Wachusett Mountain via West Side Trail
Where: Wachusett Mountain
When: 6/27/2019
With: Solo
I pulled in to the parking lot right around 12:30, sharing the area with two other cars, and I was quickly headed up the trail. I turned around a few hundred feet up and went back to get a picture of the trail head sign before retracing my steps and continuing the hike. A fairly easy walk at first, then the path made a steep ascent through a rocky cleft before leveling off again. The rest of the walk was bits of level walking, rocky climbs, some muddy stretches, and a few crossings of the summit road. At one of the crossings I crossed paths with a woman riding one horse and leading another.
High up the mountain I met up with three teen girls, who were heading in the opposite direction. We greeted each other and one mentioned they were on their third day. That's when I noticed they were carrying full backpacks, and I asked if they were thru-hiking the Midstate Trail. They said they were, but had a time limit and didn't know if they'd complete it. Despite three days on the trail, and climbing a mountain with full packs, they were remarkably cheerful and upbeat.
I wished them well and continued my hike, my route now following the Old Indian Trail, which shortly brought me past the ski lift and on to the summit area. It was about 45 minutes after I'd started. Despite all of the cars I'd seen below and a few cars I'd seen/heard climbing the auto road, there were only about 10 people at the summit. I walked around the area a bit, including a quick tour of the base of the fire tower, then checked my map for a different route down.
I decided to take the Harrington Trail, which offered the possibility of a loop walk. It dropped fairly steeply for a while before arriving at a junction with the Link Trail. It leveled off there, and continued a short distance to the Semuhenna Trail, which would take me back to the West Side Trail. I'd only gone a hundred feet or so on that path when I met up with the three thru-hikers again, going in the opposite direction. They explained they'd taken the wrong trail and had to turn around. Still, they were just as cheerful and upbeat as before. Hopefully they were southbound, and would soon be on the Midstate when they got to the Harrington Trail. If not, they'd have to turn around again to get back northbound.
After that, the Semuhenna Trail made its way through the forest and across the road before meeting up with the West Side Trail near a picnic area. From there it was a quick walk back down to my car and the end of the hike. Three cars (including mine) were in the lot, with three young folks leaving one car as I arrived and heading up the trail. I decided to continue along the dirt road, heading north to Route 2 to make a loop of the drive as well.
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When: 6/27/2019
With: Solo
Looking at a map of the trails at Wachusett Mountain, I realized I'd walked most of them already, so when the opportunity arose (a day with no plans), I headed west to cover one I hadn't walked, the West Side trail. My phone's navigation got me there with no problems, with the route leaving the paved roads and on to gravel to get to the trail head. Though it was mid-day on a Thursday, I noted that the other trail heads I passed along the way all had multiple cars parked. It's a popular place to walk.
I pulled in to the parking lot right around 12:30, sharing the area with two other cars, and I was quickly headed up the trail. I turned around a few hundred feet up and went back to get a picture of the trail head sign before retracing my steps and continuing the hike. A fairly easy walk at first, then the path made a steep ascent through a rocky cleft before leveling off again. The rest of the walk was bits of level walking, rocky climbs, some muddy stretches, and a few crossings of the summit road. At one of the crossings I crossed paths with a woman riding one horse and leading another.
High up the mountain I met up with three teen girls, who were heading in the opposite direction. We greeted each other and one mentioned they were on their third day. That's when I noticed they were carrying full backpacks, and I asked if they were thru-hiking the Midstate Trail. They said they were, but had a time limit and didn't know if they'd complete it. Despite three days on the trail, and climbing a mountain with full packs, they were remarkably cheerful and upbeat.
I wished them well and continued my hike, my route now following the Old Indian Trail, which shortly brought me past the ski lift and on to the summit area. It was about 45 minutes after I'd started. Despite all of the cars I'd seen below and a few cars I'd seen/heard climbing the auto road, there were only about 10 people at the summit. I walked around the area a bit, including a quick tour of the base of the fire tower, then checked my map for a different route down.
I decided to take the Harrington Trail, which offered the possibility of a loop walk. It dropped fairly steeply for a while before arriving at a junction with the Link Trail. It leveled off there, and continued a short distance to the Semuhenna Trail, which would take me back to the West Side Trail. I'd only gone a hundred feet or so on that path when I met up with the three thru-hikers again, going in the opposite direction. They explained they'd taken the wrong trail and had to turn around. Still, they were just as cheerful and upbeat as before. Hopefully they were southbound, and would soon be on the Midstate when they got to the Harrington Trail. If not, they'd have to turn around again to get back northbound.
After that, the Semuhenna Trail made its way through the forest and across the road before meeting up with the West Side Trail near a picnic area. From there it was a quick walk back down to my car and the end of the hike. Three cars (including mine) were in the lot, with three young folks leaving one car as I arrived and heading up the trail. I decided to continue along the dirt road, heading north to Route 2 to make a loop of the drive as well.
More photos
