Amicus
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2005
- Messages
- 1,145
- Reaction score
- 112
I appreciate hikers pointing out good new trails to me, so let me do the same for the Eastern Mass. contingent by briefly describing two excellent hikes I enjoyed this weekend, in my episodic traverse of the Bay Circuit Trail.
Saturday. Picking up where I had left off two weeks ago in my counterclockwise circuit, at Brush Hill Road in Sherborn, on Map 9, I covered the segment to Pine Hill Lane near the junction of Rts. 16 and 27 as a quick 6-mile out-and -back from the Lane. Poison Ivy then joined me for the bulk of the day's hike, to Hospital Hill in Medfield. In turn, Dugan, rocksnsrolls and Caboodle, Dugan's amiable poodle, joined us at the west entrance to the Rocky Narrows Reservation - one of the Trails many gems. The four of us were hiking together for the first time since a few of the segments of our north-south traverse of Connecticut, under the leadership of Tramper Al, last year. Great company, as always.
This hike belied the "flatness" of eastern Mass. It was up and down one little hill after another all day, and my vertical feet totaled 2,532 - a bit more than if I'd climbed Kearsarge North, for example. There is a quarter-mile road-walk on Rte. 27, between Rocky Narrows and Hospital Hill. Otherwise, this is one of the more scenic and enjoyable stretches of the Trail. King Philip's Overlook, with its sweeping view of the Charles River, would be tough to beat for a lunch spot in eastern Mass, for one thing. The day was a cold one, however, and my frozen fingers precluded many photos.
Sunday. I had already discovered that I liked the "Proposed Trails" indicated on some maps where there are official gaps better than many sections of the Trail proper. They often combine a certain wildness with the joys of bushwhacking. The 4.6 mile length of abandoned B & M RR track that runs from Wayland Depot to Horse Pond Rd. in Sudbury, a half-mile north of the Weissblatt Reservation, where the Trail proper resumes, was no exception, as I discovered yesterday. (This gap bridges Maps 7 and 8.) The first part skirts the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge and was a pure joy. The second part, from the spur track to the Buddy Dog shelter on Boston Post Road to Union Ave, in Sudbury, was a jungle of saplings, blow downs and briars - enough to stimulate any 'whacking masochist. From there to the Weissblatt Res. became easy again, with a behind-the scenes view of the Mass. Fire Academy's interesting grounds. My fingers were warmer so I took more pictures.
Anyone would enjoy the stretch of nearly 2 miles from the Depot to the Buddy Dog pedestrian path, in my view. I had everything to myself yesterday.
Saturday. Picking up where I had left off two weeks ago in my counterclockwise circuit, at Brush Hill Road in Sherborn, on Map 9, I covered the segment to Pine Hill Lane near the junction of Rts. 16 and 27 as a quick 6-mile out-and -back from the Lane. Poison Ivy then joined me for the bulk of the day's hike, to Hospital Hill in Medfield. In turn, Dugan, rocksnsrolls and Caboodle, Dugan's amiable poodle, joined us at the west entrance to the Rocky Narrows Reservation - one of the Trails many gems. The four of us were hiking together for the first time since a few of the segments of our north-south traverse of Connecticut, under the leadership of Tramper Al, last year. Great company, as always.
This hike belied the "flatness" of eastern Mass. It was up and down one little hill after another all day, and my vertical feet totaled 2,532 - a bit more than if I'd climbed Kearsarge North, for example. There is a quarter-mile road-walk on Rte. 27, between Rocky Narrows and Hospital Hill. Otherwise, this is one of the more scenic and enjoyable stretches of the Trail. King Philip's Overlook, with its sweeping view of the Charles River, would be tough to beat for a lunch spot in eastern Mass, for one thing. The day was a cold one, however, and my frozen fingers precluded many photos.
Sunday. I had already discovered that I liked the "Proposed Trails" indicated on some maps where there are official gaps better than many sections of the Trail proper. They often combine a certain wildness with the joys of bushwhacking. The 4.6 mile length of abandoned B & M RR track that runs from Wayland Depot to Horse Pond Rd. in Sudbury, a half-mile north of the Weissblatt Reservation, where the Trail proper resumes, was no exception, as I discovered yesterday. (This gap bridges Maps 7 and 8.) The first part skirts the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge and was a pure joy. The second part, from the spur track to the Buddy Dog shelter on Boston Post Road to Union Ave, in Sudbury, was a jungle of saplings, blow downs and briars - enough to stimulate any 'whacking masochist. From there to the Weissblatt Res. became easy again, with a behind-the scenes view of the Mass. Fire Academy's interesting grounds. My fingers were warmer so I took more pictures.
Anyone would enjoy the stretch of nearly 2 miles from the Depot to the Buddy Dog pedestrian path, in my view. I had everything to myself yesterday.
Last edited:
Been following your travels down there most of the year, always great to read a new report.
