I woke up this morning with no motivation and no real plan for the day so I thought I would check out some of the local trails. A 30 minute drive north brought me to the trail head at Chebacco (rhymes with tobacco) Woods. It was very humid and a little buggy which didn't help my motivation one bit. The layout of the interconnecting trails didn't lend themselves to devising a clearly defined loop so I just started walking and let the trail in front of me determine my way.
Walking along Round and Gravelly Ponds.
Easy walking most of the way.
View of Round Pond.
A private retreat.
A see-through tree.
It didn't take long for me to get a little bored with this place. The terrain was too flat and uninteresting for me to truly enjoy it. I also think because I was walking aimlessly without a defined goal for the day contributed to my boredom. If I was hiking to reach a specific destination, or trying to cover a fixed number of miles for the day, I think I would have been more focused.
A short video of the trails in Chebacco Woods.
Don't get me wrong. Chebacco Woods is certainly a nice place to visit. My mind just wasn't in the game today. More photos of the hike can be viewed here.
The Discover Hamilton Trail (DHT) is a 10 mile loop beginning on Route 1A in Hamilton, MA and passing through Harvard Forest, Pingree Reservation, Bradley Palmer State Park (BPSP), Appleton Farm Grass Rides and Harvard Forest once again. I first learned of the DHT's existence back in 2008 or 2009 while running the GAC Fat Ass 50K in Bradley Palmer. Over the next few years I ran on portions of the DHT during training runs in BPSP and during my Bay Circuit Trail adventures. I've always wanted to do the full loop but never got around to it until this past weekend.
I started my hike at the Hamilton Town Hall and walked north on Route 1A looking for the trail marker that would indicate a turn off the road and into the Harvard Forest. I searched several minutes for the blaze but could not find it so I decided to do a road walk that paralleled the trail and pick up the actual trail about a mile down the road. I got a late start and it was beginning to get warm so I was looking forward to getting under some tree cover and into the cooler temperature the woodlands would provide.
Old school Post Office on 1A.
Finally found the trail.
The hiking through Harvard Forest and Pingree Reservation was very pleasant on relatively flat and smooth trails so maintaining a pace of greater than three miles per hour was quite easy. As I stopped briefly to talk to three riders on horseback, a deer crossed my path and ran off into the woods. I bid farewell the the trio and continued on my way towards BPSP.
Muddy but easy hiking.
Trio of riders.
Horse jumping is popular in Pingree Reservation.
This was a hastily planned hike and all I had for a trail map was the one I found on the internet. It was lacking detail and I should have taken supplemental maps with me, at least one for Bradley Palmer, but I did not. This proved to be a mistake as I went off the DHT somewhere in BPSP. By the time I realized my error, I was too far from the missed turn to backtrack and continue on the missed section. It wasn't a big deal but I did miss the only climb of the hike which would have taken me over Blueberry Hill and Moon Hill.
I didn't see any coyote. I wonder if they saw me?
A fixer-upper.
After leaving BPSP I walked along a long dirt road and then onto a paved road past some farmland planted with native corn. A farmer was working on his tractor in the field under the hot sun. As I walked past him, I wondered what it would have been like to have lived in a simpler time when people grew and raised what they ate and walking was a common mode of transportation. My daydreaming came to an abrupt end when a cyclist blurted out something as he whizzed past me. I don't know what he said but I have a feeling it was something obnoxious. Road cyclists are like road runners, too obsessed with pace to enjoy the journey.
Mmm,sweet corn.
So many mailboxes but it didn't see a single house.
I was happy to leave the hot pavement behind and escape to the green solitude of the Appleton Farm Grass Rides. The wealthy once rode in their carriages along these rolling paths. Now, I was enjoy the soft dirt under my feet after the long road walk. Once I left Appleton, I was less than two miles from the finish. I entered Harvard Forest to return on the trail that I had missed when I left the Town Hall at the start of my hike.
Pinnacle at the intersection of five trails in Appleton.
It was obvious this section of the DHT has seen little use as the trail was rather overgrown and a clear path was not visible. As the trail descended, it became wet in many spots. When I crossed a newly constructed footbridge the trail became even wetter and soon it disappeared completely under deep water. There was a great deal of rain in the area during the week which turned this section of trail into a swampy mess. There was no way through or around the flooded area so I backtracked and finished up the hike on the same road I had started it.
The not so traveled path.
This was nice but didn't help me where I needed it.
With my missed turns and detours the 10 mile hike ended up being closer to 12 miles but who's counting?
A few weeks ago I went for my first "jog" in 16 months. It didn't go as well as I would have liked and resulted in more pain than I usually experience on a daily basis. With that failed experiment in mind, I thought I'd see if I could tolerate hiking a bit better. Late Saturday afternoon, I went for a short "test" hike in Lynn Woods Reservation. It was a cool, breezy day and by the time I arrived at the park the sun was casting long shadows across the landscape. I hiked a four mile loop at a fairly brisk pace keeping mainly on the rough fire roads with perhaps a mile or so on some rocky single-track trail. Overall, I felt pretty good and only felt an increase in my discomfort level when climbing hills. I think this was caused by trying to push the pace too quickly on the uphills. When I slowed down, I didn't experience any additional pain.
Scenic four mile loop
Dirt fire road
Easy single track
Nice path along the water's edge
Breeds Pond
I'll probably try to do another test hike next weekend. If I have the same results I may attempt to complete my section run/hike of the Bay Circuit Trail that I put on hold nearly two years ago. I still have about 100 miles to cover of the 200 mile trail.
As always, I can never really plan ahead. I just need to take it one day at a time.
Andrew Skurka is an accomplished adventure athlete, speaker, guide, and writer. The 31-year-old is most well-known for his solo long-distance backpacking trips, the 6,875-mile 7-month Great Western Loop and the 7,775-mile 11-month Sea-to-Sea Route. In total, he has backpacked, skied, and packrafted 30,000+ miles through many of the world’s most prized backcountry and wilderness areas—the equivalent of traveling 1.2 times around Earth’s equator! Skurka, born and raised in Seekonk, MA, has been described as “a superman among trekkers” and “one of the best traveled and fastest hikers on the planet.” In the process of trying to travel mega distances over rugged terrain in relatively short periods of time, Skurka helped to define light-and-fast backcountry travel. His typical 3-season pack cumulatively weighs between 8 and 10 pounds, sans food and water; and he regularly logs 30+ miles per day, even off-trail. When not in the field, Skurka occasionally dabbles in ultra-running. In his first and only 100-mile run, the prestigious Leadville Trail 100 in 2008, he placed second in 18 hrs 17 min. His PR for the Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim, which is 42 miles long and features 21,420 feet of elevation gain & loss, is 8 hrs 2 min. On Skurka’s most recent trek, the 4,700-mile 6-month Alaska-Yukon Expedition, he had a close encounter with a grizzly bear; make that two grizzly bears in the span of 30 minutes. Although visibly shaken by the experience, Skurka was able to compose himself and find humor in this potentially fatal faceoff.
At last count, I own four handheld water bottles, a one-bottle waist pack, two different two-bottle waist packs, three CamelBak hydration packs of varying sizes and fluid capacities and a Nathan hydration vest.
You might say I have an obsession with hydration systems. In my never ending quest to find the ultimate hydration system, I was please to learn that two of the world's best ultra runners, Anton Krupicka and Scott Jurek, have teamed up with the hydration specialists at Ultimate Direction to design and manufacture two very innovative ultra running vests. These vests use state of the art cuben fiber, the darling of the ultra-light backpacking community, for it's unsurpassed strength to weight ratio.
Ultimate Direction AK Racing Vest
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Anton discusses the features of his new vest.
Ultimate Direction SJ Ultra Vest
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Scott Jurek talks about the design of his new vest.
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Exeter Snowshoe Hullabaloo 4M - Exeter, NH Four miles of tight, twisted single track in Henderson-Swazey Woods. Plenty of small hills to keep you breathing hard the entire way. I don't think this will go off as a snowshoe race. There just isn't enough snow in the area. Check the race website for updates. Maybe it will end up being a trail race. It's all good!
Winter Wild Uphill Series, Ragged Mountain - Danbury, NH Run, snowshoe or ski 3 miles up to the summit and back down again along an established ski trail. Unorthodox but fun!
Sunday, February 3
Cape Cod Frozen Fat 25K & 50K Options - Barnstable,MA This race is on Sandy Neck beach in the middle of the winter so conditions can be brutal. Cold temps, strong headwinds and soft, shifting sands are the norm. This race is not for wimps. Sounds like a good time to me. Actually, some of my ultra running friends (see photo) have done this race (more than once) and they raved about it. I hang with some crazy people!
For all of you who like to plan your race season around the Grand Tree Series, the 2013 race schedule is now posted on the WMAC website. Long-time early season race, the one I love to hate, Northern Nipmuck in CT has been dropped from the series. All the other races from 2012 are on the 2013 schedule so there is much to be thankful for. With a lot of luck, a WHOLE lot, I may be able to run one of these before the year is done. We'll see..
Side-Hiller 4M Snowshoe Race, Center Sandwich, NH The course is a mix of single-track and groomed trails. Three miles are in the woods with rolling hills and one steep 200 foot up and down hill as you enter the woods. The race is part of the WMAC/Dion and Granite State Snowshoe Race Series so you can earn double points without running double miles or paying double entry fees. Now that's a deal you can't pass up!
Curley's Record Run 3.7M Snowshoe Race, Pittsfield, MA The race is held in Pittsfield State Forest and is a grueling mix of double and single track trails that climb almost 700 feet in one mile then descend about 800 feet down a 1920's ski race trail. There a saying that goes something like this, "The race is very popular with snowshoers, especially just before the race.
Curley's course elevation profile.
Yikes! Glad I'm sitting out this one.
The race is part of the WMAC/Dion Snowshoe Race Series and is also the Massachusetts and Connecticut Championship race for 2013.
Bellville Pond 10K Trail Race, North Kingstown, RI A trail race in January? Yeah, that's what I'm talkin' about! This scenic 10K course follows rolling wooded trails through Ryan Park.
Sometime last August, when I wasn't paying attention, Breakheart Trail Running reached 100,000 page views. It has since surpassed 111,000 views. That's pretty good considering I haven't had much to write about over the past two years due to injuries, etc. I thought it might be fun to see how BHTR got to 100,000 views by looking back at the 10 most popular posts of all time. 1. The Boston Marathon - Reflective Perspective April 6, 2010 - 3955 views I'm not surprised this post is number one. The Boston Marathon is the oldest and most prestigious marathon in the United States and road runner outnumber trail runners by 100 to 1. (I totally made up that stat). I consider this one of my better written posts. 2. Product Review - Inov8 Roclite 319 November 17, 2011 - 2305 views Inov8 is very popular among trail runners and their shoe line keeps growing year after year. This is my favorite Invo8 model for long distance training and racing. 3. Bay Circuit Trail Section 2 - Boardwalks and Water Crossings Galore April 18, 2011 - 1321 views. My section runs on the Bay Circuit Trail helped increase awareness that this 200 mile gem even existed. After my series of posts, I received several emails from people looking for more information about the BCT. I even got one from an AT thru-hiker who was planning a BCT thru-hike. This particular run with friends Em and Rob was a blast and I have fond memories of all my BCT runs. 4. This Weekend on the Trails May 7, 2010 - 1114 views OK, this one did surprise me but I think I know why it ranks so high. This post happened to include information on a few very popular races that were scheduled for the upcoming weekend. I'm sure people searching for information on these races were directed to my blog. 5. Product Review - Cool Off Bandana August 17, 2009 - 816 views Heat is my kryptonite and based on the number of hits on this post I'm not the only one. 6. Product Review - Everything You Don't Want To Know About Iliotibial Band Straps May 1, 2011 - 659 views I developed ITB syndrome in the spring of 2010 and it's plagued me every since. It's a common problem among long-distance runners. I've tested several difference straps and had mixed results. With treatment ITB syndrome usually goes away. Mine never did. Nor has my plantar fasciitis. Just lucky I guess. 7. Product Review Inov8 Roclite 295 June 13, 2011 - 559 views This is my second favorite Inov8 model. With it's sticky rubber sole it's a great shoe for running in wet conditions. 8. Hamster Run March 7, 2008 - 548 views This post is from the last time my SI joint was causing a lot of problems for me. I was avoiding trails and hills so I was running workouts on a quarter mile track. I ran so many loops I felt like a hamster on an exercise wheel. I imagine all the folks looking for information about hairy rodents were disappointed when the stumbled across this post. 9. 2010 New England, New York & New Jersey Ultra Marathon Race Schedule and Results January 13, 2010 - 524 views This is when I must have had way too much free time on my hands! 10.Traprock 50K Race Report April 18, 2010 - 490 views This is one of my favorite races. A challenging course, great RDs and volunteers. I wrote an article about my race experience that was published in Ultrarunner Magazine. I'll probably never have something I write get published again. I should have kept that issue. There you have it. The top ten posts since I started this blog in 2008. They only amount to 12,000+ page views. Don't ask me to figure out where the other 99,000 came from!
I decided to resurrect my "Weekend on the Trails" posts. I stopped doing this a couple of years ago (maybe longer) because I was too busy training and racing to keep up with this series. Now I have plenty of free time to search the internet for the best races in the greater New England area so you can spend your time doing something more productive. Like watching reality TV. :-) OK, let's get to it!
The course is point to point, very gentle grade single track on the Catamount Trail. The Catamont is the longest XC ski and snowshoe trail in North America. It travels 300 miles from Readsboro to Canada along the Deerfield River on the Hoosac Tunnel and Wilmington Narrow Gauge Train Rail Bed. Fear not, you don't have to run 300 miles, only 3! This race is part of the WMAC/Dion Showshoe Race Series.
The course consists of groomed trail and twisty singletrack. I hear the groomed trails are very fast but snow cover in the denser woods is a little spotty but adequate. This is based on recent recon done by Kevin Tilton and Jim Johnson. This race is part of the Granite State Snowshoe Series.
Yes, I know this a very lean race schedule but it's winter in New England. What can you expect? Just hold your horses, there will be more than you can handle soon enough.
I walked over 1000 miles last year. It’s not really something I enjoyed doing but I did it anyway. Here are some thoughts and observations from wandering the streets of my hometown.
1. Walking hurts my feet. Running 30 miles in the woods bothers my plantar fascia less than walking three miles on pavement. 2. If you’re in a hurry to get somewhere, don’t walk. 3. You notice more about your surroundings when you walk vs. running. This is not always a good thing. 4. Walking is not very popular in my town. Running is even less popular. I saw only a handful of walkers and runners all year but I saw hundreds if not thousands of drivers. 5. Where are all these people going and why are they in such a hurry? 6. Most drivers prefer to swerve around you or cut in front of you when you are in a crosswalk. Stopping to let you cross the street is their last option, and when they do it, they do it with a scowl. 7. I walk slower than I run but the difference is not that significant. 8. A car full of young people cannot drive past without screaming some foolishness out the window at me. I was young once. I wonder if I was as obnoxious as today’s youth. 9. Dogs like walkers more than runners. Some dogs. 10. RUNNING a 100 mile race is out of the question. Maybe I could WALK one? NAH!
I received an email (see below) a few days ago from Christy at LeapFitness.com. She discovered my blog several months ago while doing some research, liked what she saw and has been following ever since. Her email was to inform me that Breakheart Trail Running has been nominated as one of the top 100 fitness blogs for 2013. I can only assume her decision was based on previous posts and not current content since 2012 was a real down year for me. I hope 2013 will bring some new and exciting adventures to Breakheart Trail Running and I'll be able to share them with you. In the meantime, please stop by LeapFitness and cast your vote for BHTR!
Thanks for your support!
Dan
"Hi Dan,
I noticed one of your posts whilst I was researching an article, and had to have a peek at your site! I really like the personal take you have on running and exercise, and had to add you to my bookmarked list!
Several months later, and I have to say I love your blog! It's so informative and so much fun! I'm still building up the courage to do a marathon, and hope to take on an ultra eventually! Your pictures are so cool; the places you run look amazing!
Mike and I have put together a list of our favorite 100 Top Health and Fitness blogs to watch in 2013, and you were an obvious choice! For a bit of fun, we've asked for the public to vote for the winners! You can see the contest page here http://www.leapfitness.com/top100.
We’ve also created a voting button that you can add to your site to ask your readers to cast their vote! So please feel free to add the attached button to your site and send your readers to vote for you here: http://www.leapfitness.com/top100
There are so many fantastic fitness blogs out there that we're hoping this will help spread the word, help people with their motivation... and send you new visitors!"
Cleaning House The new year is just around the corner so it's out with the old, and the new! I have way too much gear cluttering up the house and haven't been able to use it anyway so it's got to go. All the gear is brand new or in excellent condition except were noted. They’re also priced to move. I may be adding more items as I dig deeper into my gear closet so be sure to check back again. Payment, Shipping and Local Pickup Most purchases will ship via USPS for $5 to $10 depending on weight and dimensions. All payments must be made using Paypal. If you live in the Boston Area, local pickup is available. Contact Form Please post a comment if you want to buy an item or if you have a question. Please include your email address so I can respond to you.
MSR Fast Stash
MSR Fast Stash Tarp Shelter MSRP: $300 Sale Price: $200 - Sorry, item has Sold Condition: Excellent This is a versatile, ultralight shelter that offers full protection and ample room for 2 people in a single-wall body that pitches quickly. Adjustable side wings add external coverage and allow maximum ventilation.
I naively thought I could convince my daughters to come car camping with my wife and I so I purchased this 10' x 16' three room tent. It's never been out of the box! To learn more about this tent go to the Alps website. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kelty Screenhouse
Kelty Screenhouse - Large
MSRP: $319.95 Sale Price: $150 Sorry, item has Sold
Condition: Very GoodDimensions: 156"W x 76"H x 132"D Local Pickup preferred but will ship.
This screenhouse offers a generous 143 square feet of floor space and is large enough to cover a picnic table. It has two large mesh doors and four mesh windows with pull-down shades. This shelter is a beast and it's best to have two people available for setting it up.
Current Retail: $189 - Sorry, item has Sold Sale Price:$50
Size: Men's 25 inch
Load: 120 - 200 pounds
Condition: Good
Local Pickup preferred but will ship.
These are recommended for recreational and trail use on packed snow, broken trails, gently rolling terrain and small hills. You wouldn't want to run a marathon with these strapped to your feet but they're bombproof in the back woods.
This 10.8 oz cooking system includes a 1.1 liter cooking pot, a 14 ounce mug/bowl and a folding spork. Nested items store in the stuff sack which double as a wash basin. A fuel canister and stove will also fit into the pot making this a very compact cook system.
Sale Price $15 Lg, $12, $10 Sm (set of three for $33) - Sorry, items have Sold
Condition: New
Dimensions: Lg - 15 Liters, Med - 10L, Sm - 5L
Made of tough, lightweight 190T nylon and moisture shunning TPU lamination with a roll-top closure and air value to remove excess air for increased compression.
L
