Ritzhikes

Where: F. Gilbert Hills State Forest, Foxborough MA When: 19 December 2020 With: Chip & Dave A pandemic relief XC ski trip. A week earlier we'd been enjoying warm temps and dry ground, but now there was good snow on the ground, and Dave suggested trails near his house in the F. Gilbert Hills state forest. I'd been interested in visiting it for some time anyway. We met at the parking area, reviewed our varius aches & pains, then set off. Other folks were on the trails but it wasn't especially crowded. We donned our masks when we met others, but often went without the masks. Dave led the way, since he walked the trails often, and he led us off into a quieter portion of the property, near a pond. At one point we debated taking a side trail but it seemed too steep for our skills and we passed on it. Another downhill later on was unavoidable, but we all managed to negotiate it one way or the other. Eventually we all ran out of energy and turned our skis back toward the p...

Where: Blue Hill, Milton MA When: 13 December, 2020 With: Chip & Dave A pandemic relief hike. Chip suggested a spot midway between all of our houses, the Great Blue Hill, and a meeting/starting point near the Blue Hills Reservation HQ on Hillside Street. It would give us parking and access to a number of trails. The weather was mild however, and lots of other folks had the same idea to get out that day. I was first to arrive, and found the parking lot full. Same for all of the other lots in the area. I kept driving along the base of the Hill, looking for other options, before turning around at an ice rink and heading back. I may have called Chip at some point to explain the situation, but he called me while I was driving. I mentioned seeing a parking spot along the road at a trailhead and suggested we meet there. I pulled into the spot and didn't have to wait too long for the others to arrive. We gathered our gear, then made our way up the trail. I don't remember if we had ...

Where: MA-VT-NY Tri-state marker via Taconic Crest Trail When: 19 November 2020 With: Solo Massachusetts has four tri-state junctions, spots where the border of the state meets the borders of two other states. One is at the bottom of the Connecticut River (MA-VT-NH). The rest are marked by large stone monuments. I've already visited two others - MA-RI-CT and MA-CT-NY - so today was my opportunity to get the last one (MA-VT-NY). I woke up at 6:00AM and was out the door by 6:30. My previous two marker visits were somewhat eventful. One featured a 22 mile mountain bike ride and ended with a call to my wife for a ride home. The other included an encounter with a rare timber rattlesnake in the middle of the trail. This one had no such adventure. A 2.5 hour drive to the trailhead, then a fairly straightforward trail walk to the marker, and lots of solitude. I was the only car in the parking area at Petersburg Pass today. I signed in at the trail register (the wrong one, it turns out......

Where: Mt. Frissell When: 9 June 2020 With: Solo I'd intended to climb Cannon Mt. in NH yesterday, but my heart (and head) weren't into it so I spent the day gardening. Today dawned and I felt like a hike. This destination had been on my list for some time, and it seemed like a good Plan B. I was out the door around 7:15, made a stop for gas, then headed west. There was a lot of road work on the Pike, but traffic was fairly light and I wasn't slowed that much.  My GPS guided me through South Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Egremont, and finally into Mount Washington, where the road turned to dirt. Actually, it turned to gravel, as the road was being re-graded. I was a bit concerned, but my car handled the surface just fine. I passed a couple of construction vehicles working on the road, and finally arrived at the parking area just before the MA-CT border. There were two dirt areas, one on each side of the road. I parked at the one on the west side, where a sig...

Where: Wachusett Mt. When: Jan 13, 2020 With: Wilma No pictures from this hike, which is odd for me. Whatever. My recollection is that I'd planned to park at the visitor center at the base of the auto road and take the Pine Hill trail to the summit. I didn't feel like paying the parking fee though, so I used the restroom and drove back down Mountain Road to the Mountain House trail head. On the trail, we quickly turned on to the Bicentennial Trail heading north and followed it to the Loop Trail. We walked that until it rejoined the Mountain House Trail, visited the summit, and took Mountain House back to the car. There were few other folks out that day, and we only saw other hikers at the summit. There wasn't enough snow/ice to allow any traction, and a dusting of snow on wet rocks (with some ice) made for tricky footing, but careful stepping got me to the top. No views, but the frosted trees at the summit were pretty.