A few pictures from earlier today with my new iPhone SE.
Middlesex Fells between the Middle and South Reservoirs at about 3:30 p.m.
Middlesex Fells earlier today — in Stoneham, if my phone can be believed.
Long Pond in the Middlesex Fells — 6.2-mile hike this afternoon ahead of the storm. 
Middle Reservoir, Middlesex Fells. Looking north.
We’re living through a historic moment. Following the lead of many others, I’ve decided to start keeping a COVID-19 diary. Don’t expect anything startling — just a few observations from someone stuck at home, lucky to be working and healthy.
In early March, I began running for the first time in many months, starting out at a cautious two miles and gradually working up to five. During the intervening weeks, the world started closing down around us. I settled on main drags where few people tend to walk and where I could head out into the street if necessary. My goal was to give people 15 or 20 feet of separation.
Then, yesterday, a beautiful spring day, I took a chance that I should have known wouldn’t work out. So many parking areas around the Middlesex Fells have been closed that I thought the fire roads around the North Reservoir might be relatively empty. No such luck — it was like a beach in Florida, only with trees. I got maybe a quarter of a mile in before I could see that it was hopeless. I stopped, put on my mask (which I had carried with me) and walked out.
Today: Back to the streets.
I took this shot toward the end of a hike through the Middlesex Fells around Winchester’s North Reservoir. If you’d like to see more, please click here.
I decided to hike the Skyline Trail today rather than go running. We took the Webelos there about 14 years ago, but this was my first time since then. It’s a serious hike — about seven miles of rocky terrain with a lot of steep ups and downs. Not quite New Hampshire, but definitely reminiscent of the Berkshires and the Green Mountains. It’s a pretty amazing resource to have so close to the city.
