The big walk

Today was the nicest day of 2006. Clear blue sky, sunshine, not too cold, and not windy. I took advantage of this by dragging my friend Horace on the "big walk". This means walking out my back door, and taking the trail network all the way south to the hunt club, then crossing over to some meadow land around a pond, then back through the marsh. It's about 7 or 8 miles and takes a good two hours, especially if you detour to the market to pick up the paper.

I love a big walk, because you walk, talk, and think yourself out.

When I lived in Jamaica Plain, I called the big walk the "Jamaica Plain death march." I would walk from my house all the way around Jamaica Pond, then down the Jamaicaway to the Arboretum, then go up and down both Peters and Bussey hill in the Arb, then back home.

The biggest big walk I've ever taken was a 17 mile trek from Newton through Wellesley and Dover to Medfield. The big walk in JP that I never took was to summit the five hills of JP: Jamaica Hill, Bussey Hill, Peters Hill, Moss Hill, and the hill at Larz Anderson park. I kind of miss JP .

Anyway, the big walk is something simple that I really, really like.