As I was driving past Concord on the way to my hotel on Tuesday night, I saw signs for Walden Pond. THE Walden Pond. You know, Henry David Thoreau’s Walden Pond, from his 1854 book Walden. I remember reading that book back in high school, over 30 years ago. It made a deep impression upon me at the time, but I haven’t thought about it again since then. Thoreau decided to live in the woods and did so for over 2 years, from 1845-1847. He later wrote the book from his notes and observations from the time he lived simply amongst nature.
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived” – Henry David Thoreau
I really wanted to see Walden Pond for myself. So, after my last meeting today, I drove there before closing time and took a walk. It was interesting to see how close the pond is to town, and actually in his book he says that even back in the 1840’s the lot where he built his 1 room cabin was only about 1 mile away from neighboring farms.
There’s a walking trail around the lake, about a 1 3/4 mile loop. The pond is now a state park and when I arrived it was packed with people sunning on the banks and swimming in the lake. A little bit more bustling than when Thoreau lived here.
I walked to the site of his cabin. It’s not there anymore, but the foundation is marked, and there is a huge pile of rocks next to where it stood. A pile that visitors have been adding to over the years – one rock at a time. I placed my rock atop the pile before I left.
The picture above is a view from the edge of the pond closest to where his cabin stood – about 100 feet behind me. I like that I accidentally captured the gibbous moon in the top left corner.
The picture below is one that I took looking up as I was standing in the spot that would have been right outside the front door of his cabin.
Very beautiful.
This is a quote from the park brochure:
“…my friends ask what I will do when I get there. Will it not be employment enough to watch the progress of the seasons?” – Henry David Thoreau
You got that right, Henry.
I’ll have to dig up a copy of Walden to re-read, for old time’s sake.
Sheila365 