Middlesex Fells

It was a beautiful spring day out today, a perfect day for a hike! I was thinking about heading up to NH, but decided that the Skyline Loop in the Fells would be fine. It's still icy up north, and I didn't feel like the drive. My awesome parking karma was in full force, I got a parking spot by the Sheepfold area, and headed out at noon. The last time I did the loop, I went counter clockwise, and found the hills at the end to be really tiring, so I decided to go clockwise this time, and get the big hills over with. (Turns out there are hills in both directions, so now I know.)

There were a ton of people out hiking, walking, taking their dog for a walk, etc! It made it hard to stop and pee, especially because the leaves aren't out yet. I did manage to pee in the woods twice without an audience, and to not pee on my boots:)  I got to wear my non-winter hiking boots again - they feel so light!

According to AMC Boston, the hike is 7.9 miles with 1600 feet of elevation gain. Mt Monadnock, on the Marlboro Trail, is 4.4 miles round trip, with 1800 feet of elevation gain. So, even though didn't seem like climbing a mountain, it kind of was. It took me 4 hrs and 20 min, but I did take a couple stops on the path, once to eat an apple and once to eat a power bar (and twice to pee). So, I think I was walking almost 2 mph! Which is faster than book time.

By the end, my feet were killing me. I stuck them in an ice bath when I got home, not sure if that made even the slightest bit of difference.

Boston Marathon tomorrow!