“I went into 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.”
Walden, Henry David Thoreau
While staying in Concord, Massachusetts, we made a side trip to Walden Pond. How could we not go to the place where Thoreau did his experiment, living in his cabin in the woods, especially having a cabin of our own out in the Alaska wilderness?
Though my husband warned me in advance, I was still a little disappointed. Mostly because what was wilderness in Thoreau’s time is now swallowed by urban sprawl, complete with a major highway running right by the pond. On the day we went, it was nearly 80 degrees, and people were out enjoying the water. We walked around the pond and eventually came to the site of the old cabin. Many people over time have come and placed pebbles and stones on the historic site.
This trip really made me appreciate the solitude and peace we experience at our own cabin out in the interior of Alaska. While Chicken is a tourist town of sorts, having been the second town incorporated during the gold rush days in Alaska, it will probably never reach the level of tourism that Walden Pond sees. In the summers, with the mining activity, the region can see a population boom of about 300 people, not counting tourists. In the winters, only 5 or 6 people stay to tough it out.
As I write this, we are packing our truck, getting ready to head out to the cabin for the week. Already, I can’t wait to disconnect and do some good writing and reading. Hopefully the snow will be gone and we will get some good snow. I will let you know how it went when we get back.
See you Friday!