smitty77
New member
Date(s) Hiked:
Sunday, May 2, 2004
Trails(s) Hiked:
Bicentennial, Pine Hill, Old Indian, Auto Road
Total Distance:
Unknown, < 2 mi.
Difficulty:
Easy
Conditions:
Excellent trail conditions with patches of mud in places.
Weather was cloudy with a chance of a shower and a stiff 20 mph breeze on the summit.
Special Required Equipment:
Bug juice, the black flies are out in Central MA.
Trip Report:
I had some free time to spend with my little one this Sunday as my wife was attending a bridal shower. I've been meaning to get the three generations together on a hike for a while now so I called Max and suggested taking a hike. We tentatively planned on hiking Monadnock but the weather Sunday morning looked less than cooperative: Temps in the low 50s with fog and a light drizzle, with a forecast for rain in the early afternoon. We decided Wachusett would be a better choice as we could get down quickly in the event of a heavy shower.
We arrived at the base of the auto road around 10:30 and loaded little Porcupine (Max's nickname for him) into his carrier. We started up the Bicentennial Trail and in a few minutes reached the juntion with the Pine Hill Trail where we ran into a group of twenty or so people. We continued upward on Pine Hill where I began breaking a sweat that turned into a torrent as I worked my way up the moderate-to-steep slope. My quads burned a little on the climb, but it was my lungs that couldn't keep up. What a difference 30 pounds on your back makes! Max, being in the best shape of his life, trotted along effortlessly beside me, mentioning he had once ran from the parking lot to the summit up this same trail in 13 minutes! I was a tad slower, taking 25 - 30 minutes. :lol:
We reached the summit and were hit from the left side by a 20+ mph breeze that picked the baseball cap right off of Porcupine's head. Luckily I was able to retrieve it and we pushed on over the summit, stopping only briefly to let Max's GPS stabilize to check the accuracy of the elevation.
We made our way off the summit via the Old Indian Trail and began the hike down. The trail was dry except for one wet patch that I had to skirt around. As we descended Porcupine was becoming lopsided in his carrier (he usually does when he gets tired), so Max straightened him when we reached the junction with the Mid-State Trail. We reached the lower section of the auto road in about 15 minutes, and shortly thereafter I felt a thump on the back of my neck... Porcupine fell asleep.
We hiked the last half mile on the auto road to check the remaining snow conditions (there were only two small patches just off the shoulder left from ski season) and concluded the road would be opened to traffic soon.
We reached the bottom around 11:40, loaded the little guy into his car seat, and snacked on munchies on the way back to Max's house. All in all a nice short hike to get the legs moving again. I don't have any pix, but Max took a few.
Sunday, May 2, 2004
Trails(s) Hiked:
Bicentennial, Pine Hill, Old Indian, Auto Road
Total Distance:
Unknown, < 2 mi.
Difficulty:
Easy
Conditions:
Excellent trail conditions with patches of mud in places.
Weather was cloudy with a chance of a shower and a stiff 20 mph breeze on the summit.
Special Required Equipment:
Bug juice, the black flies are out in Central MA.
Trip Report:
I had some free time to spend with my little one this Sunday as my wife was attending a bridal shower. I've been meaning to get the three generations together on a hike for a while now so I called Max and suggested taking a hike. We tentatively planned on hiking Monadnock but the weather Sunday morning looked less than cooperative: Temps in the low 50s with fog and a light drizzle, with a forecast for rain in the early afternoon. We decided Wachusett would be a better choice as we could get down quickly in the event of a heavy shower.
We arrived at the base of the auto road around 10:30 and loaded little Porcupine (Max's nickname for him) into his carrier. We started up the Bicentennial Trail and in a few minutes reached the juntion with the Pine Hill Trail where we ran into a group of twenty or so people. We continued upward on Pine Hill where I began breaking a sweat that turned into a torrent as I worked my way up the moderate-to-steep slope. My quads burned a little on the climb, but it was my lungs that couldn't keep up. What a difference 30 pounds on your back makes! Max, being in the best shape of his life, trotted along effortlessly beside me, mentioning he had once ran from the parking lot to the summit up this same trail in 13 minutes! I was a tad slower, taking 25 - 30 minutes. :lol:
We reached the summit and were hit from the left side by a 20+ mph breeze that picked the baseball cap right off of Porcupine's head. Luckily I was able to retrieve it and we pushed on over the summit, stopping only briefly to let Max's GPS stabilize to check the accuracy of the elevation.
We made our way off the summit via the Old Indian Trail and began the hike down. The trail was dry except for one wet patch that I had to skirt around. As we descended Porcupine was becoming lopsided in his carrier (he usually does when he gets tired), so Max straightened him when we reached the junction with the Mid-State Trail. We reached the lower section of the auto road in about 15 minutes, and shortly thereafter I felt a thump on the back of my neck... Porcupine fell asleep.
We hiked the last half mile on the auto road to check the remaining snow conditions (there were only two small patches just off the shoulder left from ski season) and concluded the road would be opened to traffic soon.
We reached the bottom around 11:40, loaded the little guy into his car seat, and snacked on munchies on the way back to Max's house. All in all a nice short hike to get the legs moving again. I don't have any pix, but Max took a few.
