World's End is Actually Pretty Cool

For years, I've heard about this mysterious hiking area, accessible by public transportation from Boston, known as World's End.  I finally went to check it out on Friday, May 21.  All photos here are courtesy of my friend Kendra Miller.

Getting to World's End is the hardest part; it requires taking the Red Line out near the end of the Ashmont line, taking a bus out near the end of the bus line, and walking a half hour.  The entire trip takes maybe an hour and a half each way.  Here are some things you see when you get there:

You can walk your little kiddlies there:

The trees were tame in a nice way, making the hike feel like a stroll through a New England orchard but without the apples...

The trails are wide enough to be roads, while not looking suburban or anything:

Boston was on the horizon:

Another path:

Some trees with a view:

A tree without a view:

We also saw a fox!  But the fox was too tiny to see in our pictures, so here is a picture of an especially large rock:

Some views, so you can pretend you were there:

Here is where we ate lunch:

All in all, World's End was very pleasant.  It was not very rugged, and certainly not a difficult hike, but it had a certain New Englandness about it.  If you don't mind a long commute (bring a book!), this is an excellent place for a picnic, a stroll, or a place to walk your dog or your kids.

I leave you with a question mark:

The "Third Quarter" Rule of Exercise

Recently, I have sort of precipitated a mob of people doing the Hundred Pushup Challenge.  For the benefit of those doing pushups with me as well as anyone else attempting an endurance-based exercise routine, I thought I would discuss a helpful exercise "rule" I learned from rowing.  Note: this isn't a strict "rule," but rather a phenomenon that occurs during endurance-based exercise.  It deals with your mental state and willpower.

(Hundred pushup people: information about how this applies to the hundred pushup challenge is near the end of this post.)

Willpower is often the limiting factor in determining whether you complete your planned endurance-based workout or stick to a training program.  Sometimes I plan to run for an hour and only make it 40 minutes through the workout before stopping.  When I try to do as many pushups as I can, I've recently discovered that even after I feel like I can't do any more pushups, I can actually get out a few more.  I only stop doing pushups once I give up.  (No, of course I can't do infinite pushups with infinite willpower.  Don't take this to literal extremes; that isn't the point.)  Developing willpower is one of the reasons I exercise.  Here's where the Third Quarter rule comes in.

The Third Quarter Rule says that if you divide your (endurance-based) into quarters, the third quarter, not the last quarter, is the hardest.  The first half of the workout, if it's a reasonable workout for your level, should go by without too much trouble.  However, the third quarter is when you realize that you have to do all that over again, even though you're really starting to get tired.  You start thinking about how long you still have to go, and it becomes very tempting to say "good enough" and cut your workout short.  This part requires the most willpower.  If you make it through the third quarter, though, you can see the finish line and can usually get through to the end.  The third quarter is therefore the most "dangerous" part of your workout when it comes to completing your goals.

I was thinking about this rule recently when I got into the fourth week of my pushup challenge.  There are six weeks total (the idea is that you can work out for 6 weeks and be able to do 100 pushups), so the fourth week of the workout put me into the "third quarter" area.  I hadn't thought about the Third Quarter Rule applied to entire training regimens before, but the feelings I got in the third quarter of my pushup challenge were so close to the feelings I get in the third quarter of my runs that I started applying the Third Quarter Rule to the pushup workout as well.

So, pushuppers: watch out, it will probably be tempting to quit during the third quarter of your workout.  If you just get through that section of the workout, you will probably make it to the end!  I will be impressed if you stick with it! :)

(Of course, I haven't done pushups in the last week... but I pulled a muscle in my back and was in extreme pain.  It's a funny story, actually.  My back started hurting and then I went rock climbing on it and it got about a million times worse!  At least the climbs I did were really satisfying.)

Tunxis Trail Quiz Results!

No one took a guess in comments.  Sadly, everyone gets a zero on the quiz. ;_;

Here are the answers to last week's quiz anyway (or at least my best guesses after googling)!

1. The little orange guys are called a variety of names, including Eastern Newt, Red-Spotted Newt, and "Notophthalmus viridescens."  Check out the cuteness: http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20o?guide=Salamanders

2. The snake is a Northern Water Snake, very common in Connecticut.  I'm still sorry I stepped on it.

 

3. This is the really surprising one.  The green ball attached to the oak leaf is known as an "oak apple gall" and actually houses developing wasp larvae!  Check out the weird (potentially creepy) pictures: http://www.lesjones.com/posts/002031.shtml

4. The dark green wood is still an UNSOLVED MYSTERY!  Figure out what it is, post the answer in comments, and you can snatch victory from defeat and get points on the Tunxis Trail Quiz!  Victory can be traded in for cookies.

What is this??

Tunxis Trail Quiz Time!

This weekend, I went backpacking with Ken on the Tunxis Trail in northern Connecticut.  We had a good time, and saw lots of interesting things!  I had to Google them when I got back to figure out what they all were.  Now it's your turn to guess what they are!

In order of appearance:

1. Little orange lizard-like animals were in wet areas along the trail.  They were 1-2 inches in length, very cute, and due to their color, pretty easy to avoid stepping on.  What do you think they are?

2. Speaking of stepping on... I stepped on a snake. :-(  It made a funny sound.  But I'm pretty sure it was okay, because it was still moving around a bit (though looking kind of stunned) when I left it.  It was gone the next day when we passed by again.  I didn't get bitten, and it didn't get killed.  So, how close of a call was it?  What type of snake was it?

3. Weird green spheres, apparently growing out of leaves, were along the side of the path.  What could they be?

4. Dark green/teal-colored wood was found in a few places along the trail.  What makes it green?

I will post the answers next time!  Until then, think think think and take a guess!

Trip Report: Rock Circuit Trail at the Middlesex Fells

Another week, another hike -- this time, the occasion was Sophie Monahan's birthday!  Sophie, Robert Jacobs, Kristin Kuhn, Alex Vandiver, and I hiked the Rock Circuit Trail.  The weather was perfect, and we got pie with lunch because it was a birthday hike.

The idea of the Rock Circuit Trail is that the trail will go out of its way to hit as many rocks as possible.  There are even trail blazes that instruct you to go to the highest point in each rock formation before continuing on.  The hike was 6 miles total, but it probably would have only been 5 if not for its philosophy of hitting all rocks.

 Alex got another chance to try out his rock climbing skills, and climbed up a crack that he would rank a 5.8 (well, 5.9 in hiking boots) on the rock wall scale.  I took an easier route over to the left -- maybe a 5.6.

Since it was a birthday hike, we got to eat pie with lunch (quite luxurious):

Other attractions included a snake:

A snake egg:

 Invasive caterpillar nests:

 Robert trying to burn the invasive nests:

A rock circle in which to discuss things:

Some green areas:

A water tower that looked like it could come from Myst:

A waterfall:

Rest time:

 And, of course, pylons to keep the smoke monster from following you down the trail.