Hike 10 - Section #10A

September 16, 2012 - The sky is crystal clear blue today.  It would be a shame to waste it doing chores around the house.  Betsy agrees to join me on my the next segment of my hike, as long as she can keep her part of the hike to around 3 miles.  No problem.  We just have to play some creative games juggling our cars. 

So I start where I left off two weeks ago on Crawford Street in Rutland, while Betsy waits for me where the trail crosses East Hill Road (Alex & I got lost driving around there on the last hike, so I was familiar with the area).  Now that these hikes  are starting further and further away from home, it takes a little more time to get to the start and to position our transportation correctly  Today, I don't actually start hiking until 2:40pm.  With the sun setting a little earlier each day, we wonder just how much time we have to hike.

Across the street from where Alex & I ended last time.  From here, I hike at "Leary-speed" for the first couple miles.

I didn't notice this shelter on the map, but it is in excellent shape with a fire ring in front.

I found this little tenting area next to Long Pond.

I pick up Betsy at East Hill Road.

This is the midway point on the trail:  46 miles to New Hampshire (been there), 46 miles to Rhode Island (yet to come).  Fortunately I have less that 46 miles to cover since we already did some hiking in Sutton (see map).

The trail opened up under the power wires allowing us to admire that azure sky.

This bridge over the boggy area is brand new, of varying widths, and wrapped with chicken wire   We are on the property of Treasure Valley, a Boy Scout camp of the Mohegan Council.

Yes, definitely a scout camp, with works in progress trail-side.

After passing a couple smaller glacial erratics, we finally make it Sampson's Pebble.  A big rock with a lot of graffiti.

Almost back at the car, here's a view of beautiful Browning Pond.

Ooops!  We almost forgot our end of hike photo.  Browning Pond in the background.

Originally, I had planned to hike all the way to the 4-H camp in Spencer, but it was already 4:48, so considering the ride back home, we figured we'd better call it a day.
I was on the trail for 2:18 covering 5.27 miles in Rutland, Oakham, and just the tip of Spencer.

Hike 9 - Section #9

According to my original plan, I was not going to hike in August.  Why?  Because it's hot and buggy and there's lots of other things to do in the summer.  Like paddling.  Yes, I spent a lot of time paddling in August.  Betsy & I have already been on some really cool water adventures in Marblehead, Chatham, and Gloucester.  But that's another blog.

So it's Labor Day weekend, and it's time to hit the trail once again.  Alex wanted to name this trip "Let's Hike 5 Miles on the Edge of a Swamp", but I would prefer to call it "Baby's First Hike".  Alex and Cassandra shared the baby carrying duties, and although it wasn't terribly hot, it was still pretty buggy.  In addition, there were some diversions from the trail descriptions in my book (you know, I've got to order a new edition soon).  The hardest part of the this hike was finding the end point to drop the car so as not to make the hike too long.  Once we found the right spot, we took an extreme detour west to Barre thinking it was easier than the way we came.  NOT!  Betsy, Cassandra, and Dominic had to wait nearly an hour for Alex and me to return from dropping the car.

The five of us at a picnic pavilion at the Barre Falls Dam.  The most people on a hike since #1.

An interesting old cemetery just 0.1 miles after we got started.

Taking a quick stop to break out the bug spray.

Betsy was trying to right this marker tree that had fallen across the trail.

Cassandra and 2-month old Dominic.  He loves his "Ergo" carrier.  But at 11.5 lbs, his days in there are numbered.

These granite benches were in the middle of a small meadow (actually, nowhere).

It looks like it was an Eagle Scout project or Scout memorial of some kind.  Really cool engraving.

This rickety bridge is actually a collection of pallets laid out over a swampy area.  Again, we are nowhere near a road, so it must have been fun hauling them in.

We finally figured out where we were on the map.  I'm standing next to "Dike #3".

The trail opened up to a  wider dirt road.  We are happy to be leaving the swamp.

This bench marks the spot where the Mid-State crosses the Central Mass Rail Trail, an unpaved bike trail traveling east-west.

Alex and I let the women and child rest back at a parking lot for Rutland State Forest.  We hoofed it another 0.6 miles to pick  up the car.  Believe it or not, all five of us will fit in Cassandra's Honda Fit. (har-har).

Because of all the trouble dropping the car at the beginning of the trip, we finished much later than we wanted to (5:18pm), but I'll know better for next time.  The mileage for today was 6.06 miles in 2:46.  There are seven sections of the trail left to hike, so I should make it before the cold weather arrives.

Hike 8 - Section #7 & #8

One my my goals in this cross-state hike is to include as many of my friends and family as possible, so they can all be part of this experience.   My son, Matt, was up this weekend for the baby's baptism, so it was an opportunity to include him in the hike, too.

The next scheduled section was a 4 mile stint.  "Too short," Matt said.  So we opted to do the next two sections.  This hike was unremarkable in most respects.  The first section traveled mostly along both paved and unpaved roads.  The second section wound through some towering hemlock forests and dense ferns.  Both sections were pretty buggy and, despite the cloudy start, it was hot and humid.  One note of interest, however, was the fact that we hiked through  parts of 4 different towns:  Princeton, Rutland, Hubbardston, and Barre.

We start next to a big patch of roadside poison ivy.  Yuk!

After being on road for a while, we finally enter a wilderness area.

Down Rt 68, you can see the ice cream shop where Mr. O likes to stop halfway through the merit badge 20-miler.

Finally, off road beside a rocky brook.

It is mid-summer, so the vegetation is exceedingly thick.  There were some newly built bridges, too.

This was interesting.  An erratic covered in moss.

The wild blueberries were ripe and delicious.

The trail veered into a clearing and we were hiking in ferns that were up to our waists.

They have frisbee golf at the Barre Falls Dam.  It is an Army Corps of Engineer's flood control project, a so-called "dry bed resevior" because it becomes active only in extremely heavy rainstorms, like the hurricane of '38 (see Barre Falls Dam).

Tiger lilies are seen along many roadways in the summertime.

Completing our hike, the dam is in the background.

Today's hike was 8.66 miles in 3:04.  The sun came out and it was really hot when we finished.

Hike 7 - Section #6

It's Independence Day and I have the day off, so what better way to start it than by heading out for a little morning hike.  At home, we've been a little distracted for a couple days, as my daughter-in-law's pregnancy ended in the birth of her first-born son, this past Monday evening.  Amidst this happy news (and along with some sleep deprivation for everybody), a little peaceful time in the woods sounds like a refreshing change of pace.

It was raining when I woke up, but the radar showed that the showers would be past us soon.  I joined my hiking partner, Jim, at our usual Dunkin' Donuts in Sterling and we set off.  As I was putting my boots on at our step-off point, the rain starting coming down it buckets.  It held us up for 5 minutes before we thought it safe to venture out.  Today's hike is extremely familiar:  beginning in the Wachusett Mountain Ski Area parking lot, head up and over Mt. Wachusett ending up just west of Princeton center.

The new grandson, Dominic Joseph.  Born July 2, 2012 11:24pm.  7 lbs, 7 oz, 21 inches.

Steve & Jim at the beginning of the Balance Rock trail.  The rain stopped, but it's still a bit wet.

Jim is re-adjusting Balance Rock to straighten it out a bit.

Holding on at the top of the Polar Express ski lift.  Yes, I admin it - I just can't wait for ski season!

From the top:  No view of Boston today.  Geez, we can barely see the fire tower.

This is an eft or a  juvenile eastern newt.  Alex tells me he is an amphibian so he has no scales.  Picking him up is a bad idea, because the oils in your hands are not good for them.  These bright orange guys were all along the soggy trail.

Besides being on the trails, they were also all over this tree trunk.

This is kind of strange.  This body of water was bordered by a stone wall on the right and the one we are standing on.

The trail passes through the Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary (Mass Audubon).   They mowed the grass so we could make it across the meadow more easily.

Back at Jim's car on Rt 62.  By now the sun is shining brightly.  I bet it's beautiful back at the top.

Today we hiked 6.21 miles in 2:35 with 1000' of vertical (Wachusett Mountain).

Hike 6 - Section #16

It has been so crazy the past few weeks with  activities:  the graduation party, the opera, the baby shower, the opera, Franciscan meetings, graduation parties, the opera.  You get the idea.  But now it's Father's Day weekend.  Armed with that fact, I am able to talk Betsy and Nathaniel into joining me on a family hike this beautiful Saturday.  Although, to make it more interesting for them, I set aside my OCD tendencies and agree to do a section of the hike out of order, stipulating, of course, that we still continue to travel north-to-south.  We choose a stretch in the south part of the county (see map).

Driving down to where the trail crosses Rt 16 in Douglas, we drop Nathaniel's  car, then head back to the Baptist church in West Sutton to begin hiking.  From here, the trail follows Douglas Road, past the sweeping fields and pastures of Whittier Farm.  Then, just before we enter the woods, a young man a truck recognizes me and with excitement, pulls over.  It Andrew H, who used to be a member of Troop 11, years ago.  He's older now, having just graduated from high school.  I haven't seen him in years.  He's from Sterling, so what are the odds I'd meet up with him way down there?

Having a long stride, Nathaniel stays ahead of us most of the hike.  We do our best to keep up.  The sky is clear blue and the temperature is about 70 - warmer in the sun and not too buggy in the shade.

Traditional "beginning" photo; church in background.

Beside the road, this little pond was covered with lily pads.

A quick stop at the Whittier Farm road stand, where we pose for tourist photos with the "cows".

This is a real cow, but I didn't get her name.

We stop next to a pond, one of the few views along this section of trail.

Nathaniel dared me to pose on the rock, but straddling the water was the best I could manage.

A nice wide section of the trail - tall trees and Nathaniel out in front.

A stone bridge over a babbling brook is a good place to stop for a snack break.

I think this tree with the trail marker is supposed to be standing upright.

Near the end there are some well constructed boardwalks over boggy sections.

We pick up our car. The rock where I set the camera was a little crooked, but it's the only way I can appear taller than Nathaniel.

Today's mileage is 6.06 miles covered in 2:32.  It was nice to have family along.