Hike Schedule!

To the right of this post is a box that contains the Hike Club schedule. I was kind of dragging my feet to make it official because I am not so great at planning things out in advance. I am more of a spur-of-the-moment girl. But finally the rest of the summer and autumn is mapped out. Of course weather and other unforseen events could change the schedule, so definitely let us know if you are planning to meet up with us, so that we can tell you if our plans change.

We also haven't made camping reservations for any of the times we say we are "camping nearby" except for August 27th. So we are still forming those plans. If you are interested in camping with us, let us know as soon as possible so we can make the reservations.

If you are looking for more information about any particular hike, write me a comment and I will give you the details. As each hike gets closer I will probably describe it a little beforehand, but if you are planning in advance and need details, I can give you the scoop.

Norman Bird Sanctuary Pics

The sanctuary was beautiful and we had great weather. We saw a beaver building something and two swans with two baby swans, as well as lots of birds. We had great views from the top of "hanging rock." The trails were well marked and they gave us an easy-to-read map, so navigationally, it gets two thumbs up. Overall it was a great hike and I would definitely recommend it.

Next Saturday

July 23rd, we will head to the Norman Bird Sanctuary in Newport, RI. I have always wanted to check this place out. They have tons of different trails, so when we get there we can pick a trail depending on how far we feel like hiking that day.

They charge a $4 per person entry fee, but I have heard it is worth it. Supposedly they have hawks, owls, and other birds recovering from injuries, as well as lots of different species of birds. So bring your binoculars if you have them.

Maudslay State Park

Well weather.com said there would be isolated T-Storms in Ashburnham today, so we had a last minute change of plans and went to Newburyport instead. Mailman, Jess, Pat, and I wandered around Maudslay State Park for a few hours this afternoon. It was a cool park, lots of meadows intermixed with pine tree forest. We saw lots of chipmunks, butterflies, and birds, as well as one snake, which I didn't freak out about, just used Pat as my human shield until we were passed it.



The one downfall of the park was that the maps they provided didn't seem to match up at all with the trails and the trails were not marked in anyway. So I have no idea how far we walked, but we followed two separate loop trails and were there for probably about 3 hours. It was good times. Nice to catch up with Mailman and Jess, who we hadn't gotten together with in a long time.



It was a quality experience.

Mount Watatic

I've found us a mountain! Mount Watatic in Ashburnham, MA is about an hour and fifteen minutes from our place according to Mapquest. It is part of the Wapack Trail and I read that it has a four-state panoramic view.

Distance: 2.3 miles, loop
Hiking Time: 2.5 hours
High point/elevation gain: 1832 feet, 650 feet

If you are interested in coming with us, just let us know by Friday night and we will work out a car-pool or meeting plan.

Still Undecided

I am planning a hike for this Saturday, but I haven't decided on the location yet. I am hoping for an easy mountain hike in MA or southern NH. I am rethinking the Mt Cardigan hike as one that includes a camp-out, since it is such a long drive.

Unfortunately my "Hiking Southern New England" book isn't as good as I was hoping it was. It doesn't have any information on the Wappack Trail or Mt. Sugarloaf (apparently there is one in South Deerfield, MA as well as the one in northern NH.) So I have some more research to do before I decide where we will go.

Powder Mill Ledges

The Powder Mill Ledges Wildlife Refuge was a pretty serene place. We didn't see very many refugee animals. It was a hot day, but it seemed at least ten degrees cooler on the trail with the shade of the trees. We took the blue trail, which didn't take us very long at all. As we were leaving we spoke to a man who said that he usually sees a woodpecker in the field near the parking lot. He said one day that woodpecker was walking along the ground watching him and backing away when a rabbit came running out of the tall grass and collided with the woodpecker! That must have been quite a sight.

My new books came in, so I am looking for a good place to hike on Saturday. I will post as soon as I pick a location.

Sunday, July 10th

On Sunday, Hike Club will be going for a hike at the Powder Mill Ledges Wildlife Refuge in Smithfield. This will be an easy flat hike. The longest trail takes about 1 1/2 hours. We will head there after lunch, so email, comment, or call us sometime before noon tomorrow if you are interested in joining us.

Weather...

The report has changed to mostly sunny for this Sunday, as in tomorrow the 10th. Anyone up for a hike? We could do something a little more low key and closer to home since we will have to work the next day.... What do you think?

Rain Check

It is looking like our first trip has been rained out. Tomorrow they are forecasting rain all day and then thunder storms on Sunday. Just too dangerous to climb rocks in the rain. Really too bad we couldn't go tomorrow, I was really looking forward to it.

Soon I will come up with a list of the rest of the hikes for the summer. I bought another Hiking New Hampshire book and Hiking Southern New England. They both shipped from Amazon on July 5th, so I should get them in a couple days.

Cardigan's View

Check out this view! I hope July 9th is a clear day!





Update: Here is another link to info about Cardigan and here is an official one