Sharpening Skills

North Mountain Road kicks ass. About twice as strenuous as Summit Road. O-o

More interesting though, is that there is a maze consisting of roads and trails winding all through there. A brilliant idea came to me; in the Corps we learned how to draw topo maps from measurements taken on the ground using pace counts and compass bearings with a bit of math. This is an awesome opportunity to do a number of things all at once; dust off the old cartography skills, sharpen orienteering skills, exercise naturally, and most importantly, updating old topo maps. By the time Summer proper rolls around I ought to have the entire Mt Toby area down like the back of my hand. I can do the same for the Pocumtuc area, the Pelham Dome proper, and then start working father afield. :) Keeping skills sharp, you bet.

I have been taking pics now and then as I ramble...soon I will put some of them up under 'Rhovannion' or some similar title.

This year's hunting license is in hand. :) Hunting commences at once. Hehehe. Rangering comes naturally.

It has been a long time since I felt so good, so healthy, so active...it is very pleasant indeed. So far, so good with the new program. Nifty part; I eat all day, essentially, but end up consuming less calories overall than I had been AND get more and better exercise in the form of forest rambles. :) Can't beat that with a stick!

At the moment I drive to the trailhead but it will not be long before that is no longer necessary. I will in time be able to hike to the trailhead and then hike the inner trails too....since there are several access points within pretty easy reach, I do not think it will take me long to achieve this and it will minimize the amount of people disturbed by my kit and clothing in the process. Here in the Commonwealth, that's a good thing.

Well, as long as the trailheads lead to Mt. Toby I'll be able to hike to them. Once I get out to the AT..the goal for the Summer, I *have* to drive to get there as it is a considerable distance to the West of us in the Berkshires proper. :)

We are supposed to get a couple of inches of snow tomorrow..first time this Winter. We shall see. I will be out in whatever it is anyway; a Ranger cannot count on good weather so must be comfortable in all sorts.

Practice, practice, practice. Keep those skills sharp!

Eledhwen