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Wondering About Walden Pond at Ramapo Reservation


I sometimes like to go for a lunchtime walk at Ramapo Valley County Reservation in Mahwah. It makes me think of what Walden Pond must have been like, except at Ramapo Reservation you have walking paths worn from too many suburbanites walking their dogs and carrying the poop around in bags. Some are even wearing flip-flops while they do this! This is why no one writes a book about a place like Walden Pond or Ramapo Reservation anymore. You can't have your mind ascend to literary heights when you are carrying, or surrounded by people who are carrying, bags of dog doo-doo and wearing flip-flops. Besides that little difference, Ramapo Reservation is probably quite similar to Walden Pond. Well, then there's another thing I just thought of. Maybe the signage that prohibits horses, guns, swimming, etc. is another important difference. I think I'd like to take it back. Maybe it's not like Walden Pond after all. Maybe the progress of civilization from traversing amidst raw, pristine beauty to people walking around listening to music on iPods or talking on cell phones in semi-pristine beauty carrying dog poop in newspaper bags is not at all like Thoreau's Walden. But then again, I just looked at the web site about Walden Pond and it looks like they have a gift shop there. So much for pristine beauty.

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