The Milford Track in New Zeeland is one of the great treks in the world as is the hike to Everest Base camp. The Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt has a well earned reputation for toughness, scenery, and alpine history. Those who have hiked up the Baltoro Glacier on the Chinese-Pakistan border to view K-2, the earth’s second highest mountain, often claim personal transformation.
Boston, Massachusetts doesn’t have any mountains, but there is a walk there that is worth knowing about. I have done this urban trek several times, and I guarantee it for adventure, great food, good exercise, and exquisite shopping.
The fall, when the air is crisp and winter beckons, is the best time to go, as Boston can be hot and humid in the summer. Wearing good walking shoes go to Charles Street and cruise the antique shops. Drink cappuccino at one of the tasteful bistros that line this historic way. Head north up Beacon Hill through Louisburg Square and see the incredible homes there. You’ll wind around the back of the Capitol Building and begin your descent towards Fanuel Hall and the Quincy Market area. Absolutely resist the temptation to eat at the wonderful food courts there and cover your eyes when you pass Durgin and Park, a restaurant, which is an institution in a city of fine eateries.
Find The Old Union Oyster House for your first major stop. The convention there is to have a half dozen raw oysters or perhaps a cup of fresh clam chowder, if raw shell fish isn’t to your liking. Bass Ale is perfect company for the fish or chowder. After an appropriate rest, it’s time to walk again.
The big dig will now appear. This is the biggest urban construction project ever carried out in this country. Many years in the making, the dig reroutes highways above and below ground. Wind your way around the construction sites and soon you will view the Mecca for many, Boston’s North End. More Italian than Milan, the North End is teeming with life. Smells of olives and Salami permeate the air, and old ladies in black dresses walk slowly, greeting their neighbors with warm smiles. Young men stand at the street corners and speak loudly in Italian and broken English. One of Boston’s finest drives by in a patrol car. Boomers from Wellesley and Concord make themselves too present. Bocce ball games are in progress.
You now will need to focus and concentrate. It’s time to find a place for pasta. The last time I was in the North End I was surprised, for many of the mom and pop restaurants that I liked were gone. They have been replaced by more fancy, expensive restaurants. At first this doesn’t sound so good, until one realizes that these restaurants are really excellent.
After pasta one moves to a bakery for espresso and Italian pastries. Find an eatery with a street view and enjoy the continuing dramas that unfold outside. Then it’s time for some serious walking to burn off the calories so deliciously gained within the last few blocks. I would recommend a lengthy trek uphill to the Boston Gardens, scenically adorned with ponds and boats that are carved in the shape of swans. Go west to Newbury Street, a tasteful version of Rodeo Drive. There’s a Patagonia store there. You don’t really need a lot of mountain gear in Boston, but I usually find a way to rationalize the need for a new piece of clothing. From there satisfied trekkers will head east and then north back to Charles Street.
The whole walk covers about eight miles and should take much of the day if you do it right. No, it’s not the route to K-2, and there are no 8,000 meter peaks on trail, but then you can’t find calamari and pasta pescatore at Everest base camp.
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