Walden Pond

While we were in Concord, we decided to head to Walden Pond.  Walden Pond is famous for Henry David Thoreau's Walden Pond.  Thoreau decided to live in the wilderness for two years to perform an experiment in simple living.  He chose Walden Pond because Ralph Waldo Emerson, a friend from Concord, had land there that he let him borrow.

We walked around the entire "pond" on paths that are preserved by the parks department.

Unfortunately many of the paths were flooded so we had to follow detours and other alternate routes.  At some point we lost both the path and the detour and found some train tracks.  Little did we know these tracks are live and a commuter train came barreling down them about a minute after we vacated them.

We went to find Thoreau's home site which was just beyond the main path but clearly labeled.  Thoreau supposedly built his house himself.  The cabin is no longer standing but there are markers where the corners of the home and woodshed were.  The cabin site was rediscovered in 1945, almost 100 years after Thoreau lived there from 1845-47.

It was very tranquil and beautiful!  I can see why Thoreau picked this lake.  It now seems like a popular place to frequent.  We saw people fishing, hiking, and swimming across the lake.