Ritzhikes

Where: Mt. Watatic, Wapack/Midstate Trail When: 25 March, 2021 With: Solo I had a new pair of hiking boots to break in, and this seemed like a good place to go. I last visited in 1984 , when I was breaking in a new car. Then, I was driving from the outskirts of Boston. Today's ride was some 30 miles shorter, and took about an hour. The remains of an overnight storm were still around, which worried me a bit because I hadn't brought rain gear, but it cleared up by the time I reached the trailhead. The parking area was different than I recalled - a full-on parking lot vs. the roadside pull-off in the picture from the 1984 hike. I figured I'd either missed the old lot, or my recollection of the location of the old hike was wrong, or perhaps things had changed over the past 37 years, but no matter. I pulled in to a rather muddy spot, laced up my new boots, and was on my way within a few minutes.  There were maybe a half dozen other vehicles sharing the lot, and two more came in ...