I learned to Swim at Walden Pond Before Thoreau was Cool

How many people can say they learned to swim on Walden Pond? Looking back, I guess I was quite lucky.
The above photo shows where the road was to the parking lot of "Camp Hart," a former day camp, located between Lincoln and Concord. In the late 50s, I attended that camp, right across the road from the Pond, and all the campers had their swimming lessons there. John thought it was interesting that I learned there, and that is how I decided to write about both. Recently, my husband and I drove 40 minutes to my old camp and to check out the area. We don't go often because of the crowds of tourists, so we chose a very overcast day when we knew it would be quiet. There were no original buildings on the private land.

An article in the Boston Globe stated, "The reservation will open for swimmers this year starting May 24." It seems there was a possibility of banning open-water swimming this year. Often, people have their strong opinions about swimming in the well-known Pond. They also have strong thoughts on water, as in drinking water. A little over a year ago, the town of Concord banned the sale of plastic bottles of water! So, when I went into their gift shop, I wasn't surprised to see water, but it was in a square box. I really should go back and take a photo of it. They don't mind you drinking water, just don't want plastic containers thrown around their town.

There is so much I don't remember about the camp. Was it co-ed, I doubt it. How many weeks did I go, no idea. The sad thing is, I don't remember any of the other camper's names. However, I do remember walking around the left side of the Pond to the railroad tracks and picking up bottles, cigarette butts, and other trash. A happier thing was picking raspberries on the property. We never went to Thoreau's now famous hut site.

WALDEN POND STATE RESERVATION

ESTABLISHED 1922

To preserve the Walden of Emerson and

Thoreau. About eighty acres of land were

given the commonwealth by deeds from

Edith E. Forbes et. al. and C. Fay Heywood et. al.

Other purposes of the gift was to allow

the public to enjoy the woods and nature

including bathing, boating, and fishing.

The Middlesex County Commissioners

constitute the reservation Commission

and expenses of care and improvement

are borne by the county.

As we walked down the hill, we saw the same old bathhouse. Now used for staff and lifeguards. Below, there is sand on two sides, however, it wasn't always like that. During the camp, the only beach was in front of the bathhouse.

Yes, it did rain on our parade. Below, you can see how easy it is to get to Thoreau's hut site.

We decided to walk around the Pond, a little over a mile. They have made nice improvements to the walkway, as it used to be very hilly, with rocks and tree roots everywhere.

 The Pond from the opposite side of the Bathhouse.

Plenty of students, having a history lesson. Yes, we had Walden to ourselves, except for a large group of students who surprised us at Thoreau's hut.

"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." Thoreau

(Note: During this time, he walked home, ate there, washed his clothes and met with friends.)

The large stones show the outline of where the hut was, and the smaller ones in the back were where the shed was.

  Raindrops and a few seconds of sunlight changed the color of the water to this lovely shade.

 Near the parking lot is a reconstructed hut, and his wood shed.