Hike Club

This Saturday

2006-07-18T21:08:00.000-04:00

We will be hiking this Saturday, July 22nd. If you are interested let Pat or I know and we will update you with the details.

Planning

2006-06-25T07:18:00.000-04:00

It seems like we have plans for every weekend this summer already, but we definitely need to fit in some hiking time. Pat and I will be out of New England for the first weekend in July and we have a wedding to attend the second weekend.

Hopefully we will do some hiking the weekends of July 15th, 22nd, and 29th. August is really busy for us too, so I am going to have to wait until that is a little closer before I can set those dates.

Kim and Anne will be on vacation the weekends of July 15th and 22nd, so we may try to camp somewhere up North and do some mountains. If you are interested in sharing a campsite with us, let us know soon so we can make some reservations.

Hopefully the rest of the summer won't be as rainy as the beginning!

Monadnock

2006-05-30T19:18:00.000-04:00

This holiday Monday Hike Club headed back to Monadnock, one of our favorite mountains. It was a beautiful hike. Both parking lots were nearly full, yet we didn't have too much congestion on the trail. At the top there were about twenty groups of two to six people each.

We saw some pretty flowers, but the blueberries were still white. Despite the haziness we could see pretty far, scenic forest and other peaks. We also saw a white-striped sparrow (which Anne identified) very close up. It was singing for us and it was a very Mary Poppins moment when we stopped and watched him, just about a yard from us. I felt like if I stuck out my finger he might just hop on and continue singing.

Fort Nature Refuge

2006-05-25T18:56:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday Hike Club headed to Fort Nature Refuge. It was a very serene place. The trail was very well marked and well cleared. It was mostly flat, but about two-thirds of the way through there was a little bit of an incline, but definitely not strenuous.

Unfortunately they don't allow dogs or jogging, which was too bad because it seemed like a perfect trail for both. Our group Sunday consisted of Kim, Anne, Chris, Pat, and I.

Rainy Day Surprise

2006-05-14T20:52:00.000-04:00

So apparently the whole Purgatory hiking plan was a sham from the start. It was a cover for a surprise birthday party that was thrown for me! We ended up at Pat's parent's house because of all the rain. It was a lot of fun and I was totally surprised.

I have been formulating a hiking plan for this spring and summer. When I was at my mom's house a few weekends ago we were looking through old photos when we came upon some that I found particularly interesting.

That little head peaking out from my mom's backpack is me at two months old on top of Mount Monadnock.

And there I am in a front pack at three months old on top of Mount Chicarua.

So I guess you can see where I get my love of hiking! This summer I would like to revisit those two mountains, as well as Watatic from last summer, and many others. We will also plan out some flat stuff. I am hoping to hike nearly every weekend, weather permitting. Hope you will join us!

Purgatory Chasm

2006-05-09T20:02:00.000-04:00

Hike Club is headed to Purgatory Chasm in Sutton, MA this Saturday. If you are interested in coming with us, comment here or email me and I will give you the details.

Blackstone Valley Bikeway

2006-04-02T16:01:00.000-04:00

Today we went to check out the Blackstone Valley Bikeway from the 295 Visitor's Center.

Scott, Pat, and I met up with Kim and Anne and headed up to the new Visitor's Center that has just recently been completed. The inside is very nice and clean. The floor was a stone map of the area. It has a Dunkin Donuts, Baskin Robbins, staffed information booth, and clean restrooms (at least so far.)

Kim and Anne brought Scout and Casey, who were especially excited about the hike and very well- behaved. After checking out the visitor's center, we all headed down a wide sand path behind the building which met up with the paved bikeway.

We followed the bikeway along the Blackstone River and checked out a waterfall, friendly geese, an unusual large bird, and lots of people, dogs, and bikes. We were lucky with the weather, although it was downright hot in some places where we were out in the sun and then cold and breezy when we were in the woods.

It was a fun hike and we are planning on going back with bikes and rollerblades to explore more of it.

Hike Club Lives!

2006-03-12T10:31:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Scott, Pat, and I met up at Callahan State Park in Framingham, MA. The weather was so beautiful we just couldn't stay inside. The park turned out to be full of dogs. I had never seen so many dogs in one place in my entire life.

When Pat and I first got to the park there was one dog who was totally out of control and drunk with freedom. He was racing around with no regard for the woman who was trying to corral him. She finally decided to call her husband to come and get "his dog." The dog then started harassing a horse and rider, so I clapped my hands a bunch of times and got the dog's attention and Pat chased the dog back to the owner and it jumped right into the husband's car as he arrived in the parking lot. So Pat saved the day!

Then we walked along a ridge above, what in season would have been, a field of corn. And followed that path into the woods. There were a few steep climbs, but short steep climbs, nothing too strenuous. We followed an outer path around the park and considered ourselves lost although we weren't too concerned about it. We met up with a jogger who told us that the map we were looking at was totally inaccurate and that people often got lost for hours on these trails. When I realized I couldn't hear dogs barking anymore, Scott climbed a tree and found us a path that would head us back to where we had left the cars.

When we got closer to the beginning of the loop we decided we weren't quite ready to head home and so we headed down another path which led into a big field where there were at least a dozen dogs of all different size and breed racing around. It was fun to watch the dogs frolic and play together. There was a little pond that some of the dogs were swimming in. When we got closer we saw some strange bright green masses floating in the water which Scott pointed out were frog eggs.

It was a really nice hike. Other than having to watch where we stepped, it was definitely a high quality hike. If you have a friendly dog and live in the Framingham area I double recommend it.

Jerimoth Hill and Glocester Hiking & Fitness Trails

2005-11-19T17:15:00.000-05:00

Last weekend Kim, Anne, Pat, and I headed to Jerimoth Hill, the "highest point" in Rhode Island. We were a bit disappointed when we got there and found out that the Jerimoth Hill Trail is really only maybe a quarter of a mile round-trip. And that the highest point is only 5 feet higher than the road and it is in the woods, so absolutely no view. We did have a nice view from the road and a good laugh at ourselves for bringing granola bars and water.

We were still in the mood for a hike, so we found our way to route 44 and the Glocester Hiking and Fitness Trails there. My Mom took me there a few times growing up. It is a really nice place with wide trails and bridges that take you over a meandering brook. It also has fitness equipment scattered throughout the trail. We stopped along the way and did some push ups, pull ups, and climbed some raised parallel bars. We also took a turn on the swing sets. It wasn't too crowded, just a few other people there. I would definitely recommend the trails to anyone looking for a nice, quiet, easy hike.

East Bay Bike Path

2005-11-06T16:19:00.000-05:00

Today Scott, Pat, and I went for a walk on the East Bay Bike Path in Riverside. The weather was a little strange - kinda foggy, with the sun breaking through every once in awhile. Lots of scenic sights along the Providence River, as well as lots of industrial views.

There were a lot of birds, ducks, geese, and especially swans. I have never seen so many swans in my entire life. We stopped for lunch at a little sub shop and then turned back the way we came. It was a nice hike.

Hikes

2005-10-29T21:01:00.000-04:00

With the weather as it is, any hikes we will be doing will probably be spontaneous - as in "look there's the sun, quick let's go!"

So if you catch a beautiful day and feel like hiking, try giving us a call.

Gloom

2005-10-09T09:45:00.000-04:00

Unless anyone calls me really wanting to hike today, I think I am going to call off today's hike. It is cold, wet, gloomy, and about to rain. So I am going to postpone this hike and also plan another hike for Jerimoth Hill (the tallest peak in RI) for later. By then more leaves will have changed too.

Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!

2005-10-07T16:38:00.000-04:00

We are hiking locally this Sunday. Come join us!

Purgatory Chasm

2005-10-06T15:57:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday we went to Purgatory Chasm with Chris, Kim, Anne, Scott, and the two dogs, Scout and Casey. We walked out alongside the chasm, which was filled with cub scouts. Then randomly chose a path and wandered out into the woods for awhile and then turned back.

On the way back Chris and I headed straight through the bottom of the chasm, while everyone else headed back on the other side of the chasm wall. At some point they all climbed down a pretty steep rockface to join up with Chris and I again at the entrance.

It was a fun time. It is always interesting to check out the rock formations. Unfortunately I always seem to go there when it is totally crowded. If you have never been there before I would definitely recommend checking it out, but try to pick a time when there are less people.

Tomorrow, the 1st

2005-09-30T21:21:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow we will be heading to Purgatory Chasm in Sutton, MA. If you are interested in coming with us, email or call one of our cell phones. We have a new home phone number, so our old home number won't work.

Wood's Hole

2005-09-20T21:55:00.000-04:00

Sunday the weather turned out to be beautiful so we called up Scott and set up last minute plans to meet and head down to the Cape for a hike. Scott wrote a great report of the hike on his blog.

We followed the bike path from Falmouth to Wood's Hole. The walk out was 3.3 miles through wetlands, along the beach and through the forest. In the wetland's part we saw some giant swans and some crazy berries that were pastel green, blue, and purple.

We ate lunch at the point where the river met the ocean. There were a bunch of fish at the mouth of the river trying to swim up it and some huge black birds sitting on a dock.

In the forest we saw some walls of an abandoned stone building and posed for some pictures.

Then the path led through the middle of a parking lot for the ferries to the islands. We followed the path into town and wandered around ending up at the Oceanographic Institute, which unfortunately was closed but we did get to see a harbor seal that the have in an outdoor pen. We walked along the docks and saw a seagull throw something up, it was very nature channel. We stopped in "Jimmy's" and got ice cream cones that we had to gulp down because they were melting so fast and dripping all over.

On the way back we stopped and walked in the water at the beach. At one point, back on the path I saw a snake and came close to jumping in front of a biker to get away from it. Scott was impressed by my snake-spotting skills.

I would totally recomend this hike, it was beautiful.

Update

2005-09-17T18:59:00.000-04:00

The weatherman lies.

T-storms

2005-09-17T10:07:00.000-04:00

Well, they are predicting thunder storms and rain for today, so we won't be hiking.

There are only two more hikes officially scheduled, but if you love autumn hiking and were hoping for a certain location or a specific date let us know and we can schedule more.

Scott suggested a paved walkway from Falmouth to Wood's Hole, which sounds really nice, so hopefully he will tell us a time when he is free and we can all go together.

I am really, really glad that I started this Hike Club. It forced Pat and I to spend a lot more time outside than we would have if we didn't have hikes scheduled that we felt obligated to go on. We love the outdoors, but it is so easy to let the summer slip away without doing enough of the things you really love. And it was so good to connect with the friends that came with us and spend some time out in the woods having an adventure that is both fun and relaxing.

Whistling Cave

2005-09-05T11:36:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Kim, Pat, and I drove to Upton, MA to find the Whistling Cave. It was a nice hike, very quiet, we couldn't hear any highway noises at all. We followed the Loop Road out to a very murky pond with some nice waterlillys. We ran into five groups of people- a couple with twins in backpacks and a giant yellow lab, a man by himself, a man with a big scary black dog that he made sit while we passed by, a guy on a bike, and an older couple.

On the way back we took the Whistling Cave Trail. We took some pictures with the rocks that earned the trail that name. I climbed through the "cave" which was really just a large rock resting on a smaller rock with a little passageway underneath.

After the wooded area filled with large boulders there was an unexpected steep hill before meeting up with the Park Road that led us back to the parking lot.

Blue Job Mountain

2005-09-02T17:24:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the delay in posting about this hike, we had some technical difficulties.

Last Sunday Scott, Pat, and I headed to Strafford for the climb. The mountain was more of a steep hill and the climb up was pretty uneventful. The summit was below the tree line, but once we climbed the fire tower we had some great views.

On the way down the mountain we decided to explore a little and took a chance on a trail that we hoped would bring us back to our car by a different route. This alternative trail was much more interesting than the climb up. We walked through a mountaintop blueberry habitat that the state periodically burns to encourage growth. I don't really know how that works, but I though it was pretty interesting.

There were lots of blueberry bushes there with no berries and some berries that were blue but didn't look like traditional blueberries, so I wasn't about to test them out. We spoke with a woman in the habitat who said the whole area is just totally blue when they are in season and that she had just been there earlier in the month picking them. We also asked her if she thought the trail we were on might take us to a parking lot. She said no, but pointed us in the right direction. From there we left the blueberry habitat and headed through the woods and luckily ended up on the right path and back to our car.

It was a fun trip and if anyone else was considering going there I would definitely recommend taking the longer route to the top and going at the peak of blueberry season.

This Weekend and Next

2005-08-25T08:38:00.000-04:00

The new plan is that we will hike Blue Job Mountain this Sunday the 28th, since we will be settling into our campground on Saturday.

According to Hiking New Hampshire (A Falcon Guide):
Length: 1.1 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation Gain: 350 feet
Summit: 1,356 feet

According to the book we should have "astonishing" "superlative" views from the top of Blue Job's grassy summit. This is another mountain with a fire tower, although this hike will be way easier than Cardigan. I hope we have clear skies!

The Sunday of Labor Day weekend we will do the Whistling Caves hike that I described for last weekend.

Thunder Storm

2005-08-21T19:23:00.000-04:00

Well it is pouring and thunder and lightning, so I guess we will have to do the Whistling Cave another time...

Sunday, the 21st

2005-08-18T11:49:00.000-04:00

Sunday we will be heading to Upton, MA to visit the Whistling Cave. We switched the date because Pat has an all-day bachelor party extravaganza to attend on Saturday.

According to Foghorn Outdoors, "Whistling Cave is not a cave but two large boulders, one leaning against the other, with a small passageway between them. It's located in an interesting little wooded stream valley littered with such boulders." Sounds like it is worth a look.

Total Distance: 3 miles round-trip
Difficulty: 3
Hiking Time: 1.5 hours
Rating: 7

Hope you can join us!

Mount Cardigan

2005-08-15T18:43:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, Pat, Jeff, Scott, and I headed up to New Hampshire for some mountain climbing. We really lucked out with the weather. It was warm, but there were nice breezes and it wasn't humid at all. We took the West Ridge Trail to the summit. The climb up took just an hour. We ran into a few groups of people headed up, but it wasn't too crowded. The top of the mountain was a steep rock climb. I thought it was pretty fun and the views were just amazing.

On the way down we took the Clark Trail to the South Ridge Trail and went over South Peak and Rimrock. We didn't see anyone along these trails. We didn't see much wildlife on this trip, just a snake and a toad.

Overall it was a great hike and I would definitely recommend it.

This weekend, the 13th and 14th

2005-08-09T19:12:00.000-04:00

We are headed up to central NH to hike and camp. On Saturday we will head up to Canaan, NH, by way of Framingham since we are meeting up with Scott. We will climb Mount Cardigan and then find our campground. So far just Pat and I are staying up there to camp, but anyone else who is interested is welcome. Or if you just want to swim, shower, or get dinner with us, while up there, that is cool too.

Here is the mountain info:

We will take the West Side Loop in Cardigan State Park east of Canaan.

From Foghorn Outdoors:
Total distance: 3.5 miles round-trip
Hiking time: 2 hours
Difficulty: 4 out of 10 ("The hike entails one of the following qualities: climbs 1,000+ feet in elevation, covers at least four miles, or has steep, rugged sections")
Rating: 10 overall quality ("The quality rating is based largely on scenic qualities, although it also takes into account how crowded a trail is and whether or not you see or hear civilization.")

Mount Watatic

2005-08-07T15:53:00.000-04:00

We had a great hike on Saturday. The weather was just perfect. It wasn't humid at all and there was a nice breeze. We took the State Line Trail over Nutting Hill on the way up to the summit and then we followed the Wapack Trail for our descent. We ate lunch on the top of the mountain, where we had the promised "four-state panaramic view." We identified Monadnock and the Boston skyline, but were unsure about which other mountain ranges and buildings we were seeing. We were lucky to have such clear skies.

This Saturday, the 6th

2005-08-03T20:37:00.000-04:00

This Saturday Pat and I are headed up to Mount Watatic (which I described a few posts ago.) Should be a good hike. If you are interested let us know.

Hike Schedule!

2005-07-29T17:42:00.000-04:00

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

2005-07-25T22:07:00.000-04:00

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

2005-07-16T21:42:00.000-04:00

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

2005-07-16T19:43:00.000-04:00

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

2005-07-14T21:08:00.000-04:00

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

2005-07-12T21:28:00.000-04:00

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

2005-07-11T19:53:00.000-04:00

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

2005-07-09T09:49:00.000-04:00

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...

2005-07-09T08:13:00.000-04:00

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

2005-07-08T19:17:00.000-04:00

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

2005-07-02T20:39:00.000-04:00

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

Mount Cardigan

2005-06-30T19:33:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, July 9th, the Hike Club will be heading to Mount Cardigan in central New Hampshire. We will take the West Side Loop in Cardigan State Park east of Canaan.

From Foghorn Outdoors:
Total distance: 3.5 miles round-trip
Hiking time: 2 hours
Difficulty: 4 out of 10 ("The hike entails one of the following qualities: climbs 1,000+ feet in elevation, covers at least four miles, or has steep, rugged sections")
Rating: 10 overall quality ("The quality rating is based largely on scenic qualities, although it also takes into account how crowded a trail is and whether or not you see or hear civilization.")

Monadnock has a difficulty rating of 6, so this mountain should be a bit easier. If you are free and looking for starter mountain, please join us!

Let me know if you are interested by emailing me or commenting here and we will figure out a plan.

Update: Pat found this link

Ideas

2005-06-29T19:31:00.000-04:00

I bought a book called "New Hampshire Hiking" and I have been searching around on the web for good places to hike. So far I am looking into Welch and Dickey, Sugarloaf, Chocorua, and Cardigan for mountains and Norman Bird Sanctuary, Purgatory Chasm, and Douglas State Forest for hikes without elevation. These are all very tentative suggestions and I am hoping for input.

The dates that I am looking at are mostly Saturdays, unless it is a long weekend. These are also very flexible and subject to change.
July 9th and 23rd
August 6th, 20th, and 27th
September 4th (the Sunday of Labor Day weekend) and 17th
October 1st, and 9th (the Sunday of Columbus Day weekend)

Let me know what you think!

Hike Club Begins

2005-06-26T10:27:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Pat, Kim, and I climbed Monadnock. It was great. One of those days where you push yourself and really accomplish something you are proud of. Hey I climbed a mountain! Not that we haven't done it before, but everytime you get that great feeling.

While climbing, we decided to start "Hike Club."
The plan is to come up with a bunch of dates when we could meet up at different mountains or good hiking spots (approx. every two weeks.) We will post the directions and time to meet or come up with a carpool plan depending on where people lived, etc. We will also post about how long it should take, what you should bring, and anything else important. We might camp near the mountain sometimes too.

Everyone is welcome and there is no pressure. If you can make is just one time, or everytime that's great!

Then we would post all the pictures here and write about the experience.