milkweed

milkweed
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

I did about 11 miles on the Midstate Trail today, covering the region from Sampson's Pebble to Paxton Road roundtrip in about 4 hours, for a pace of about 2.7 mph.

I don't much like this section of trail because the trails are wide and converge with trails that seem intended for motorized vehicles. Today, however, I didn't run into that kind of traffic. And there are some nice views. The area around Browning Pond is beautiful.

I saw this milkweed plant closer to Paxton Road.

duck herding

duck herding
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

For me, the high point of the Garlic and Arts festival was the duck herding demo. One of the little runner ducks in this photo wound up missing some tail feathers when the collie became overenthusiastic. Poor duckie!

pulled pork

pulled pork
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

This is some of the good food that I sampled at the Garlic and Arts festival. Delicious pulled pork sandwich with BBQ sauce, garlic baked beans, and homemade rootbeer. Incredibly good!

capoeira

capoeira
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

There were some fun demos at the North Quabbin Garlic and Arts festival. I like watching capoeira dancers, and these people were pretty good! (Seeing them reminded me that I've made no progress towards my goal of doing a headstand - even a handstand would be something!)

red russian garlic

red russian garlic
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

I went to the North Quabbin Garlic and Arts festival, today. I had no idea there were so many kinds of garlic...

the circuit board

click photo to enlarge 
This is a very blurry photo of the circut board. Counting from the left, there are four circular copper-colored dots. The on/off switch is, I believe, the little rectangular doohickey to the right of the fourth dot. It may be connected to the fourth dot in some way.

Having gotten this far, it was discouraging to abandon the cause, but that's what I did. With nothing obvious to try, I just left the monitor in a corner, and went out to get a new one.

On the one hand, I was loathe to buy a new Dell monitor because of my bad experience with this one. However, I do really like the look of the Dell monitors. And I hoped that if I bought a Dell, I'd be able to afix it to the Dell swivel stand that came with my old one. I really like the swivel stand.

I found a relatively cheap Dell (about $220) at Best Buy. It's a widescreen 19-inch flatscreen monitor, and so far it is satisfactory.

I do not like widescreen monitors, and would have bought a regular monitor, but I couldn't find any other kind at Best Buy! I find widescreens are only an advantage when viewing tv shows or movies online, and for any other computer use they are disadvantageous, since you get less vertical real estate for viewing email, web pages, text files, and general coding purposes. Oh well, I can deal with it.

Meanwhile, I have to figure out what to do with my old monitor. I hate to junk it, since it's relatively new. In fact, it may have been still under warantee, but I couldn't find my papers for it (this is what happens when you move). I tried to find an authorized Dell repair shop in my area, but so far I can't even figure out how to find any authorized Dell repair shop. So my monitor is in limbo.

Do I really need to say the legal stuff again? Perhaps. Kids, if you try this at home, it's your own responsibility. If anything like mayhem, death, or broken fingernails result, it is not my fault!

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the buttons

click photo to enlarge 
Once the screws were removed, I could finally free the plastic lip from the monitor casing. Here you see the buttons. All of the buttons look the same, except for the on/off button. The on/off button is empty; the others have a small slightly raised bar down the middle.

At this point, I was stymied, unfortunately. It appears to me that the difference between the on/off and the other buttons is deliberate. It doesn't look like anything broke off the on/off button; there is nothing clearly missing.

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detaching the circuit board

click photo to enlarge 
Finally, I reached the area of the lip just around the row of control buttons, with the on/off button nearest the corner. Here I found that it was impossible to fully remove the lip.

As shown in this photo, the buttons are covered by a small circuit board, and the circuit board is connected to the monitor with a small ribbon. At this stage in the disassembly, I did my best not to disturb the ribbon, but it was difficult because the ribbon was the only thing connecting the lip to the monitor body.

I was stuck. The circuit board was fastened to the lip with a set of 5 teeny tiny Phillips (crosshead) screws, and I didn't have a set of teeny tiny screwdrivers. So I gave up for the evening.

The following evening, I stopped off at RadioShack. RadioShack used to be much more geek friendly, but I think they may have decided there's a broader market in the general public, and that it would make sense to devote more shelf space to standard appliances like cell phones and televisions. At least, this place didn't have the huge variety of technical tools that I was hoping to find. (I looked for a real spudger, but couldn't find one. Where does one get a spudger?) However, they did have several sets of teeny tiny screwdrivers. I bought a nifty set of six miniature Phillips-head screwdrivers, ranging from 1.4 mm to 3.5 mm, and hoped one would do the trick.

As you can see, one was just right - the 2.0 mm size did the trick. Removing the screws was surprisingly easy. I'm pretty bad with removing screws and have a habit of stripping them, but had no such problem here.

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popping the fasteners with a spudger

click photo to enlarge 
Here you can see that I'm halfway done with removing the lip of the monitor. Popping the fasteners got much easier once I moved around the first corner.

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removing the lip

click photo to enlarge 
Here's another blurry photo, as I make my way around the lip with my letter opener.
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attacking the front

click photo to enlarge 
I searched the internet for information about getting into a Dell flatscreen monitor, but there was precious little info. I finally found a page at Fixya that described how it can be done. Delli Llama wrote:

...After UNPLUGGING the monitor and removing the stand and the 4 obvious screws in the back, turn the monitor onto its back and placing your palms against one side of the monitor, and using your FINGER TIPS, gently pull back the plastic lip away from the LCD screen. Move along the lip, doing this a little bit at a time...

This gave me the idea of attacking from the front.

I tried just using my fingertips as suggested, but you must have fingertips of steel for that to work. Eventually I resorted to my letter opener, which serves as a makeshift spudger.

This somewhat blurry photo illustrates where to insert the spudger. I was surprised that it worked, since the seal looked incredibly tight.

Oh and obviously, the monitor was unplugged while doing this. I am not so stupid as to attempt disassembling electronic equipment while it is plugged in. In fact this monitor had been unplugged for a couple of days. I recall that CRT monitors should be left unplugged for some time before attempting to work on them, and I'm not sure if the same caution applies for these new flatscreen things.
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disassembling a Dell 1907FPc flatscreen monitor

click photo to enlarge 
I've heard you should never ever use your monitor's on/off button, because they fail easily. However, I never got around to setting up a powerstrip for the monitor, and I don't like seeing the little glowing button wasting energy. So I've turned monitor on and off day in and day out for over two years now.

Last Saturday, when I hit that button, nothing happened. Hitting the button didn't feel right (no nice clicking feeling), so I thought it might be a simple task to rig something up to fix the button, if that were the problem.

However, getting into the monitor was no easy task. Looking at the thing, it was hard to decide where to begin - everything was sealed together so tightly. I decided to start with the back, since there were four obvious screws there. I removed them, but was then stymied since there seemed to be no further angle of attack.
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Tank sixty

Total miles: 22181. Trip miles: 384.2. Gallons: 7.860. Price per gallon: $3.499.

Screen mileage: 57.8 mpg. Tank mileage: 48.9 mpg.

Worst difference in these two mileages that I've seen in a while!

Sampson's Pebble

Sampson's Pebble
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

This is a large glacial erratic. My backpack to the right gives some sense of scale.

newts

newts
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

I've come across a lot of newts along the Midstate Trail this year, presumably due to all the precipitation we've had. These two were hanging out together, until I tried to photograph them using my cell phone camera (hence the blur), at which point they raced away as fast as they could (which was not fast at all).

The rain yesterday produced some flooding along the trail. I could manage in most cases, but there was one spot where a stream had flooded the trail and I decided it was safest to remove my hiking boots and cross barefoot. This was actually quite fun!

midpoint

midpoint
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

My trek today took me past the midpoint of the Midstate Trail. I've done over half the trail this summer, but I don't expect to finish it this year.

Long Pond

Long Pond
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

I hiked the Midstate Trail from Hwy 122 to Sampson's Pebble and back today. That's 9.36 miles in 3.5 h for a pace of 2.7 mph! Soon after passing the shelter and pipe spring, you come to this peaceful view of Long Pond.

This would be a very nice trail section if it weren't for the numerous dirt roads intersecting the trail. It puts you too close to motorized traffic, which I dislike. I crossed paths with an ATV and a dirt bike rider. I planned on a longer hike, but I finally turned back because the dirt bike rider was constantly riding up and down the area where I was hiking, making my hike turn into an unpleasant experience.

view of lime rock

Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

I hiked a section of the Mohawk Trail on Labor Day (last Monday). I started at Ford Hill Rd and went to Rt 7, a total of 7.1 miles in 3 h 50 min, for a somewhat pathetic pace of 1.9 mph.

Most of the hike was pretty mild, but going up to the summit of Lookout Point was a little brutal since I didn't bring enough water. There's a nice view at the top. That's Lime Rock race track in the distance. I could hear the roar of the racing cars in the distance.

This section of the Mohawk has some very beautiful views, including a pretty waterfall at Dean Ravine. Unfortunately, I forgot my digital camera and only had my cell phone to take photos!

Today, I went hiking as well, but only for about two hours. I didn't bring my camera since rain was predicted. It was a gloomy, dark day, and it did start to rain a bit after I had been out for about an hour. Fortunately I didn't get completely soaked.

politics as usual

Jon Stewart nails it again - this is hilarious!

Tank fifty-nine

Total miles: 21797. Trip miles: 356.3. Gallons: 5.559. Price per gallon: $3.799.

Screen mileage: 56.4 mpg. Tank mileage: 64.1 mpg.

Lots of driving this Labor Day weekend. That tank mileage is insane. It always seems to come out higher when the tank is less empty - strange!

Tank fifty-eight

Total miles: 21440. Trip miles: 440.3. Gallons: 7.969. Price per gallon: $3.699.

Screen mileage: 56.3 mpg. Tank mileage: 55.3 mpg.

I tanked up after a long weekend spent driving to a friend who lives about 150 miles away; mostly highway miles.

Tank fifty-seven

Total miles: 21000. Trip miles: 258.8. Gallons: 4.912. Price per gallon: $3.759.

Screen mileage: 59.3 mpg. Tank mileage: 52.7 mpg.

I tanked up early in preparation for a long driving weekend...

bench

bench
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

This bench is found along the Midstate Trail, on Audubon property, a bit north of Rt 62 in Princeton. Such nice clean lines! I like it a lot more than the memorial benches south of Barre Falls dam. For one thing, this wooden bench doesn't get nearly as hot as those granite (?) benches. And having a back rest really helps the tired hiker.

view to east

view to east
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

This is a view to the east from the summit of Wachusett, if I recall correctly.

The "problem" with Wachusett is that you can pay a $2 fee to get in and drive to the top, where there's plenty of parking. (That's exactly what I did today.) This is a problem because the summit is far from peaceful. The two times I've been there, it's crowded with people. Motorcyclists, radio hobbyists, casual hikers, bicyclists. (I admit, the radio hobbyists are kind of fun). Not that there's anything wrong with that - I just don't like the crowds, and although I'd like to linger, taking in the views, I have always headed off as quickly as possible.

There are a couple of USGS markers up at the summit, according to NOAA. I took a quick look around today, but couldn't find them, and I just didn't feel like doing a thorough search with all the people around. I'll have to come back some other day.

pond at summit of Wachusett Mountain

pond at summit
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

Today's hike: 3.5 h | 8.6 mi | 2.4 mph

I parked at the top of Wachusett Mountain, and hiked down to Rt 62 in Princeton, to close the gap that I still had not hiked in the northern part of the Midstate Trail.

There's a little pond at the summit of Wachusett, and a sign in front of it warning the visitor to not drop anything into the pond, so as to keep it pristine and so on. When I walked over to the edge, I saw a pretty impressive school of tiny goldfish in the pond, so I'm guessing "pristine" is over.

A story about "Walden"

Walden

by Henry David Thoreau

p 43: “Formerly, when how to get my living honestly, with freedom left for my proper pursuits, was a question which vexed me even more than it does now, for unfortunately I am become somewhat callous, I used to see a large box by the railroad, six feet long by three feet wide… and it suggested to me that every man who was hard pushed might get such a one for a dollar, and, having bored a few auger holes in it, to admit the air at least, get into it when it rained and at night… and so have freedom in his love, and in his soul be free.”

I’m still reading Economy, the first section of Walden. This snippet reveals an underlying theme in the book. Thoreau has a very narrow measure of what is necessary, against which he weighs everything he does: He wants to be free to do whatever he wants, and for him that does not overlap well with a paying job. He looks at every new purchase with an eye to how much this will really cost him in terms of freedom. How many hours of working for someone else, doing something he doesn’t care about, will this cost him?

As I expected, I find that Thoreau is a cranky man. Mainly, he complains about his New England neighbors. Apparently, they think life is too hard and that they must work from sun up till sun down just to survive. Thoreau sees it differently; he thinks that they are too consumerist, always wanting a bigger plasma TV, the latest model gas-guzzling SUV, and a McMansion to fill with stuff.

This is one of the things that I like about Walden; this attitude mirrors my own. I certainly have a lot more junk than Thoreau did, but I tend toward being extremely frugal. I often find work as unbearable as Thoreau did, and chafe at the need to make a living when there are so many things that I’d rather be doing (some of them are free, but some of them cost money, necessitating the job, and making me complain like Thoreau’s neighbors did). When I think of buying an item (for example, a GPS system, which tempts me mightily), I consider how much food the money would buy if I were to take on a backpacker’s lifestyle, and how I’ll probably just have to sell it eventually, when and if money gets tight. That kind of thinking puts the temptation in perspective.

See more about Walden

survey

survey
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

I'd be amiss if I didn't mention the survey marks at Barre Falls dam. One is located just next to the little cemetery south of the dam, and the other is located just across from the dam building itself.

This one reads:

CORPS OF ENGINEERS - U.S. ARMY
SURVEY MARK
$250 FINE OR IMPRISONMENT
FOR DISTURBING THIS MARK
BOUNDARY
STATION DESIGNATION
BF-14
YEAR 1978
AGENCY
ELEV. 846.13 (??)

morning

morning
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

I woke up at 6 this morning, but lay about trying to convince myself that leaving the tent was really necessary. Eventually, I roused myself up and went in search of the old pipe spring, three-tenths of a mile to the south. I had filled up my water bottles at a fast-flowing river up by Intervale Rd the previous day, but by now my water supply was almost gone.

Since I wasn't sure whether the spring water was potable, I popped iodine tablets in it, just as I had with the river water the day before. I am not keen on the taste these pills impart to the water, but better safe than sorry. I should mention that this section of the Midstate is abundant with water. It may be due to the heavy rains we've had all summer, but all the brooks, streams, and rivers were running with wild abandon.

From there on, it was just a matter of retracing my steps. The mosquito problem continued, generally unabated. My trip back was largely uneventful, with one exception: passing through a sunny, open area, I disturbed two moose. One had a small set of antlers and the other did not. They are very impressive, majestic animals, in my opinion. They were perhaps a hundred feet away when I saw them, and they were gone in an instant! Too bad I was unable to get a photograph!

On the way back, I had a brief chat with a woman and her daughter, as I passed by their house. The woman told me that her grandfather (in-law?) had done the entire Midstate Trail, piecewise, at the age of 80. That's impressive! But I'm glad that I'm taking the time to do it now. Despite all the bug troubles, I had a great time this weekend, and feel pleasantly exhausted now. I should sleep very well tonight!

tent and shelter

tent and shelter
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

I guess I was the only person foolish enough to be hiking the Midstate Trail this weekend. I did not meet any other hikers on my trek. When I arrived at the Long Pond shelter, I found it empty, which was kind of pleasant.

It was not so pleasant to find the usual signs of partiers - beer cans, empty liquor bottles, and so on. And shortly after I arrived, the peace was broken by a couple of ATVs being driven down an ATV track close by. In addition, the mosquitoes seemed to be waking up just as I arrived. Fortunately, they weren't swarming! I was able to set up my tent without too much trouble, but I had to eat my dinner strolling around, or I'd become their dinner.

Since it was nearing sunset, I decided to retire to the relative comfort of my tent. I had brought Thoreau's Walden with me. I had a great plan to sit up reading till it got too dark. Instead, I read it lying down in my small tent, happily ensconced within the mesh. I had to wonder just what Thoreau - or indeed the native Americans - did when mosquitoes were out swarming as they were today.

I usually don't sleep so well when camping out - too many strange noises, the hard ground underneath, and a vague feeling of insecurity make it difficult to stay asleep. This night, I was waked a few times by the eerie calls of a hooting owl. It was very loud. Since I had kept the fly of the tent open, I was able to catch a glimpse of the owl sailing between the trees in the darkness.

memorial benches

memorial benches
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

After passing the small cemetery to the south of Barre Falls dam, I entered the woods again with some trepidation. It was justified. This area had the worst swarming of mosquitoes yet!

I got a break a mile later when the trail burst into a bright sunny area adjacent to a swamp. These two benches welcomed my weary body. And once again the mosquitoes faded away.

One of the benches is dedicated to Bob Elms, the other to Rolf Larsen, two champions of the Midstate Trail.

Barre Falls dam

Barre Falls dam
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

This weekend, I took my first backpacking trip of the season.

I hiked the Midstate Trail from Rt 62, at mile 29.26^*, down to the shelter at mile 45.05, and back. In addition, I hiked from the shelter to the spring at 45.31 miles, minus my gear. Total miles: 31.5. Total hours: 12.5. Pace: 2.5 mph. Pack weight: about 22 lbs.

The first few miles of the trip were very easy, along flat, packed dirt roads, and I felt lighthearted despite my pack. After about six miles of hiking, though, I began to have trouble with mosquitoes. They were swarming, and alas I had neglected to bring bug spray. I would wipe five of them off my left arm, wipe another five off my right, and there'd be another five on my left again. Not to mention my poor legs.

I think I spent about half the trip fending off ravenous mosquito swarms. This kind of thing really takes the joy out of a hike!

To counter the attack, I kept as fast a pace as I could (which is not fast at all). At some point, I took to wearing my rain jacket. This kept them off my arms, so that they were free to focus on my face and legs instead. The best defense was waving my hat back and forth rapidly in front of my face. However, I'm still completely covered in bites.

The pests backed off when I hit the Barre Falls dam. Apparently, being vampirish in nature, they were afraid to enter sunlit areas and confined themselves to the depths of the woods. So I took a nice long break there, admiring the sunny blue sky and the big fluffy white clouds.

* If you plan to park overnight along Rt 62 as I did, be sure to notify the town police. It seems they have a thing about cars, or should I say "suspicious vehicles," parked for any length of time along the road. I don't know if this is true for all parking areas along the Midstate Trail.

Tank fifty-six

Total miles: 20741. Trip miles: 423.9. Gallons: 6.966. Price per gallon: $3.739.

Screen mileage: 58.0 mpg. Tank mileage: 60.9 mpg. Wow, really great mileage!

A story about "Walden"

Walden

by Henry David Thoreau

I read Walden when I was quite young – I’m guessing around the age of 12 or so. I enjoyed it, and it made a big impression on me, to the extent that Thoreau was one of my heroes for quite some time. I particularly liked his ideas about individualism and his adherence to the spartan lifestyle.

My recent visit to Walden Pond has prompted me to reread the book. With age, my memory of it has faded and my impressions have changed. I have a feeling that I won’t like it very much, and that I’ll think Thoreau is a big complainer, permanently stuck in his adolescent phase. We’ll see.

See more about Walden

A review of "The X-Files 2 [Theatrical Release]"

The X-Files 2 [Theatrical Release]

I was completely satisfied with The X-Files: I Want to Believe. The series was one of my favorites, and the movie was like watching a really good long, fresh, episode.

When I go to movies, I usually stay until the very last credits have scrolled. This time, my patience was fully rewarded! Be sure to stay all the way until the end.

See more about The X-Files 2 [Theatrical Release]

jellies

jellies
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

After our whale watching trip, we visited the Aquarium. They've got a great special exhibit featuring jellies right now. And as usual, the big cylindrical tank was captivating. We got there at feeding time, and it was fun to see these huge sting rays, fish, a sea turtle, and sharks being fed like so many pigeons at the park. The diver doing the feeding must have one of the world's best jobs.

whales

whales
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

I went whale watching with a friend this weekend. We booked through the New England Aquarium, and it was a good experience (first time I've been, so nothing to compare with, though). We hung out with several groups of humpback whales, and they did not seem to be bothered by our presence. This is something I'd like to do again!

the birthday cupcake

birthday cupcake
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

Well, it's that time of the year again, the time to seek out a high place, provisioned with candle, matches, and cupcake, and sing a party song.

I had a hankering to visit the Midstate Trail, and I decided on this view of Wachusett. That is Wachusett in the background of the photo, but it's hard to tell because it was so hazy.

It took me all of seven minutes to hike to this spot. There was only a slight breeze, which was never enough to blow out the candle. After devouring the cupcake, I went for a sweet celebratory hike, about 4.5 miles in 1.5 hours.

Slackline yoga

My brother sent me an article from the Wall Street Journal, of all places, about a "slackline yoga" practitioner by the name of Jason Magness. Magness is a climbing bum with a difference; he performs yoga moves on a rope suspended above the ground.

Mr. Magness's father, Mark Magness, a retired Air Force lawyer, says he spent 23 years in a job he couldn't stand. So he avoids pressuring Mr. Magness to find traditional work. He admires his son's resourcefulness and spirit, but says he still struggles to accept that Mr. Magness lives in a van. "It pushes all these buttons," he says. "There was part of me that said, 'You need to be secure; security is important, happiness can wait.' Though watching him, that's become less obvious to me.

At the end of the article, Magness is quoted as saying there's a part of him that wants to live a normal life, with a family. I kind of wonder if he isn't lying to himself there... it sounds like he's doing exactly what he wants!

A story about "Angelina Jolie's: Notes from My Travels"

Angelina Jolie's: Notes from My Travels

by Angelina Jolie

I’ve just finished reading “Mission to Africa,” the first section of Angelina Jolie’s Notes from My Travels.

In the Introduction, she writes “I don’t know how this will be as a book, how readers will find it. I am not a writer.” You can tell that; her writing style is fairly simplistic, and this is not a standard travel journal. But she still does a good job at telling her stories from her unique perspective.

Jolie seems to be much more of a “feeling” person, not so much a “thinking” person. I don’t mean this in a bad way. There’s not a lot of introspection here about how she came to be interested in humanitarian issues. There’s very little historical detail or context provided. She’s telling you what she sees and feels, in a very raw and unprocessed way. She’s really very good at conveying her feelings and her horror at events going on in the world, and her empathy for the people suffering through them. The book seems to reveal as much about her as a person as it does about the situations she observes. So far, it’s an interesting view. I hope the book finds a wide audience.

See more about Angelina Jolie's: Notes from My Travels

sharks

sharks
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

My absolute favorite piece at the DeCordova is Pine Sharks, by Kitty Wales. They're like weird science fiction sharks, able to fly, circling in the air above you.

DeCordova sculpture park

tube thing
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

A friend is in town, so I'm doing the tourist thing. Yesterday, we went to the DeCordova sculpture park and spent almost the entire day there. I love visiting sculpture gardens.

This sculpture is one of my favorites, Reflex, by Michael Hansel. From this angle, it looks like an abstract horse creature rearing up on its hind legs.

Tank fifty-five

Total miles: 20317. Trip miles: 464.5. Gallons: 8.582. Price per gallon: $4.059.

Screen mileage: 58.6 mpg. Tank mileage: 54.1 mpg.

A few highway trips intermingled with short (about 10 minute long) commutes. This tank lasted three weeks, which is nice.

A review of "The Ophiuchi Hotline (Sf Collector's)"

The Ophiuchi Hotline (Sf Collector's)

by John Varley

Alien invaders evicted humanity from the earth, but the human race managed to survive by scattering to form societies on the moon and the other planets. They get a lot of help from highly advanced technological data streaming from the direction of the star 70 Ophiuchi. The advances in biotechnology are most noteworthy. People routinely restructure their body parts, and store the contents of their psyche in memory recordings which can be used to “reconstitute” a person who has died. It is in this universe that we follow our heroine as she becomes an unwilling participant in a mission to free the earth from the invaders.

I must have read The Ophiuchi Hotline the first time in my late teens or early twenties. I’ve read a good deal more science fiction since then, and this story holds up pretty well. The ending is a teensy bit weak because it seems to be setting us up for a sequel.

There aren’t a lot of female perspectives in science fiction, and this book does it so superbly that when I first read it I was convinced that “John Varley” was a pseudonym for a female author. I was wrong! Thanks again for writing this great story, Mr. Varley!

See more about The Ophiuchi Hotline (Sf Collector's)

is a weightlifting workout effective the day after a seven-hour hike?

I was sore and tired today, but I did my lower body workout anyway. I suspect there wasn't much point to it; that's not what they mean by a "pre-exhaustion" workout! However, I've got less time over the next couple of weeks, so I figure I'd better get my workouts in whenever I have the chance.

Midstate Trail end marker

Midstate Trail end marker
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

I never found the Midstate Trail terminus marker. Well darn, where is it? I'll have to go back for another look soon, and allow more time for sight-seeing.

Instead, I found this odd octagonal marker. It reads:
"BORDEN 1834".

According to nhfours, it "was erected by Simeon Borden as a control station for the first accurate trigonometrical survey of Massachusetts." Very cool!

After taking the shortcut back to the Rt 119 parking lot at Watatic State Reservation, I retraced my path up until I got to Blueberry Hill. There I stopped to review the trail guide and find out if there were any more shortcuts that I could take. I decided to go over blacktop from Camp Winnekeag back to my car, following Rt 101 south and then Rt 12 southeast.

I didn't like the idea of road walking without knowing how much room there would be at the side of the road for pedestrians, how fast traffic was going, or how much traffic there would be. But I knew that my pace would be much faster over tarmac, and the route was relatively free of elevation changes. Also, I knew that even though the sun would set after 8 pm, it would still be pretty dark on the trail. It was already pretty dark at midday, at certain points. Finally, my knees and hips were complaining a bit on the hills and walking on the flat would spare them.

That little road hike went pretty well. I walked towards oncoming traffic, and put myself far enough out in the road so that drivers would see me from far away, only backing off onto the shoulder when they were closer. Almost every driver was kind enough to give me more than enough room, although there were a couple of dingbats who actually swerved towards me.

That last bit was about 4 miles long and my pace was 3 mph. I was back at the car around 7:15. By that time I felt like every part of my body was aching!

I guess I overextended myself, since I'm still feeling achy today. I'm glad I went, anyway! With this section finished, I've done the first 25 miles of the Midstate Trail, from N.H. down to Wachusett Mountain, as round-trips. I am hoping to do the entire trail this summer, but the Wapack Trail calls as well.

trail's end

trail's end
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

After passing over Mt Watatic, the end of the trail had to be near. Eventually I came to this confusing sign. It reads:

← Wapack Trail →
Mt Watatic ←1.2
MA. Rt. 119 ← 2.4
N.H. Rt 123/124 → 4-4.5

And there's a little sign pointing back towards Nutting Hill, too.

There are blue blazes running along the wall to the north.

And there is no mention of the Midstate Trail whatsoever.

So I sat there on the wall for a minute trying to figure out what to do. If this was the end of the trail, why wasn't there a sign saying so? And where were the two monuments described in the guide book?

My brain was fried and I missed the clue in the trail guide about the state boundary being marked by blue blazes. I wasn't expecting big neon lights flashing the words "You are now leaving MA, welcome to NH", but some sign that I was crossing the border was expected... So I kept going! I followed the damned yellow triangles for another 15 minutes before deciding that this corner must have been the boundary to NH.

I knew that the yellow triangles are used to mark the Wapack Trail in this area, as well, I just didn't realize that the Wapack Trail continues on into NH. Live and learn.

So I spent another 15 minutes trudging back (uphill, of course) to this stone wall corner. I re-read the guide book, and went 200 ft west of this point to look for the "original terminus monument." I found something, but I'm not sure that it was the terminus monument.

And then, given that it was 4:30 pm, I decided to take the shortcut back to the parking lot, rather than reverse tracks and go back over Watatic. Wise move! I probably saved about 45 minutes or so going that way.

geodetic

geodetic
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

Although I did a very cursory inspection of the peak of Mt Watatic, I did manage to spot this geodetic survey marker. Score!

It reads:

reference mark
U.S. COAST & GEODETIC SURVEY
FOR INFORMATION WRITE TO THE DIRECTOR, WASHINGTON, D.C.
..FINE OR IMPRISONMENT FOR DISTURBING THIS MARK
WATATIC 2
MGS
R.M.4

view from Mt Watatic

view from Mt Watatic
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

I didn't get to spend as much time as I wanted at the summit of Mt Watatic. I will have to go back soon.

view from Mt Watatic

view from Mt Watatic
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

On the hike up Mt Watatic, you come to a clearing where there's a glimpse of another peak in the distance. I didn't check my compass but I think this view is to the south. So that could be Fisher Hill or Mt Hunger, but it could be any number of other hills in the vicinity.

pond at Mt Watatic

pond at Mt Watatic
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

This lovely, still pond greets you upon entry to Mount Watatic Reservation. I would have taken my shoes off for a dipping if there had been time, and if it hadn't looked kind of, uh, icky upon closer inspection. I think the dusty looking stuff on the surface at the edges of the pond was pollen, but I'm not sure.

Old Pierce Rd

Pierce Rd
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

This is the view down Old Pierce Rd. It's a crumbling, poorly maintained road, but it does get a little traffic. Once you get here, you know you're closing in on Mt Watatic.

trail

trail
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

This is a section of the Midstate Trail between Rt 101 and R 119. I think it's in the vicinity of Fisher Hill. When I stopped to check my pace here, I became even more concerned about the time.

I don't like hurrying while hiking. But it was pretty clear that I needed to hurry if I were to make it to the trail's end at the New Hampshire border, which I really wanted to do, and still be able to get back to the car before dark.

So I decided to stop for fewer photos and rest breaks, and to walk faster than I'd prefer on the downhills and straightaways. I kept a normal pace on the uphills, since I knew that attempting to power up those would be counterproductive and wind up slowing me down in the long term.

There's quite a lot of logging going on in this section of the trail. Heading over Blueberry Hill, the trail markers are scattered about poorly, probably due to the cutting. I had to stop and hunt around for a while to find out where the trail had disappeared to.