the Way of the Turtle

FALL COLORS IN THE NORTHERN BERKSHIRES
4.8 Mile Hike at Monroe State Forest
Sunday, October 12, 2008

I typically plan to go for a hike or a ride after doing a race - partly that's to keep the blood moving in my legs and partly it's to maximize my time outdoors during the trip. Today I had planned to stop at Tibbetts State Forest along Route 7 on the way home; I've passed the trailheads numerous times on my way to races in MA and VT but never actually stopped there. But given that I pushed fairly hard for the last three miles of the race and didn't really get to see and photograph much of the course, I decided instead to hike back in along Dunbar Brook and take in the sights at a more leisurely pace.

The walk along the brook was really very peaceful, with the water rushing over the rocks and the wind rustling the leaves on the trees. It was actually pretty nice to just wander along the path at any pace I wanted! The first mile was fairly shady, but then I crossed the Bridge of Death (that's a reference to the 2005 race, when it rained like crazy the day before and the stream was so high that they didn't dare use the bridge, for fear that someone would fall in and get swept downstream to their death) and there was a lot more sunlight coming down through the trees, making much of the forest glow in golds, reds, yellows, and oranges. Beautiful! I also passed several virgin spruce trees - I don't know that I could have put my arms around the trunks - and numerous boulders big and small, leftovers from the glacier that scoured the area

After about two miles I reached a shelter along the trail, and had the option of continuing uphill (ugh) to follow the path I'd run down earlier in the afternoon or following what looked like an old unblazed path along the stream. I chose the latter, which was an excellent decision, since it took me to a fantastic waterfall I'd never seen before. I climbed around on the rocks near the falls, spent a while sitting on a huge boulder and just enjoying being out in the woods, and then finally headed back down the trail to the picnic area.

All in all, a fun hike, and a great opportunity to see some parts of the forest that went by in something of a blur earlier... the only thing that would have made it even better if it Ann had been able to be there with me. She wouldn't have enjoyed waiting for me to finish the race, but I think she would have liked the walk afterwards.

JMH