Wachusett Mountain with Andy & Wilma
Where: Wachusett Mountain
When: October 14, 2019
With: Andy & Wilma
I aimed for a parking area & trail on the west side of the mountain, figuring the casual walkers would be on the other side. There were plenty of cars there, but we slipped into a spot right at the trail head and began our walk. This was a route I did with Wilma previously, following the Stage Coach Road to the Harrington Trail to get to the summit. We crossed paths with a number of folks, both coming & going, but it wasn't all that busy. A lot of people had dogs as well.
The hike began with moderate climbing at first. It passed the wind turbines, then entered the forest. There was a short descent, then more easy climbing until we came to the steep section. Wilma cruised right up, picking routes around the larger steps. I took it slow and steady, as usual. Andy led for a while, with Wilma, then passed her off to me and moved to the rear.
Eventually we came to the final crossing of the summit road. A small rock wall on the other side required me to assist Wilma up it, and we walked a short ways beyond to just short of the summit area. Andy took a short break at the road, but joined us after a few minutes.
As we continued on, I heard an odd noise, which I realized was the sound of lots of voices. We emerged to the open summit to find it packed with folks and their dogs. Hikers, people who'd driven up, and others who'd come up on the chair lift. There was a small line for photos at a rock platform, with folks handing their phones/cameras to the next in line.
We found a spot in the shade and sat for a rest and some water. At one point Andy noticed that Wilma had wandered off a short distance (I'd neglected my grip on her leash), and was greeting people she met. He brought her back, I took a couple of pictures, and we began our descent.
We took a different route back, starting on the Mountain House trail. It took us a bit to find its beginning among the parking lots and roads, but eventually we were part of a crowd following that popular path down. The extra company disappeared when we cut off on to the Jack Frost trail and we only encountered a handful of other walkers as we made our way down through the forest.
I'd planned to followed the High Meadow trail down to Echo Lake, but we elected to continue on Jack Frost, a new section of trail for me. It dropped through a steep area full of hemlocks, then leveled off for easy walking. We came to the Lower Link trail, and followed that to Administration Road, which brought us back to the car.
Nice walk.
More pictures
When: October 14, 2019
With: Andy & Wilma
A spur of the moment hike. We were all home, with nothing scheduled, and Jane needed some quiet time for gardening homework, so I convinced Andy to join me & Wilma for a climb up Wachusett Mountain. It was a beautiful fall day, with perfect weather. It was also the Columbus Day holiday, so I was a bit concerned about crowds.
I aimed for a parking area & trail on the west side of the mountain, figuring the casual walkers would be on the other side. There were plenty of cars there, but we slipped into a spot right at the trail head and began our walk. This was a route I did with Wilma previously, following the Stage Coach Road to the Harrington Trail to get to the summit. We crossed paths with a number of folks, both coming & going, but it wasn't all that busy. A lot of people had dogs as well.
The hike began with moderate climbing at first. It passed the wind turbines, then entered the forest. There was a short descent, then more easy climbing until we came to the steep section. Wilma cruised right up, picking routes around the larger steps. I took it slow and steady, as usual. Andy led for a while, with Wilma, then passed her off to me and moved to the rear.
Eventually we came to the final crossing of the summit road. A small rock wall on the other side required me to assist Wilma up it, and we walked a short ways beyond to just short of the summit area. Andy took a short break at the road, but joined us after a few minutes.
As we continued on, I heard an odd noise, which I realized was the sound of lots of voices. We emerged to the open summit to find it packed with folks and their dogs. Hikers, people who'd driven up, and others who'd come up on the chair lift. There was a small line for photos at a rock platform, with folks handing their phones/cameras to the next in line.
We found a spot in the shade and sat for a rest and some water. At one point Andy noticed that Wilma had wandered off a short distance (I'd neglected my grip on her leash), and was greeting people she met. He brought her back, I took a couple of pictures, and we began our descent.
We took a different route back, starting on the Mountain House trail. It took us a bit to find its beginning among the parking lots and roads, but eventually we were part of a crowd following that popular path down. The extra company disappeared when we cut off on to the Jack Frost trail and we only encountered a handful of other walkers as we made our way down through the forest.
I'd planned to followed the High Meadow trail down to Echo Lake, but we elected to continue on Jack Frost, a new section of trail for me. It dropped through a steep area full of hemlocks, then leveled off for easy walking. We came to the Lower Link trail, and followed that to Administration Road, which brought us back to the car.
Nice walk.
More pictures
