Dugan
New member
Cantdog and I began the day hiking south along the Midstate from Route 119. We're taking the portion from the NH border to 119 as hiked, due to last year's Wapack hike. We had a dry, sunny day. The trail was in good shape. A little standing water here and there, to be expected in spring. The trail was well marked, though due to the number of unmarked side trails it pays to keep a watch for blazes.
The trail was typical New England woods trails. Hills, rocks, and roots. There's a nice view from Mt Hunger. We had no trouble with any road crossing, despite the cautions in the guidebook. After a few stops to remove layers, we were surprised to find ourselves at Muddy Pond shelter. When did we cross Route 12? This is a beautiful spot. The shelter is small, but the widely spaced trees allow for many areas to pitch a tent. We saw a pair of Mallards come in for a landing, and a Phoebe darting from a tree over the pond to catch insects. Earlier, we'd run into a group that spent the night there. They said the beavers were active through the night.
Continuing south, we eventually stopped for lunch. After that we crossed route 2 (don't worry, there's an overpass), and a local cruiser paid close attention to us as we roadwalked to the Wachusett Village Inn. Shortly after getting into the woods, we met a woman with a camera. She pointed out a moose to us. She'd been out for a walk, saw the moose, returned to the hotel for her camera, and it was still there when she got back to it. She said it was a yearling male. I took a picture. I'll know it's a moose, but it'll probably look like a Bigfoot sighting!
As we kept going south we reached a very rocky section. The tricky footing demanded close attention to foot placement. Here, we saw a White Breasted Nuthatch gathering twigs for a nest. We eventually reached Crow Hills. We saw one faint yellow blaze on one tree then... nothing. We followed another trail to the base of the cliffs, and took it around to the end. There were many groups of rock climbers. We eventually saw the Mid-State come back in from the top of the cliffs. We assume that, rather than descending, we should have run along the top. We were in agreement that neither of us saw any blazes or paths that clearly indicated this from the north. But after 19 miles...
Cantdog steamed up the last hill, then we had one last descent to Route 140. We crossed the road to Redemption Rock, then stopped to read the engravings. After ferrying Cantdog back to her car, I was home in time to get Dugan the four-legged out for a run and dunk in a local pond. I love the Whites, but I didn't miss the 200 mile drive today!
The trail was typical New England woods trails. Hills, rocks, and roots. There's a nice view from Mt Hunger. We had no trouble with any road crossing, despite the cautions in the guidebook. After a few stops to remove layers, we were surprised to find ourselves at Muddy Pond shelter. When did we cross Route 12? This is a beautiful spot. The shelter is small, but the widely spaced trees allow for many areas to pitch a tent. We saw a pair of Mallards come in for a landing, and a Phoebe darting from a tree over the pond to catch insects. Earlier, we'd run into a group that spent the night there. They said the beavers were active through the night.
Continuing south, we eventually stopped for lunch. After that we crossed route 2 (don't worry, there's an overpass), and a local cruiser paid close attention to us as we roadwalked to the Wachusett Village Inn. Shortly after getting into the woods, we met a woman with a camera. She pointed out a moose to us. She'd been out for a walk, saw the moose, returned to the hotel for her camera, and it was still there when she got back to it. She said it was a yearling male. I took a picture. I'll know it's a moose, but it'll probably look like a Bigfoot sighting!
As we kept going south we reached a very rocky section. The tricky footing demanded close attention to foot placement. Here, we saw a White Breasted Nuthatch gathering twigs for a nest. We eventually reached Crow Hills. We saw one faint yellow blaze on one tree then... nothing. We followed another trail to the base of the cliffs, and took it around to the end. There were many groups of rock climbers. We eventually saw the Mid-State come back in from the top of the cliffs. We assume that, rather than descending, we should have run along the top. We were in agreement that neither of us saw any blazes or paths that clearly indicated this from the north. But after 19 miles...
Cantdog steamed up the last hill, then we had one last descent to Route 140. We crossed the road to Redemption Rock, then stopped to read the engravings. After ferrying Cantdog back to her car, I was home in time to get Dugan the four-legged out for a run and dunk in a local pond. I love the Whites, but I didn't miss the 200 mile drive today!
