Author: Eric

Day 26: Thursday, August 26
Walk to/around downtown Northampton, MA RT

Every day can’t be a big, exciting adventure, there’s just not the time and creativity to churn out that level of activity. So today’s adventure was one of those low-key ones, an aimless, unplanned walk. I like these adventures for the uncertainty, you never know what you will see just walking out your front door and leaving two or more hours open for wandering. There’s an accentuated freedom that comes with this exercise, the lack of commitment and the openness to possibilities. I walked, and continued walking. That’s all, simple and beautiful as that. Onto the Manhan Rail Trail going north, to Northampton, past the Oxbow Marina and through the meadows around the Oxbow, into and around downtown Northampton, and back. This walk included some of everything: seclusion, woods, trails, gravel roads, paved paths, rural homes, city streets, water, shops, jazz, people. These unplanned excursions are necessary from time to time.

Adventure: Walk out the door without a plan (to downtown Northampton, as it turned out).
Distance traveled: About 8.5 miles RT walking.
Challenges: Allowing the absence of structure and plan; accepting to go where my feet take me; walking nonstop for 2.5 hours; slightly sore feet.
Risks: Boredom (though that didn’t occur); slight traffic risk.
Difficulty scale 1-10: 4
Highlights: Walking around the Oxbow, viewing the water, enjoying the solitude of the woods; catching live jazz downtown; watching people go about their lives.

Welcome to Aging Adventurist. I am attempting to do one adventure every day for the month of August, 31 days, 31 adventures, some big, some small, some physical, some mental. I hope you’ll come along, or join me!

Day 16: Monday, August 16
Host a party

Originally, I had plans for a large party. In fact, when I was out on the adventure road riding my bike across the country, I had visions of a grand party with a hundred guests, all the people who followed along on social media sharing in a backyard barbecue, kegs tapped, music playing loud, congratulations flying through the air. But after returning home, I just didn’t have the energy for that grand of a soiree. So I settled for a smaller, more intimate affair with family and a few friends. Beers and ciders popped, burgers grilled, music played, the fire pit glowed and stories were shared. All had a good time. It was a party. Of a smaller sort, but a party just the same. It’s still possible a large, raucous party with a much broader group of friends looms in the future.

Adventure: Hosting a party.
Distance traveled: hundreds of feet paced back and forth between my house and back yard, for condiments, drinks, fire accessories, music-making instruments, etc.
Challenges: Maintaining a robust fire, making sure everyone is fed, sated and entertained, cleaning up afterward, keeping mosquitoes at bay.
Risks: That people will hate your party and deem you a poor host! Scary social interaction.
Difficulty scale 1-10: 4
Highlights: Sharing a summer evening with friends and family.

Everyone has at least one small world story. You know, those miraculous coincidences when you run into an acquaintance in the unlikeliest of places, or meet someone who seems uncannily like someone else you know.

My most bizarre small world story happened years ago. I was about 10 years out of high school when I traveled to Brazil on a rickety bus through the Venezuelan and Brazilian jungles. On my return trip, while stopped at a little thatch-roofed jungle refreshment stand, I heard my name. “Eric?” asked a nearby bearded guy as I chatted with a Swede who was riding the same bus. A quick, though faint, glimpse of recognition. “Mario?” We didn’t know each other well in high school, but we were mystified at the forces that pulled us together thousands of miles from home on a remote jungle bus at the same time.

I had another, though different, small world story, just last week. I was doing a one-day climb of the high points of Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Near the top of Mt. Frissell, which leads to the high point of Connecticut, I met Topher,

who happened to be dressed exactly the same as me.

Not only that. Topher and I are near the same age; he, like me, has one son and one daughter in their 20s (and, as in my case, his son is the eldest); and after running into him on Mt. Frissell, I met him again on the summit of Mt. Greylock. We both had the same high points plan at exactly the same time and dressed in matching climbing outfits (and I almost never wear that shirt!), and we hadn’t discussed our plans at all. In fact, we only talked briefly; I was curious, and a little afraid, of what we might have discovered of our commonalities had we kept talking.

This wasn’t as out there as my Brazil encounter. Still, it gives one pause. What is going on in our universe to cause such odds-defying coincidences? Are we meant to infer something from these strange trysts, or learn something from the people we run into?

I am open to theories. What is your small world story?

Welcome to Aging Adventurist. I am attempting to do one adventure every day for the month of August, 31 days, 31 adventures, some big, some small, some physical, some mental. I hope you’ll come along, or join me!

Day 12: Thursday, August 12
Bike riding in a storm, Easthampton-Holyoke-West Springfield, MA

We’ve had some good storms around here this summer, and August 12 was one of the better ones. Rumbling thunder, massive streaks of lightening across the sky, then a driving, angry downpour. This storm came on fast, faster than I expected, and it caught me unprepared out on the bike amid a ride from Easthampton to West Springfield. I made it to Holyoke, near Ingleside, about half way. Coming down the Route 202 hill the rain was driving into my face so hard I could barely open my eyes to see where I was going. I love a good storm, and certainly rode through some on my recent x-US bike trip, but this one forced me to stop for a while and wait it out outside a protective strip mall. Eventually the rain let up enough to ride on and I headed south dodging fall tree branches and debris, splashing through puddles and eyeing the impressive streaks of lightening a few miles in front of me. At one point as I rode in the rain, an attractive woman pulled next to me and offered to give me a lift home in her SUV. I was impressed by her bravery, so unusual these days; but I passed. I was actually enjoying the ride.

Adventure: Bike ride through the storm
Distance traveled: About 17 miles cycling
Challenges: Keeping my phone dry; keeping from being hit by falling branches; staying clear of traffic while dodging puddles.
Risks: Getting struck by lightening; slipping and falling down on wet pavement.
Difficulty scale 1-10: 5.5
Highlights: I enjoyed this ride. It reminded me of riding as a kid, free from care about getting wet.

Welcome to Aging Adventurist. I am attempting to do one adventure every day for the month of August, 31 days, 31 adventures, some big, some small, some physical, some mental. I hope you’ll come along, or join me!

Day 5: Thursday, August 5
Hiking the high points of Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts

Hiking the highest land points of Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts in one day is almost more of a driving logistics challenge than it is a hiking challenge. Driving to Jerimoth Hill, the highest point in Rhode Island at 812 feet, is really not worth it – especially on a rainy morning – except strictly as a required check-off if you’re trying to do all the states. Park on the shoulder of Highway 101 and walk in a half mile on a flat trail. A tiny outcrop marks the state’s high point. Rhode Island, check.

Mt. Frissell, the highest point in Connecticut, is much more interesting with a very nice 2.5-mile hike in after driving about two hours west from Rhode Island. To access the high point, you have to start in Massachusetts, where the Mt. Frissell summit lies, then hike down from there to the state border about half a mile south at 2,380 feet. A marker signifies the Massachusetts-Connecticut border, with an option to stand in both states simultaneously. Nice place for lunch before the drive to Greylock.

Massachusetts’ high point, Mt. Greylock, is about another 1.5-hour drive from Mt. Frissell. By the time I arrived it was late afternoon, just enough time for the four-hour summit round trip. Most Mass. hikers are familiar with Greylock – gorgeous views, a friendly climb to the summit at 3,489 feet, the War Memorial Tower atop the bald peak. After the mini-adventure of Rhode Island, the pleasant hike over the Connecticut border and all the driving in between, a Mt. Greylock sunset hike was enough to make it feel like a day of adventure.

Adventure: High points hike, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts
Distance traveled: 250 miles driving, ~13 miles hiking
Challenges: Climbing New England mid-size mountains; walking 13 miles; maintaining hiking speed to finish by sunset.
Risks: Typical hiking risks: slipping and falling over drop-offs, twisting ankle, running out of food and water, hiking beyond sunset.
Difficulty scale 1-10: 7
Highlights: Mt. Greylock is always enjoyable, especially when the view is clear all the way to Mt. Monadnock in NH. The summit of Mt. Frissell was a nice surprise too, where I met Alexi and Cassandra, two backpackers thru-hiking a 40-mile, 3-day loop trail around CT-MA. I’ve already hiked the high points of VT (Mansfield), NH (Washington) and ME (Katahdin). Next: New York’s Mt. Marcy.

Welcome to Aging Adventurist. I am attempting to do one adventure every day for the month of August, 31 days, 31 adventures, some big, some small, some physical, some mental. I hope you’ll come along, or join me!

Day 4: Wednesday, August 4
Blueberry picking/blueberry muffin baking

It’s been years since I picked blueberries, and never have I ventured to put them to use in a baked concoction. So when my daughter Livvy suggested it, I welcomed this as a low-stakes adventure that might yield some yummy results. (Thanks for the suggestion, Livvy!) I drove out to Sobieski Farm in Whately,

whose blueberry bushes were popping with ample pickings.

I filled a bucket with about 3 quarts of berries and headed home with thoughts of what they might become.

Adventure: Blueberry picking and baking.
Distance traveled: 14 mile one way driving, about 1/2 mile walking.
Challenges: Spotting blueberries ripe and sufficiently juicy for picking. Slight neck ache from carrying an increasingly heavy blueberry bucket.
Risks: Baking failure! Baking anything, especially in this recent humidity, is a precarious venture for the kitchen-hesitant.
Difficulty scale 1-10: 2.5
Highlights: I chose blueberry muffins for my baking adventure. (I also shared 1 1/2 quarts with friends and family, and froze another quart). I found what I thought to be a simple, safe recipe. I substituted brown sugar for white, and added extra blueberries for added juiciness. I followed all other ingredient amounts as instructed. Result: an aesthetic success. But, to be honest, a bit dry and not sweet enough. Adventure completed, lessons learned.