Skyline Trail

Today we went to Blue Hills Reservation, which offers surprisingly rocky and steep hiking given its proximity to Boston. We weren't really sure how much we should tackle, considering that the the longest steep hike Lee had done previously was a scramble up to Eagle Cliff over Squam Lake last summer (about 1/2 mile).

We started on the Skyline Trail, which presents spectacular views of Boston in the distance, and is marked with blue blazes.


Lee took to it right away, leading the way and pointing out each blue blaze along the trail, all the while carrying on an endless monologue about blue blazes and not getting lost and finding your footing.

Here are two of my favorite quotes:

"I'm all sweaty. My head's sweaty, my hat's sweaty, my bones are sweaty, and my muscles are sweaty!"

"I don't need my hands right now going down this part, but they're right here attached to my body, just in case I need them later."

In the end, we hiked from the visitor center west to Eliot Tower, and then back down to Houghton's Pond, over 2 miles with almost 800 feet of elevation gain (much of it over extremely tough terrain). She was tired at the end, but she stuck it out. At the pond we were able to put our feet in the water and buy some slush puppies and lemonade. There was a nice little beach, and Lee and Clara played on the sand.



Lee did not want to leave, but when we told her we had to go because we felt that Clara (who enjoyed her ride in the backpack during the hike) had had enough sun, Lee said "Well, how about we just leave her under a bench somewhere, and then we can stay longer?"

Now that's sisterly love.