Courtney: We went on a misty day, and looped all through the reservation. We saw the quaking bog, though I'd like to go back when the pitcher plants are around. We dallied at the solstice stones, with their giant compass rose, and at Elephant Rock, and did not pay much attention to the time until we were just a bit past the halfway point of our loop and realized it was getting pretty dim (and still misty) - at which point we picked up the pace to make it back to the parking lot before complete darkness, and the gates closing at 5pm. By a series of fortunate events, I had car mints in my pocket, which became speed mints. And they helped us access some pockets of willpower to hurry through the last bits of trail. I was super proud of all of us for hanging together and finishing well, and we came home to showers, a new recipe to cook, and a family movie of Flight of the Navigator. We tallied up our week of hikes, between Arizona and Massachusetts, and we clocked in at just over 16 miles total.

Jonah: New Years Day Hike, 2022 Edition! This was a lovely hike through the varied terrain of hilly Ward Reservation. The dominating feature of the hike was the very misty and foggy weather, which gave everything a sense of mystery and otherworldliness. The fire tower emerged from the mist in quite a cinematic way, and the giant covered reservoir structure on the top of the main hill had a sci-fi feel to it in the mist. Even the character of the trees in the woods changed. It caught us by surprise how quickly it became dark after sunset, and we were scrambling to get back to the car before the gate closed for the night!