Dugan
New member
We got a late start to the day as I was 10 minutes late to meet Cantdog at route 122. We drove up to Route 140/Redemption Rock, saddled up, and off we went.
The stretch from Redemption to the road crossing into the parking lot at Wachusett was a nice easy warm up. We were serenaded by a wood thrush, and started seeing little orange newts, which we saw throughout the day. There was a stretch just before the road where they've done some logging (or something?). The trail routes over some loose looking rocks. We elected to stay far to the uphill side to avoid what looked like an ankle-turning mess. Upon reaching the road we saw, or rather didn't see, the summit of Wachusett because it was buried in clouds.
Wachusett was its usual self. Some confusion though... from the guidebook description, I would've said that the Mid-state follows Old Indian to the summit. However, at the junction of Old Indian and Semuhenna, the yellow triangles followed Semuhenna. After a brief discussion, we chose to follow the blazes, which petered out just after the road crossing. Once we got to the junction of Semuhenna and Harrington, we went up Harrington to the summit, then picked the Midstate back up by following Mt House to Link and back to Harrington. Which is the REAL midstate, the blazes or the book? As we ascended, we predictably hiked into the rain we'd seen from the parking lot. Yes, Cantdog was on the actual summit and has bagged the Worcester County highpoint. Is this the beginning of another list for Cantdog?
We descended Harrington, saw two turkeys, and made it into Princeton Audubon without further mishap. The guidebook lists all the rules posted on their signs, except one. They omit the "No Pets" rule. Luckily, I already knew, and regretfully left the pooch to languish on the couch. Not meaning to start the usual dog controversy, but which are you more likely to hike with - a motorized vehicle or a dog - why omit the no pets rule? Although I was hopeful that the descent of Wachusett would bring us back out of the rain, we hiked in a light drizzle on and off for most of the day.
Most of the day dissolved into a blur of woods and gentle hills. There was a road walk that seemed long at the time. We were entertained by views of dogs and horses in that stretch. The woods were wet but nothing interfered greatly with the trails. We saw several kinds of birds, all fairly typical. We saw a great blue heron somewhere along the way.
Another not very confusing area is a short stretch of trail following the crossing of the Ware river on the road. The trail parallels the river, which Cantdog scouted and declared to have Class 2 rapids. Then, the trails turns right away from the river. At that point, we were lured into following another unblazed trail along the river. Neither of us noticed the turn because we were taking a closer look at a brick/stone ruin (bridge abutment?). Luckily we didn't get very far before noticing the lack of blazes. Upon returning, we sheepishly noticed that the turn is clearly marked.
One hill in particular stands out. We reached a high point that had been cleared and is beginning to grow back in. There were scattered white pines averaging approx 5' high. The soil was sandy/rocky, on the loose side. Just after the crest, as we descended, we saw a tree on the right that neither of us knew. I didn't take proper notes and haven't been able to identify it in my tree book. Here goes for a description: approx 12-14 feet high, very wide at the base (8'?). It had leaf buds all over, no mature leaves or needles. The leaf buds were partially open. The buds revealed needles, .5-1" in length. They were the bright green of new growth. There were no mature needles anywhere on the tree. The leaf buds made us think deciduous, but aren't needles characteristic of conifers? We saw nothing similar nearby. My film is being developed. I'll post a picture once they're back. Any ideas?
Another other area that stands out is Barre Falls dam. It was here that we finally saw some blue sky and sunshine. We also saw several people, the most we'd seen all day. The sun brought out some black flies. We found a (thankfully) dry bench for a snack. We saw some odd looking trees that turned out to be "holes" for disc golf course. Cantdog found and approved an outhouse near the picnic area. After the dam, the trail skirts a flooded area for a while. There were numerous short bits that required rock hopping and other water avoidance skills, but nothing that slowed us much.
On the drive back to 140, we saw a something-or-other cross route 31 in Princeton. We both knew things it wasn't, but weren't able to firmly establish what it was. Too short-legged for a cat, too fast for a porcupine, too big for a squirrel, tail wrong for a beaver...
All in all, a good day. It rained enough to keep us cool and bug free. The only change I would've made would be boots & wool socks instead of trail runners. Due to the rain Saturday & Sunday, the ground and vegetation were wet.
The stretch from Redemption to the road crossing into the parking lot at Wachusett was a nice easy warm up. We were serenaded by a wood thrush, and started seeing little orange newts, which we saw throughout the day. There was a stretch just before the road where they've done some logging (or something?). The trail routes over some loose looking rocks. We elected to stay far to the uphill side to avoid what looked like an ankle-turning mess. Upon reaching the road we saw, or rather didn't see, the summit of Wachusett because it was buried in clouds.
Wachusett was its usual self. Some confusion though... from the guidebook description, I would've said that the Mid-state follows Old Indian to the summit. However, at the junction of Old Indian and Semuhenna, the yellow triangles followed Semuhenna. After a brief discussion, we chose to follow the blazes, which petered out just after the road crossing. Once we got to the junction of Semuhenna and Harrington, we went up Harrington to the summit, then picked the Midstate back up by following Mt House to Link and back to Harrington. Which is the REAL midstate, the blazes or the book? As we ascended, we predictably hiked into the rain we'd seen from the parking lot. Yes, Cantdog was on the actual summit and has bagged the Worcester County highpoint. Is this the beginning of another list for Cantdog?
We descended Harrington, saw two turkeys, and made it into Princeton Audubon without further mishap. The guidebook lists all the rules posted on their signs, except one. They omit the "No Pets" rule. Luckily, I already knew, and regretfully left the pooch to languish on the couch. Not meaning to start the usual dog controversy, but which are you more likely to hike with - a motorized vehicle or a dog - why omit the no pets rule? Although I was hopeful that the descent of Wachusett would bring us back out of the rain, we hiked in a light drizzle on and off for most of the day.
Most of the day dissolved into a blur of woods and gentle hills. There was a road walk that seemed long at the time. We were entertained by views of dogs and horses in that stretch. The woods were wet but nothing interfered greatly with the trails. We saw several kinds of birds, all fairly typical. We saw a great blue heron somewhere along the way.
Another not very confusing area is a short stretch of trail following the crossing of the Ware river on the road. The trail parallels the river, which Cantdog scouted and declared to have Class 2 rapids. Then, the trails turns right away from the river. At that point, we were lured into following another unblazed trail along the river. Neither of us noticed the turn because we were taking a closer look at a brick/stone ruin (bridge abutment?). Luckily we didn't get very far before noticing the lack of blazes. Upon returning, we sheepishly noticed that the turn is clearly marked.
One hill in particular stands out. We reached a high point that had been cleared and is beginning to grow back in. There were scattered white pines averaging approx 5' high. The soil was sandy/rocky, on the loose side. Just after the crest, as we descended, we saw a tree on the right that neither of us knew. I didn't take proper notes and haven't been able to identify it in my tree book. Here goes for a description: approx 12-14 feet high, very wide at the base (8'?). It had leaf buds all over, no mature leaves or needles. The leaf buds were partially open. The buds revealed needles, .5-1" in length. They were the bright green of new growth. There were no mature needles anywhere on the tree. The leaf buds made us think deciduous, but aren't needles characteristic of conifers? We saw nothing similar nearby. My film is being developed. I'll post a picture once they're back. Any ideas?
Another other area that stands out is Barre Falls dam. It was here that we finally saw some blue sky and sunshine. We also saw several people, the most we'd seen all day. The sun brought out some black flies. We found a (thankfully) dry bench for a snack. We saw some odd looking trees that turned out to be "holes" for disc golf course. Cantdog found and approved an outhouse near the picnic area. After the dam, the trail skirts a flooded area for a while. There were numerous short bits that required rock hopping and other water avoidance skills, but nothing that slowed us much.
On the drive back to 140, we saw a something-or-other cross route 31 in Princeton. We both knew things it wasn't, but weren't able to firmly establish what it was. Too short-legged for a cat, too fast for a porcupine, too big for a squirrel, tail wrong for a beaver...
All in all, a good day. It rained enough to keep us cool and bug free. The only change I would've made would be boots & wool socks instead of trail runners. Due to the rain Saturday & Sunday, the ground and vegetation were wet.
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