Wachusett with Wilma
Where: Wachusett Mountain
When: 3 May 2021
With: Wilma
I had nothing on my schedule, everyone else was busy, and the weather was due to turn stormy later, so I grabbed Wilma for a hike at Wachusett Mountain. I had a vague goal of redlining some trails I hadn't walked before, but the primary priority was to get out and put some more miles on my new hiking boots. I didn't know how much Wilma (two months away from 14 years old) would be able to handle - she'd come up lame in the past after vigorous hikes - and figured we'd just do whatever we could.
The ride to the mountain was uneventful, and I pulled into the parking area at the base of the Stage Coach Road trail. It gave us a number of options for routes, but I wasn't sure where I wanted to go. I pulled out my map and decided to continue on a bit further to the Harrington Trail trail head. I'd walked the upper portion of the Harrington before, but not the lower section. It was just a few minutes down the road, and several cars parked along the road marked the location.
A couple of other cars pulled in about the same time as us. One was a small family of three - two adults and a small child - and the other was a single man. The others all headed up the trail as I got organized, but eventually Wilma & I began our walk. I got a picture of the trail head kiosk, then we started up the path.
The trail was easy walking at first, passing through old meadows and then into an open forest with views of old stone walls. A side trail led to the wind turbine farm, but we decided to leave that for later, though the massive turbines were visible through the trees. Shortly afterward, the sound of a child's voice echoed through the woods, and I caught up with the family from the parking area. We exchanged greetings as I passed and continued the climb.
The Stage Coach Road trail came in from the right, and we were now on trail we'd walked before. I checked my map at each trail crossing we encountered, thinking there might be other routes to take, but finally decided to take the Harrington all the way to the summit. I could always take different paths down. I was also interested in the Harrington because it's also the Midstate Trail, a path I'd like to thru-hike some day.
As it turned out, my interest in the Midstate led me to abandon the Harrington as we approached the summit, with the Midstate leaving the Harrington and using the Link & Mountain House trails to get to the top. We crossed the Summit Access Road, then made our way through the parking lots to the summit lawn.
There were probably no more than a dozen other folks at the summit, several with dogs. Quite different from other visits when the area was filled with visitors. We touched the summit marker (or what I think is the summit marker) and considered several options for rest spots before settling on some west-facing rocks. Wilma found lots of things to sniff - mostly the remains of hikers snacks and lunches - and had little interest in the water I'd carried for her. I wasn't too concerned because she'd been wading and drinking in the streams we crossed on the way up.
We only stayed long enough on top for me to take a couple of pictures and check my maps to select a route back down. I'd had a few ideas, but decided to just return on the Harrington. The top end of it was close to where we were resting, so it was an easy decision. Looking in its direction, I heard and then saw a quadcopter. It climbed just above the trees before descending. I assumed the owners would be kids, but it turned out to be an older gentleman with a white beard, who was resting on a rock ledge when I approached. He had a younger female companion who emerged from the woods as we passed to continue down the rocks.
This upper bit of the Harrington had several steep pitches, including a small drop at the Summit Access Road crossing that required a lift-down assist for Wilma. I'd been holding her back on the climb up, so she wouldn't wear herself out, and now on the descent I had to guide her to the best routes down the steep rocks. It was in these rocks that we met up with the family of three again. They were still making good progress, getting close to the summit. We chatted a bit more before parting again.
Shortly afterward, a side path led to a viewpoint (Josti's Vista) I'd visited before. There had been a picnic table at the spot when I visited five years ago, but it had been removed. No matter. There were plenty of rocks to rest on, and an expansive view to the south. It included the wind turbines, which looked remarkably small and far off. We stayed a bit and took a picture, then heard voices. It was the couple with the quadcopter. We had a brief chat before Wilma & I left them to enjoy the view by themselves.
There was another steep, rocky descent and then we were back at the junction with the Link trail, and the Harrington eased off considerably. I checked out a few side paths as we descended, but left them for another day's adventure. Today we'd stay on the Harrington. We did make one side trip though, climbing the path up to the wind turbines as we neared the bottom. It was sort of interesting, but would have been more impressive if the blades had been turning.
After that, it was just a few steps more back to the trail head and the road. The single gentleman who'd arrived with us had just returned from his walk as well, and we commented on what a great day it had been for a hike. After that it was just a matter of packing up Wilma & my gear and turning toward home.
