Wachusett Mountain

I’m a little surprised that Wachusett Mountain is actually called a mountain. But what do I know about such things? Anyway there it is, less than an hour from here, and we had never climbed it. But you know that on Sunday mornings when my bunny wakes up and says he wants a view, he gets a view. A coworker had announced on FB that he would be running up Wachusett Saturday in preparation for an upcoming Tough Mudder, and that gave us the idea to give it a go too.

Don’t worry. Neither of us will ever do a Tough Mudder. Me because I couldn’t handle it, and Yen because, as he said, “I can think of ways to have a lot more fun without getting so dirty.”

Anyway, off we went. I tried to keep up the fastest pace I possibly could, turning this into exercise instead of just a stroll. Sometimes that worked. And sometimes I was really excited to turn around and pose (hands on hips, of course), while Yen snapped a picture.

We liked this trail a lot (we took the Balance Rock to Old Indian). It’s a pretty gradual climb, and anyone in reasonable shape could tackle it. But please, for chrissake, don’t wear flip flops.

The trouble, though, is when you get to the top. There should be a lovely summit and some rocks where you sit and contemplate the trees below you while eating some granola before heading back down. Instead, the summit was a barren, graveled expanse covered in people who’d driven to the top in SUVs (or an choppers), and who were now balancing Dunkin Donuts cups while they tried to snap photos with their iPhones. Yes, I was a wee bit disappointed.

The road up looks nice for biking, though. I think we’ll give it a shot when my legs get a little tougher.

Anyway, back down we went, this time on the Harrington Trail to the S-something, connecting finally back to the Old Indian. My buddy at work said this was actually the ascent they used, and I think it would be better for an ascent – it just has one really steep part at the end. Not quite as nice a full workout as the route we took, but if you’re trying to run (as he was), this is your route.

Naturally we stopped off at Balance Rock for some photos on the way back.

I shouldn’t have complained so much about the people on the top. At least they were outside, I guess. And anyway, except for those few minutes, we had a really lovely day in perfect weather and surrounded by green. There’s no way you can complain about that.