Hiking the Blue Hills

I’ve been in a bit of a funk lately. As much as I’ve been trying to jump into the Christmas spirit with stews, sweaters, and slippers, I’m struggling with the cold temperatures and lack of daylight. It probably doesn’t help that I’ve been organizing a research trip to Hawaii so my mind is back in the islands. I just can’t stop thinking about how I miss the lush forests and crystal waters of my old home. Today I printed out a bunch of photos of my favorite spots on Oahu and created a wall of photos in my bedroom. This has to stop. Providence is my home now, and I need to accept that. So in a quest to reclaim my zest for New England I decided to head outdoors on Saturday. Thirty degree temps be damned—Hiking, here I come!

Getting outside on trails always helped me clear my head and lift any lingering negative moods, so I was super excited to bolt out of bed before the sun to get a head start on our day. I was a little nervous about the cold temperatures, so I piled on three shirts, two pairs of pants, and one very fluffy hat.

I dressed Kaipo in a bright orange shirt to a) keep him warm and b) make him bright since I wasn’t sure about the hunting situation. He seemed a little confused, but once I pulled out my trail shoes he knew we were departing for an adventure.

Our destination? The Blue Hills in Milton, MA. We scoped out a 14 mile loop that would take us through the majority of the trail system. I knew nothing about the trail conditions, but I was excited at the possibility of finding good trails for running. Since it was my first time on these trails, I over packed and over dressed. If there’s one thing I’ve learned the hard way, it’s to always be prepared on new trails!

I was surprised to see a lot of trail runners as we started. I chatted with a few and they told me the trails are perfect for running (turns out they were incredibly similar to the HURT trails, only drier and covered with ice in sections). After we got everything situated and Kaipo all hooked up to his harness, we took a quick look at the map and began our day!

Right away the trail went up up up to the top of Great Blue Hill and we were treated with some some pretty views and an observation deck.

We descended Great Blue Hill across some pretty rocky terrain, but Kaipo handled it all like a boss. I couldn’t believe this was his first time hiking. He was making us look bad! The whole way down we kept getting treated with spectacular views. It was such a clear day and you could see all the way to Boston and beyond!

The hike was absolutely gorgeous but I am certainly glad I brought the boy along. Despite having two maps and turn by turn directions I started going the wrong way 8 times. We got a good laugh out of it and kept keeping score of how many times I was wrong. I also got a HUGE kick out of the cold temps, especially when I went behind a rock to pee along the trail. Not realizing a group of high schoolers were walking by, I yelled out “Babe! This is awesome! It’s steaming!”

One of the nicest things about the day was how many people were hiking with their dogs. At the top of one of the hills there were about half a dozen dogs–it was a high-elevation dog park! Needless to say, Kaipo was having quite possibly the best day of his life. By the time the hike was over, we were all exhausted (especially after I dragged everyone to Ikea afterwards). This is how Kaipo has spent most of yesterday evening and this morning:

And that, my friends, sums up how I spent my ideal Saturday. My mood is lifted, but I’m still irritated that I have to put on proper shoes every time I need to leave the house. I’ll get over it soon enough, though. Perhaps I just need to hit the trails more often! I hope you all had an amazing mind-clearing, soul-renewing weekend as well. Did anyone do anything spectacular? Share!