I left the relative safety of NY and headed up the coast to find whatever treasures awaited me. I knew that success was not waiting for those who planned, so I was reassured I was on the right path. My path took me to Milford, CT to check out the Dan Patrick Radio Show Studio. It may only be the upper story of a Subway shop, but the man cave doesn’t care. His sports talk show is the best on the radio. Hands down. Perhaps some day I can command the audience DP does.
I got back on the road and kept going until I rolled into Walden Pond. It was a beautiful day as the sun illuminated the lake and pushed temps in to the 50’s. A trail wound around the pond with other trails interspersed throughout the 2680-acre property. The main trail was more like a narrow road, built to withstand the multitude of visitors. On this day, there were a handful of hikers moseying around the pond and even a few hardy swimmers! Walden Pond is a hot spot for long-distance swimmers. It is a decent sized relatively undeveloped lake with no motors allowed, located within the Boston metro area. U.S. Olympian Alex Meyer trains there as he prepares for the 10K open water event. I can’t even run a mile and this guy is swimming 10 kilometers, insane.
Walden Pond afforded me the chance to clear my head after a week in New York. It’s interesting how different my thoughts are in Nature compared to a city. I feel like I think more deeply (scary, isn’t it) when I’m away from people and other manmade distractions. In town, I look for a cheap laugh or comment because the pace of life dictates how long you can focus on one thing, whereas walking in relative solitude enables me to delve into a topic or thought and really probe the thought entirely. I’ve thought and written about the conservation movement in Wisconsin from the likes of John Muir and Aldo Leopold and those ruminations floated up from the depths of my head as I stared at the site of Henry David Thoreau’s cabin. Thoreau came before Leopold and Muir was still in his early years as Thoreau was at Walden Pond, laying the groundwork for conservation and nature in America (and the world).
The site of the cabin and woodshed were marked with small pillars delineating the structures. Off to one side, was a huge pile of rocks. Thoreau lovers have a tradition of placing rocks on the pile in honor of him. If I had known this, I would have brought one of the rocks I’ve picked up on my travels around Wisconsin, perhaps next time.
People had filled the site of Thoreau’s woodshed with sticks and branches paying homage to Thoreau and the idea of Walden. More cynical people would look at the woodpile and laugh, saying it means nothing and is a lame attempt to reconnect with Walden, but actions mean something. Placing a ceremonial stick on Thoreau’s woodpile is a gesture that speaks volumes. It pays tribute to Thoreau and the idea of Walden. We need to reconnect with our own Walden Pond. People become jaded and think nature-lovers are all hippies, like it’s a bad thing to enjoy and protect nature. Screw that. Nature is for everyone
Being a dork, I brought a copy of Walden to read as I walked around the pond. I skipped around a bit, reading random passages, but eventually settled down in the chapter “Solitude.” Thoreau writes, “I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.” And “Solitude is not measured by the miles of space that intervene between a man and his fellows. The really diligent student in one of the crowded hives of Cambridge College is as solitary as a dervis in the desert.” He’s talking about how you can be around people, but still get lost in your own thoughts if you focus on the task at hand. We all have solitary moments, but we may not realize it at the time. Everyone needs some time to himself or herself each day, but that gets lost in the hustle and bustle of life. We can get a little stale if we just go through the same routine everyday. From Walden, “We meet at meals three times a day, and give each other a new taste of that old musty cheese that we are.” I love my sharp cheddar cheese, but every now and then, it’s good to change it up and try something new. Walden Pond enabled Thoreau to get away from the distractions of life in the city and just live and think deeply. Walden is not necessarily a place, but a frame of mind. Everyone needs their own Walden Pond.
I finished my walk around Walden Pond mentally refreshed for whatever crazy adventures lay ahead. I wasn’t sure where the rest of the day was going to lead me or where I was going to sleep, but my car was headed to the Portsmouth Brewery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and I hopped in. Little did I know that was just the start to an insane story involving Craigslist Maine.
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