Royalston/Athol Hiking

I have not always had off for Veterans Day, so today was another opportunity to get out.  But not too far from home because the weather is kind of "iffy" - overcast skies and intermittent sprinkles.  

We are still exploring Trustees properties and it's been a while since we've been up to Royalston Falls.  What I remember is that this was a consistent descent from the road down to the Falls Brook to view the 45' waterfall.  I also recall a shelter on the way down.  The shelter is available for those hiking the 22 mile Tully Trail that this trail is a part of.   

We didn't wind up walking too far due to a) the steepness of the trail going down to the river, b) my continuing struggle to nurse a recent knee injury, and c) the rain that seemed like it was going to get worse.  In any event, it always a good idea to stop for some sustenance before heading out to the trail.

We stop at Pease Orchard in Templeton to pick up some loose apples including some Winesap variety which are hard to find in New England.

So, while we didn't fail in our hiking attempt, we decided to go exploring elsewhere.  We head back down Rt. 32 toward Athol.  We've been up and down this road dozens to times to go kayaking in Lake Tully, but we'd never seen this sign before.  Most likely, it's been there for a while and we've just missed it.  However, today, we decide to explore

Skyfields Arboretum is a small property part of the Mount Grace Land Conservatino Trust.  There are a few trails and a conservation center at the top of the hill.  The "contained" aspect of the property would make it ideal for exploration with young children, as they will feel they've accomplished a lot.  We walked up the hill to the Mount Grace Headquarters (closed) then turned around.  It turns out there's another parking area at that building with more trails behind (see web site).

This short trail walk was only .96 miles in length with a total elevation gain of 187 feet.

Wide easy trails for walking under all the leaves.

Even on the property, there are some significant glacial erratics.

The totals up at Royalston Falls was 1.31 miles and 161 feet of elevation, so all in all not much.
 It turned out to be a day for little adventures, but sometimes that's all you need.