Modern Day Thoreau » reservation

Ponkapoag Pond Walking Trail

admin — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 02:32:17 +0000

Last weekend I bravely decided to go for a winter hike in the cold January weather in the hills of the greater Boston area. Blue Hills Reservation is a great spot that offers numerous trails of all different lengths and skill levels (if you’ve read any of my other post you know I’m quite fond of the spot). On saturday, in the low 20° New England weather I thought I’d try a trail that was a little more flat since the ground was so frozen. So, me, my trusty side-kick Erin, and my camera embarked on a small winter quest. Ponkapoag Pond is located on the southern part of the reservation just south of RT 95 and is on a dead end street right off the highway, so you can’t miss it. The first part of the trail in a 1/4 mile path that is fitted for vehicles and is actually just an access road to YMCA center and subsequently the trail itself. The trail is 4 miles in total, but due to the cold, we only were prepared to do about half of that, which included our trek down the frozen boardwalk and eventually to the pond itself. As we walked along, we passed several groups of people who were cross-country skiing as well as several snowhoers. This would would be a great place to get som exercise and enjoy the outdoors as well. As we ventured down the boardwalk trail, it was easy to see several meters into the brush since there were no leaves, but we weren’t fortunate enough to spot and winter woodland creatures on our journey. We passed serveral clearings along the way that provided great shots of the marshy surroundings, and with the sun in the 2 o’clock spot (or 10 if your facing back) there lights provided great shadows.

At the end of the trail we came to what seemed like a huge clearing, only to realize it was actually the pond and it was frozen solid. There were several people ice-fishing and several more cross-country skiing as well. We figured it had to be safe enough to walk on, so we ventured out on the ice. It was very convienent that the ice was covered in snow, as it made it very easy to walk on.

There is something very peaceful about a frozen pond and the cruching of the snow under your boots. It’s a very relaxing experience, assuming your warm enough to enjoy it. While the glare off the vast snow-covered pond, made it hard to get a good exposure, the visual camera (the one in our head), always takes a perfect shot.

I highly recommend this as a nice way to get outdoors in the winter to remain sane, and given that it only took us 2.5 hours including traveling from Quincy and back its a nice way to spend the afternoon even when its 20° out. Check out more photos from the hike here.

Middlesex Fells: Rock Circuit

admin — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 13:40:16 +0000

Middlesex Fells Rock Circuit is a moderate to hard 4 mile hike that includes an array of ascends and descends. This is part of the greater Middlesex Fells Reservation The trail runs through the east side of the reservation and its pinnacle (aptly named Pinnacle Rock) overlooks Oak Grove, and in the distance a great view of Boston.

The trail start out on Woodland Road and the best place to park in in the ice rink on Woodland Road. Alternatively there is parking about 100 yards up from the rink on the same side of the road. The entrance to the trail looks like a utility path blocked by a large metal beam. Just go around this and you’ll see the entrance sign (Photo on left). From here you follow the blue marked trail up the hill for about a 1/4 mile until you see the split in the trail for the white trail (Rock Circuit Trail).

Upon starting the Rock Circuit trail you quickly come to understand the reason for the name. The trail immediately starts to climb to the top of the rock ledges that sprinkle the reservation. As you follow the trail you come across many open rock ledges each providing a higher view than the next, but all still lacking any real exposure. Most are surrounded by the towering oak trees that give Oak Grove its name.

After about 1.5 miles you start to descend back towards see level without having really had any “view” to speak of, but not to worry, the grander views are still to come. About 2 miles into the trail you’ll have to cross a road, East Fellsway Road, at which point you quickly ascend back up the rock ledge. About a 1/2 mile from the East Fellsway you’ll come to your first of several impressive views of more than just oak tree trunks. This high ledge, called Black Rock (not the O.A.R. Black Rock), looks out over the small village of Oak Grove and to the right Charlestown and partly the boston harbor. Here we decided to take lunch as the views were the best of the day, not amazing, but still enjoyable, and the ledge seemed to be very flat and wide, which we had previously not seen.

After leaving Black Rock the trail gets a bit more challenging as we weaved through the cliffside, the trail goes up and down as series of ledges one can only imagine were carved by the glaciers so many millions of years ago. The next large open ledge you come across is White Rock. This gives another angle of Oak Grove, but its view beyond that is thwarted by the larger series of ledges that are to follow, so we didn’t give much time to White Rock. After several more climbs you are almost to Pinnacle Rock and the highlight of your travels.

As you approach Pinnacle Rock, we noticed a great 40 or so foot vertical ledge that had several rock climbers on it. If you feel ambitious I recommend bringing some gear (assuming your expierenced). Once upon Pinnacle Rock, your efforts are rewarded with some of the best views of the greater Boston area that are available on the north shore (on the south shore I recommend Blue Hills Reservation Skyline Trail.

The last part of the hike is simply just getting back to your car . I recommend staying for a few minutes and enjoying the sites, although i don’t recommend waiting to eat here, as the rock is not very flat and doesn’t afford many sitting areas. For the rest of the hike just follow the white trail back to where you started hiking, or if you are tired after this, then you can take the Cross Fells trail (orange).

For the GPS data and map on this route see my EveryTrail page and for several more photos my Flickr

Blue Hills Reservation

admin — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 01:35:12 +0000

The Blue Hills reservation is another large preserve that is part of the Massachusetts department of conservation and recreation network. The Blue Hills is located in Milton, Mass. just off of RT 93 exit 3 for Houghton’s Pond, another great hike which I will review another day. There is a bountiful amount of trails to hike as well as plenty of other outdoor activities in the area such as: fishing, mountain biking, non-motorized boating, camping, horseback riding, and more. The trails range from easy strolls through well packed paths, to moderate-hard climbs that involve an assortment of ascents and descents. We choose, this particular time, to take the southern part of the Skyline Trail.

The Skyline Trail is split into two sections, north and south, which meet on Hillside Road and the entire trail is about 9 miles long. If you want to do the whole thing you need to devote about 5.5-7 hours of time given the difficulty of the ascents. We choose to do the southern part of the trail which is only 2.6 miles and can easily be done in under 2 hours, including stoping to eat lunch for a few minutes. The best place to park is on Hillside road across from the state police barracks. From here you head towards the preserve facilities building and start your ascent onto the Blue trail from behind this series of buildings.

The initial ascent up to the “Skyline” is a pretty steep and you have to be careful if the rocks are wet because there isn’t much dirt. Your basically climbing up large boulders to the top of the hills. Once you get to the top there is a great southern view of the Milton/Randolph/Braintree valley – a perfect place to snap off a few shots or even a cool panoramic. As you continue along the trail it weaves through the trees and every few hundred yards or so gives you a great view in one direction of the surrounding valley area.

The rest of the trail is an array of ups and downs that offer a moderate challange for most types of hikers, but a my be a bit hard for someone not accustomed to rigorous exersize. People use the trail for all sorts of activities from hiking to running to frisbee golf. The latter was particularly interesting seeing how steep some of the ledges are.

At the top of the next hill is where Elliot Tower is and where you have an amazing veiw of Boston. This is a great place to stop and eat lunch and relax in the sun (weather permitting). The inside of the tower is filled with an array of interesting grafitti that can provide a bit of amusement or a sense of nostalgia (if you name is there). A short hike from Elliot Tower is the weather observatory facing south. This also provides a great chance for a landscape panoramic.

The second half of the trail is a bit harder, at first, then the first half, but as long as you use caution when descending down the moss covered rocks you will be ok. The trail dumps you out back onto Hillside Road, and your car is just a 1/4 mile up the road. If you’ve completed this and are still feeling ambitious, then you can continue on the skyline trail north. The entrance is directly infront of where you parked your car.

For more pictures of the Skyline Trail’s southern part, you can check out my Flickr photostream.

You can also grab my GPS tract.