The day after Thanksgiving, Lyn suggested we go for a hike at Mount Wachusett…a small ski hill in central Massachusetts and the one closest to Boston. Although a storm had hit New England the day before Thanksgiving, it had mostly rained where we live and when we set out for the hike, we forgot that Wachusetts, being about an hours drive north of us, had got mostly snow. Plus (and this we had not even known at all) the area had got some further snow just the night before. What all of this summed up to was a wonderfully white drive and then trek up the mountain and along its base.
Before viewing the photographs, I would also like to invite you to visit the poetry blog, the Book of Pain. As always, special thanks to my dearest Lyn, who does most of the hard part: the photo selections. Thank you for dropping by the Book of Bokeh.
The picture below is looking towards Wachusett. Notice two things: 1) the snow being blown off the ski runs by the high winds…because there are always high winds at Mount Wachusett! My guess is that this is snow currently being made by the elevated snow guns, not snow lifted from the ground. 2) Notice too the teeny, tiny little tower at the very top of the mountain. That was where we were going and later in this post there is a picture from there looking down.
The drive to Wachusetts was like something out of the movie Frozen:
We hiked a series of trails to the top. Rather than return the way we went up, we decided to take one very steep trail all the way to the mountain’s base, thinking that the trail that ran along the base of the mountain back to our car would be flat. No such luck! For one, that base trail climbed back up the mountain, and two, much of it was across a boulder field…but since the trail was covered in snow, it took a lot of care to ensure that we were walking on the boulders and not stepping on a hole in between them. It took a lot longer to get back than to go up! 🙂
The beautiful, lovely Lyn…
The incredibly lucky John…
The Mount Wachusett summit area…
And this is the view by the tower looking down in the valley where the first shot of this post was taken…
It was very cold and very windy at the top…
Lower on the mountain, the woods felt like the center of serenity…
All photographs and comments ©2014 by John Etheridge with all rights reserved; not to be used without the expressed written permission of the copyright owner
the Book of Bokeh 
Wow, what a great hike! Fabulous pics and post, thanks for sharing!
You are very, very kind! Thank you so much!
You are very, very welcome. 🙂 Ditto!
Lovely shots and finally getting to see you in your photo with Lyn😃
I just love winter but here in Singapore it is nothing but heat and rain….just looking at your photos “cooled” me 😁
Ah, Singapore… I have not yet made it to the Far East but boy would I love to go there, especially since I am certain that at some point in the next few months I will long to look at pictures from there just to warm up! 🙂
Do come to my little red dot! You will enjoy our food and convenience in getting about. Look forward to you coming sometime in the near future😄
What a beautiful journey !
Thank you! It was a beautiful 3 hour hike…we had a great time!
What did you think of the Okemo photographs? As I was taking them I was thinking of your desire to snowboard. Still want to try? 🙂
The location is amazing and yes ! of course this blog post makes me more exited to try this beautiful adventure !
Thank you 😀
Love your courage! I hope you get your wish soon. 🙂
Autumn is nearly over, but I’m looking forward more winter scenery now ! I love the tree covered in snow, it’s beautiful !
That is so interesting that you say that! I confess that I try to do things I enjoy in winter (skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, etc.) as a means to cope with it. Otherwise it becomes just cold, miserable and dark and something to be endured, not embraced. Anyway, my point is that now, I have added photography to the mix and I am finding that it is another activity I can enjoy and use to find beauty in an otherwise difficult time of the year. So yeah, bring it on! I’ll document it! 🙂
It is tough to take pictures during winter, especially in harsh conditions, your fingers can get very cold, but the results are often amazing. Be brave ! 🙂 .
I will try, especially since I have so many wonderful people who drop by and see the results. When I started this blog I did it only to have a place to publicly store my pictures, not thinking that anyone besides family would ever look at them. (And they are so sick of my photographs they no longer even visit the site if they are not in them! 🙂 ) I did not realize what wonderful on-line friends I would make all over the world, nor how much I would enjoy looking at their work too. Bonus on top of gift on top of bonus… 🙂
Life is full of surprises ! 🙂
🙂
Beautiful scenery! 🙂
Thank you very much! The scenery was nice and catching the snow before it had a chance to melt off the branches was very, very lucky! But as another friend said about photography, “I count on luck for 50% of the job and then count on it again for the rest.” 🙂
I’m sure that’s true, but when the opportunity presents itself, great photographers know just how to capture it. 🙂
You know, if I didn’t know better, I’d almost believe that you are trying to include me in that ‘great photographers’ group. Impossible, of course, because I know that I am just a beginner in this art, but that just shows you the possible ambiguities that are possible in English. 🙂
Breathtaking!!
Thank you so much! It was a magical day, for sure!