bunchberry
New member
Throughout the week I had planned to take a hike in the Blue Hills on Saturday, to at least get a little hike in on a weekend I couldn’t get up north. But alas, the hike was not to happen…my week had been crazy and sleep won out—by the time I got out of bed, ate “breakfast” and felt awake enough to do something, it was 3pm and too late for my hike. So, even though I already had lunch plans with family today, I decided that I would definitely get to the Blue Hills this afternoon no matter how late…
Coincidentally, it was 3pm when I finally made it to the Reservation Headquarters parking area. I had wanted to explore some of the crisscrossing trails in the western side of the Reservation, but since it was on the late side and the sky looked a bit threatening, I decided to just do a loop on the north and south branches of the Skyline Trail. Besides, taking a route that was familiar would be a good excuse to play with my new camera along the way.
As I started up the first hill, I felt so happy to be out and about…I was singing some Vienna Teng lyrics in my head, and then I started to change the words…the chorus became “when all you need is a blue hill or two” and I kept going from there! I kept up a good clip and soon enough an Irish man caught up to me and we chatted a bit as we walked. He said to me “You are brave” and when I asked why, “Because not many women would come here alone…” I thought about that for a little bit, and realized that it is all relative…I don’t consider myself brave to take a Blue Hills hike alone because I read almost daily about other women’s solo hiking adventures in places much more remote than my humble hike—but the non-VFTT/hiking world may think that a woman on the trail alone is rare sight. I had sort of forgotten about that.
Anyway, the Irish man and I hiked and chatted all the way to the top of the Great Blue Hill together, and he was wonderful company. How quickly strangers can become friends. Once at the top of the hill, I walked up the staircase in the tower, of course taking pictures all around and experimenting with the lighting. Soon enough, I departed and crossed the bridge that would lead me to the south branch of the Skyline Trail. I missed the turn, however, and soon was in front of the weather observatory…very cool. I wandered around a bit and then made my way back to the trail junction I had missed the first time. It is marked quite well, but my head must have been in the clouds…literally…I had been taking some very photos of the dramatic cloud formations on that stretch of the trail.
I made my way down the Great Blue Hill, then up and down the smaller hillsides on my way back to my car. At one point, I came across some very large boulders and a tree that was stripped of its bark all the way around for a length of several feet. You can see it in the photo…anyone know how this might have happened? Heading down, I ran into several people and many dogs. Sometimes I really appreciate the silence of my surroundings while I am out hiking, but today I was happy to see that there were lots of people out on a day that looked like it might begin pouring at any minute. In truth, there were only a small smattering of raindrops here and there, and the day was really quite lovely. Having grown up in this area, I can hardly believe that it is only now that I am coming to know the Blue Hills…better late than never!
photos from the adventure:
http://community.webshots.com/album/548947707WBveml
-katie
Coincidentally, it was 3pm when I finally made it to the Reservation Headquarters parking area. I had wanted to explore some of the crisscrossing trails in the western side of the Reservation, but since it was on the late side and the sky looked a bit threatening, I decided to just do a loop on the north and south branches of the Skyline Trail. Besides, taking a route that was familiar would be a good excuse to play with my new camera along the way.
As I started up the first hill, I felt so happy to be out and about…I was singing some Vienna Teng lyrics in my head, and then I started to change the words…the chorus became “when all you need is a blue hill or two” and I kept going from there! I kept up a good clip and soon enough an Irish man caught up to me and we chatted a bit as we walked. He said to me “You are brave” and when I asked why, “Because not many women would come here alone…” I thought about that for a little bit, and realized that it is all relative…I don’t consider myself brave to take a Blue Hills hike alone because I read almost daily about other women’s solo hiking adventures in places much more remote than my humble hike—but the non-VFTT/hiking world may think that a woman on the trail alone is rare sight. I had sort of forgotten about that.
Anyway, the Irish man and I hiked and chatted all the way to the top of the Great Blue Hill together, and he was wonderful company. How quickly strangers can become friends. Once at the top of the hill, I walked up the staircase in the tower, of course taking pictures all around and experimenting with the lighting. Soon enough, I departed and crossed the bridge that would lead me to the south branch of the Skyline Trail. I missed the turn, however, and soon was in front of the weather observatory…very cool. I wandered around a bit and then made my way back to the trail junction I had missed the first time. It is marked quite well, but my head must have been in the clouds…literally…I had been taking some very photos of the dramatic cloud formations on that stretch of the trail.
I made my way down the Great Blue Hill, then up and down the smaller hillsides on my way back to my car. At one point, I came across some very large boulders and a tree that was stripped of its bark all the way around for a length of several feet. You can see it in the photo…anyone know how this might have happened? Heading down, I ran into several people and many dogs. Sometimes I really appreciate the silence of my surroundings while I am out hiking, but today I was happy to see that there were lots of people out on a day that looked like it might begin pouring at any minute. In truth, there were only a small smattering of raindrops here and there, and the day was really quite lovely. Having grown up in this area, I can hardly believe that it is only now that I am coming to know the Blue Hills…better late than never!
photos from the adventure:
http://community.webshots.com/album/548947707WBveml
-katie
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