenty of 200'+ Douglas Firs in the park with sizable trunks. We walked all the way down to Hidden Lake, and then back up to the dog run before eventually returning to the car. I recommend to anyone in the north end of Seattle to take a short trip up to Shoreview if they are looking to get away from their typical walks in Carkeek and Golden Gardens. Just be prepared to get your feet wet.

Argonaut Peak

The climbing season would not be complete without a trip to the Stuart Range. It was hot out, so the icy water in Ingalls Creek felt pretty good. We camped right beside the creek.






The group breaking out above the tree line.






There was snow and running water on the south side.






We went most of the way up the south side together, then split up and assaulted the summit from different routes.






Jason starting up the NW Arete.



Part of our group on the summit.

Mark and Nicholas.
Mt. Stuart in the background.

Dave and Andrew

Doug and Jason

Kyle

Woven Dress Guards for Drilled Fenders

I love the look and feel of woven dress guards. To me they seem more graceful than the solid vinyl type - allowing for the wheel's spokes to remain visible, while still protecting clothing from flying into them. They can also give a bicycle more "personality," as there are many patterns and different installation methods to choose from. A year ago, it was almost impossible to obtain dress guards like these without making them yourself. However, now there are several options available and I have done my best to get my hands on them.



Some of the most beautiful woven dress guards available today are these handmade ones by Bobbin & Sprocket. They can be crocheted in different patterns, according to your specifications (you can see them here on Bobbin & Sprocket's own bike and here on an ANT bike). I ordered a set for my mixte a couple of months ago, but have yet to attach them - because I've decided to do a drilled-fender installation, rather than use the clips provided. The clips don't attach securely enough for my fenders - and I am weary of having the guards fall off and get tangled in my wheel spokes. Earlier, I reviewed the DutchSimeli dress guards, and clip and fender compatibility was also a problem (they only work on bikes where there is a lot of room between the fender and the tire).



For these reasons, I don't think clipping woven dress guards to fenders is the ideal solution, and suggest the traditional drilled-fender installation instead. I had this done to my vintage Raleigh DL-1 last year, using a simple set of dress guards that a reader had sent me from Portugal. The fancy ones in the picture above were a gift from a friend in Autsria, and are waiting for the right bicycle.



The ones I decided to install on my Gazelle were this set I bought fromMike Flanigan ofANT, who has recently begun to order them from Europe. They are simple, stretchy and durable, and I thought the colour scheme suited my Gazelle nicely. Drilling fenders for dress guards may seem like a daunting task, but the actual act of installing them is not difficult, if you have a good drill. What's difficult is making the commitment: You can't "undo" the holes in your fender once they are there, and nearly every set of dress guards requires a different number of holes.



The first step is to consider what part of the wheel you want the dress guards to cover. There is no right or wrong in this regard: If you look at vintage dress guard installations, they are all over the place. Some prefer to cover 1/4 of the wheel, others prefer to cover the entire top half, and others still prefer something in between. Once you choose the coverage area, mark its beginning and end with masking tape. Then, evenly attach a tape measurer along this area. This will allow you to easily mark where the holes are supposed to be. The dress guards I used required 28 holes, which ended up being 1" apart.



Depending on what bike you have, you do not necessarily need to remove the rear wheel or even deflate the tire when drilling the holes. On Dutch bikes and English Roadsters, there tends to be so much room between the tire and fender, that if you insert the drill bit as far inside the drill as it will go, it will be too short to reach the tire after piercing the fender.



The hooks that come with dress guards are about as thick as medium-sized paperclips, so 1-1.5mm is a good size for the holes. We used a 1mm drill bit.



It is good to have a drill with a side handle attachment, as this allows you to keep your hands steady and to have more precise control over the drilling.



I would also suggest using a fresh drill bit and having a spare one before you start, in case it breaks.

And here we go!



If you measured correctly, the holes should look fairly even - but if not, don't panic. These things are meant to have a hand-made look to them and are forgiving of small mistakes.



Inserting the hooks into the holes is fairly straightforward. One additional step to consider, is leaving room for the "cafe lock" if your bicycle has one. This should be done at the time you are measuring for holes in the first place.



At the drop-outs, the dress guards are typically attached to a bolt using a hook that is provided with the guards. (You will have to remove the nut, then insert the hook, then retighten the nut.) You may have to play around with how you angle that ring to which the cords are attached: The rack stays, the shifter cable and the hub indicator chain may interfere with it, and then you sort of have to angle the ring and insert it over/under, as applicable. Every bicycle is different in this regard, so it is impossible to give precise instructions here.



The important thing, is that in the end nothing sticks out in a way that can catch on your clothing. For example, we crimped the hook on which the ring rests, downward.



And that is pretty much it. Describing the process step by step in itself makes it seem complicated, but it only took us an hour - which I think is good, considering that it was our first time and we were afraid of messing up. You can see the finished installation in an outdoor setting in this post.Looking at the final result, one could say that these guards could look better if they were fanned out over a wider area - but I wanted the coverage to be denser. It's really a personal choice, and I am pretty happy with how mine have turned out. If you own a drill, this method of dress guard installation is worth considering.