What I found was that the trail is still there, and is still being actively maintained. In fact, if the guide hasn’t been updated since 2009, I suspect that the main reason is because not too much has changed since then. From what I saw, it still pretty much follows what is described in the guide. What I would say, though, it that the guide is most helpful for the road walk sections, and where the trail passes through places like the Moose Hill Audubon Sanctuary, F. Gilbert Hills or Wrentham State Forests, or the land around the Diamond Hill Reservoir, it’s best not to worry too much about what the guide says, and instead simply follow the marked route through the woods. While the road sections of the trail are very minimally marked, the trail sections are marked with little two inch circles, which can be white, silver, or metallic. Further, from F. Gilbert Hills onward to Diamond Hill, the way is also marked with white blazes. Granted, the trail isn’t the best marked, since there are sections that feel like trying to follow a lightly used trail through a wilderness area in the White Mountains, since the markings can be really minimal in places. Thus, I understood why the people who wrote those trip reports encountered some places where they lost the trail. But, by going at a walking pace, and by paying attention, I was able to follow the trail the whole way. Granted, there were a few times when I noticed that I hadn’t seen one of those little circles in a few minutes. When I backtracked to the last one, sometimes I found that I had missed a turn, while other times I found that I was still going the right way, but there just happened to be a stretch that could have used a few more circles to mark the way. It also greatly helped that I did this in late January, when the leaves were down and the greenery had died back, so there was nothing obscuring the trail markers or the treadway. This would definitely be harder to follow in verdant summer conditions. This is certainly a good trail to work on while trying to stay in shape during the winter months, especially for people who don’t like hiking in the snowy mountains. Plus, when visiting this trail, it helps to come at it with the right mindset, where you know it’s not going to be as well marked as I-95, but you’re willing to have an adventure and you’re expecting to be challenged in places as you make your way along.
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