One of the tips in my new book, Finding Easy Walks Wherever You Are for avoiding crowds on trails is to head out early. When we got up this morning the temperature was in the 50s. Yeah! After a quick breakfast, we headed down to the lake for a quick walk before starting work, and it felt wonderful.
Silver Lake is often quiet still in the morning, offering mirror views of the trees on the island in the middle of the lake. Sometimes we see reflections of the clouds overhead. The air, the noise of nearby traffic, everything feels calmer in the morning.
A few neighbors were headed off for work, and one or two trucks were in the neighborhood making deliveries, but otherwise we had the road next to the lake to ourselves.
A solitary duck floated just off shore. We watched, but even the duck seemed more relaxed in the morning light.
We brought along a bottle of water with a spray mister in case I got warm, but simply removing my flannel shirt before climbing the hill back to our house was all I needed to keep my equilibrium. What a joy when my legs work in cooler weather!
Summer is certainly not over, but the cooler nights are a hint that the season will soon be changing. Here’s hoping you are finding ways to get outdoors safely, and figuring out ways to let the outside restore your spirits. Be safe out there, and happy trails!
Marjorie
Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors, and is the author of Easy Walks in Massachusetts, 2nd edition, More Easy Walks in Massachusetts, 2nd edition, Easy Walks and Paddles in the Ten Mile River Watershed, and Finding Easy Walks Wherever You Are. Her memoir, the backstory of Easy Walks, is My Liturgy of Easy Walks: Reclaiming hope in a world turned upside down.
Marjorie Turner Hollman 