Yes, this is Walden Pond.
I knew it was up here, and I knew it really wasn't that far, but I didn't realize just how close it really was and how easy to get to.
It's a local swimmin' hole, but even with all the people who were there today (and there were a lot), it was pretty quiet once you were off the main beach. It's just a beautiful spot. I can see why you'd be happy living there in a tiny little house and just thinking all day long.
There's a full path all the way around, and I'd say the loop's about two miles, just from how long it took me. There are several other trail loops, but I had apples in the car and was wondering whether they'd be cooked when I got back (they were fine), so I just did the main loop.
It is beautiful. No questions asked. I think I may have cheated, going there on a fall day, and I'd already just about driven off the road repeatedly on the trip out since the area itself is so amazing (seriously, NE mountains are something else).
And of course I got the chance to stand on some hallowed literary ground.
That last one's the view from the house site down to the pond. It's up a bit, and tucked back off an inlet.
I don't have a whole lot else to say here, except that now I've got to try and pick up Walden again (and maybe finish it this time; I'm fairly sure I've read all of it at one time or another, but not all the way through). Instead I'll end with the rest of my camera roll:
