January 14, 2025

In places, it’s hard to believe that we’re in metropolitan Boston.

 

Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe.

-Anatole France

 

It’s cold out.  The feel-like temp is around 20℉ and, thankfully, there is little wind.  The skies are mostly cloudy and the humidity is high enough that I can see my breath.  When I’m in a patch of sunlight, it feels kinda toasty (under my parka, with the hood up, and my gloves).  When I’m in the shade, it is cold.  But it’s easy enough to dress for these temps and I’m feeling warm enough.  Dressing for the weather is an art I have mastered pretty well over the many miles and seasons that Waldo and I have walked.  I go to Weather.com, look at the feel-like temperature and wind, and then I’m able to guess pretty well what to wear.

Waldo seems comfortable.  I judge that by his behavior – he’s not shivering and he’s not changing how he engages with the world.  He’s sniffing and trotting around, checking out what’s in front of his nose, and has no hesitation to get out of the car when I open his door.  I also watch what he does at home.  Today, before we left, he was spending most of his time out on his throne, surveilling his dogdom.  He can come in through a dog-door if he’s uncomfortable, but he doesn’t, so I’m pretty sure he’s good being out here.

Today, we’re exploring a piece of the Mass Central Rail Trail that runs east from Belmont, about 6 miles, to downtown Boston.  It ends a stone’s throw away from where the USS Constitution is docked.  Old Ironsides is the world’s oldest commissioned warship currently afloat.  She sits at dock for tourists to visit and explore, but is taken out on special occasions. Typically, she stays in Boston Harbor, and only very rarely goes out to sea – the last time was in August 2012, in commemoration of then 200th anniversary of her victory over Guerriere.  But we’re out here today just for the exploration of the trail and will not visit her.

Phyllis joins us and is as prepared for the cold as I am.  In addition to her parka and hood, she wears an additional jacket and battery warmed gloves.  The two of us have spent many a mile walking in winter cold and are not at all daunted by low temperatures, or even snow (as long as it’s not too deep).  Today, the ground is dry and the snow that fell earlier in the season is all gone.  It’s been a while since Phyllis last walked with us and it is really nice to have her here once again at our sides.

The Belmont end of the trail starts in an area surrounded by businesses.  It runs parallel to the Commuter Rail tracks, but at a distance of a few yards.  Across the street from where it starts, heading west, the old railroad bed is lost to the Commuter Rail tracks and a parking lot.  There are plans to continue the rail trail that way somewhere, but just where they will place it is not obvious – that’s grist to be milled in the future.

We don’t go far and the Commuter Rail is out of sight behind bushes and trees.  I’m amazed at the number of people we pass.  It is cold out here, yet dozens of people, some with dogs, and even bicycles, are leisurely going along just as we are.  Maybe that’s because we’re so close to downtown Boston and its suburbs.  Within a mile or so, we’re in Somerville, and yet we’re not.  Somerville is a city that is densely populated, with houses and businesses cheek to jowl.  But here we are, walking along a paved trail, and the presence of a densely populated city is not obvious.  There are places where it’s clear we’re passing through someone’s back yard, but it feels more like we’re wandering down a country lane.  Then, suddenly, we have to cross Massachusetts Avenue at the Davis Square T station and we’re imbedded in mile after mile, as far as I can see, of bakeries, coffee shops and all the other storefronts that line that street.  Massachusetts Ave is the main thoroughfare through Somerville and it shows.  And then, after only a couple of blocks, we’re back in someone’s backyard.  Both Phyllis and I have spent many years in this part of Boston and we talk about our pasts with a note of awe about how this could be hiding here and we didn’t know it.

Not only are there a number of people out here, there is art.  People, presumably residents, have left sculptures made of discarded stuff alongside the trail.  There are two yellow tall giraffes that have signs that say, “Wiggle My Ears” (they’re so tall, I can’t see how) and a large minimalist sculpture of an elephant that says, “Wiggle My Trunk.”  Phyllis does and, when she does, large gray metal elephant ears waggle back.  I’m pretty sure that when the organizers of this trail formulated the idea, this was the kind of thing they had in mind.  Phyllis and I enjoy the artwork and we talk about it and how it brings people together on the trail.

After a couple of hours, we’re back walking alongside, but safely separated from, the Commuter Rail tracks.  At one point, a train whizzes noisily past us.  A few minutes later, another passes us going the other way.  Waldo seems a bit nervous about it, but doesn’t tuck his tail and carries on.  The area here is industrial and relatively uninteresting.  We walk over the Commuter Rail tracks on a footbridge and we’re in Paul Revere Park.  That’s the end of the trail and a short walk away from where we left a car.  As we get close to the garage, I can just barely make out, over the top and around the back of some tall buildings, the masts of Old Ironsides.  That’s going to have to wait for another trip into town.  Across the Charles River, to my right, are the huge skyscrapers of downtown Boston.  We’re that close.

It’s been a nice walk and I’m happy we did it.

But there’s so much more to explore.

 

Just ahead, the Charles River and downtown Boston.

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