In preparation for our trip out West, we are doing a different hike every Saturday until we leave. We tried to put them in easiest-to-most-challenging order, and thus we started at the Breakheart Reservation in Saugus. (Saugus? Yes, that Saugus.)
We chose to do Breakheart first as there are a good number of small, steep, rocky hills -- a perfect start to get the blood pumping and the legs working. When we got to the top of the first one, we found this abandoned rail car (?)... Staring at it in bewilderment did not answer the obvious question -- how the hell did it get up here?
Breakheart is really beautiful. You'd never know that you are right behind the Leaning Tower of Pizza on Route 1. A few lakes, lots of streams, tons of hiking trails, circuits of paved biking/blading paths and very, very dog friendly. A hidden secret, I'd say!
Our reward for climbing yet another hill -- a cool view of Boston and watching the planes take off and land from Logan.
The beach was packed when we walked through it, though you can't tell from this vantage point atop Eagle Rock.
Aside from the physical aspects of the "conditioning," we are also using these hikes to see how the boots feel, how much water the Camelbak holds, how the pack feels, is the camera going to drive me crazy, etc... Well, at least that was my plan. Mo, on the other hand decided to forego all of that "research" and attempted to test drive his Vibram Five Fingers while hiking. Let's just say that some of his toes are a lovely shade of purple and he put the ice pack back in the freezer minutes ago. Lesson learned. Ahem. They're called "hiking" boots for a reason!
We loved the diversity of terrain, and look forward to heading back after Yellowstone. A big thumbs up (at least from those of us wearing BOOTS)!(Here's a map -- we took a zig-zaggy, primarily trail course around the outside of the reservation. An attempt to hit most, if not all, of the climbs...)
Next week: Connecticut!
