Central Massachusetts to Northeast Ohio (via Pennsylvania, pictured below)
Distance: 621 miles of 3,156 total miles (19.6%)
Driving Time: 12 hours (should have been closer to 9.5)
Temperature Range: -1°F to 23°F
Miles remaining: 2,535
For those who might have missed our previous cross-country road trip, here’s Day One of our move from Utah to Massachusetts in June 2011.
I was quite sick this week, and we had to work hard to eke out a hike before the vernal equinox in a few days (it’s the twelfth week since the winter solstice). Luckily, I was well enough to hike on an exceptional day. It was 60°F when we left the house, and the clouds were amazing.
Eleven weeks after the winter solstice, and we’re definitely getting closer to spring. It was 46°F when we left the house and it warmed by ten degrees during our walk. We were almost hot.
Ten weeks after the winter solstice, and I’m reminded of the holding pattern feeling of late autumn. Winter seems about done, but spring hasn’t yet taken hold.
Nine weeks after the winter solstice and about nine hours before some big old thunderstorms, we had a chilly, rainy hike.
Two days after our frigid hike on Valentine’s Day, the temperatures rose ridiculously, so we took a bonus hike, just to be out in everything to experience the difference.
For this hike, it was 52°F and rainy, so we wore rain suits. We also wore traction devices but since it was slushy and messy rather than icy, we didn’t really need them. My son took his off halfway through.
This week—eight weeks after the winter solstice—we took a bonus hike to experience both the near-record low temperatures followed by near-record highs two days later.
First, the cold hike, which took place on Valentine’s Day.
The thermometer read -15°F when I got up that morning, but it was a balmy 6°F when we went hiking in the afternoon.
Remember how I said it felt like spring last week?
It’s now seven weeks after the winter solstice, and we’ve had two winter storms since our hike last week.
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Five weeks after the winter solstice, with the rest of the east coast of the United States reeling from record (or near-record) snowfalls, we got a pleasant 3-ish inches.
