Q outing club excursions
I've planned a bunch of weekend trips (mostly day trips) for this spring, mostly in hopes of getting myself into shape for Wyoming, but also because hiking is fun.
Anyone who wants some fresh air and exercise is welcome to come along. Many of you have already gotten e-mails about it, but here's the schedule for all to see:
Sunday, 3/19: Breakheart Reservation in Saugus.
Saturday, 4/1: Mt. Monadnock
Saturday, 4/8: Lynn Woods
Saturday, 4/22: Earth Day hike up Chocorua
Saturday, 5/6: Walk the Emerald Necklace, Forest Hills to the Boston Common
Saturday, 5/13: Mt. Jefferson via Ridge of the Caps Moonlight Hike!!!!
Saturday, 5/20: Rock Circuit Trail, the Fells
Saturday, 5/27: Gulf of Slides bushwhack
Saturday, 6/3: Rock Climbing at Hammond Pond
Saturday, 6/10: Mt. Lafayette hike, with optional bushwhack down Walker Ravine
Saturday, 6/17: Rock climbing at Red Rocks, Gloucester
All hike dates are tentative, weather permitting, and subject to change depending on who wants to go. If any of these look interesting to you, mark 'em on your calendar and fire me an e-mail to say you're interested.
I'm especially excited about the moonlight hike, which was supposed to happen last fall but was cancelled due to inclement weather.
Breakheart Reservation (tomorrow), Lynn Woods, and Middlesex Fells are all hikes of about 4 miles, on terrain that alternates easy woods walking with short bits of fairly steep and rocky hiking. The distance is probably a little much for a 2-year-old under her own steam, but you have a better sense of that than I do. Is she too big to carry in a backpack part of the way?
The White Mountain hikes and bushwhacks are probably a bit too extreme for the 2-year-old, though the out-of-shape 30 somethinger could definitely do them.
(Or you can just meet us at the Monadnock State Park trailhead at 10AM.)
If you've never climbed Monadnock, here's some info:
It's the highest point (3165' elevation) within a hundred miles of Boston. Because it's located in hilly but not mountainous terrain, it stands out as a visible landmark from a great distance. Conversely, from the top the views of the surrounding countryside are splendid, taking in the White Mountains, the Green Mountains, the Berkshires, and the Boston skyline on a clear day. It was a favorite excursion for the Transcendentalists; Emerson wrote a major poem entitled "Monadnoc," and there's a bog on the northeastern shoulder of the mountain that is named for Thoreau. The summit is mostly bare rock at the top, as a result of forest fires two hundred years ago. It thus gives the feeling of being on a much higher peak, above treeline.
The hike is a 5 mile round trip, with a little under 2000' of elevation gain.
Hike it. You know you want to.
Also, for anyone who missed the chance to go last weekend, I'm planning a make-up trip up Monadnock on Sunday. Leave Boston by 9AM, back in Boston by 7PM. We'll probably do one of the less-frequented trails.
I'm awaiting a full trip report from the Greeneburkes regarding their soggy hike in to Carter Notch. What were the snow conditions near the height of land?
The height of land had about 12 to 15 inches of bullet-proof hard pack, making the final pitch from the Notch to ponds take considerably longer than expected. The sun broke several times, and the daytime temp never got below 40 degrees. A quiet Saturday with only 8 guests at the hut, out of a max of 40(?). The friendly hutmasters were both there, Chance McQuinn and Lola Upright.
Fun times.
Next expedition: Mt. Chocorua (3500'), on Saturday 4/22, weather permitting. Glib and I will be staying at our country estate in Madison that weekend; anyone who likes is welcome to join us. If you prefer to make a long day-excursion of it, plan on leaving Boston by 6AM and returning to the city sometime between 9 and 10PM.
Tentative route: up the Brook Trail, down the Bee Line. These are steep, spectacular trails on the mountain's west side; they're not heavily traveled because most people don't know how to find the trailhead. Round trip about eight miles, with 2600' of elevation gain and loss.
For anyone who doesn't know Chocorua: it's the most spectacular and difficult of the White Mountains' smaller peaks. When you're driving up from the coast on Rte. 16, Chocorua is one of the first peaks you see--and definitely the most recognizable, with its sharply-cut summit cone of bare rock. If you come, bring a camera, along with lunch, raingear, hiking boots, lots of water, hat and gloves, and a wool sweater (no cotton!). The trail may be icy or snowy in some spots, depending how the next two weeks shape up weather-wise.
Who's up for Chocorua?
Is May 6th near the common still on?
tgl: Chocorua isn't happening tomorrow, due to C4RT. It also isn't happening Sunday, due to wet weather forecast. I've tentatively rescheduled it for NEXT weekend. (See Social Calendar.) Hoping to hike one day, help Mimi and Bert move the other day.
For anyone who does want to get at least some exercise tomorrow (Saturday), I'm planning to spend a couple of hours rock-climbing in the Middlesex Fells in the afternoon. tgl, you should come.
Pray for good weather.
Who's going?
got some of Kendals 2nd largest export to send you (interestingly enough the largest is snuff)
whats yer address again?
112 Trenton St., Boston MA 02128
Spring wildflowers on Chocorua included trailing arbutus (Epigaea repens), hobblebush (Viburnum alnifolium), wild oats (Uvularia sessilifolia), three species of violets (Viola spp.),painted trillium (Trillium undulatum), and Stinking Benjamin (T. erectum).
Total distance: 7 miles
Elevation gain: minimal
Terrain: mostly paved paths
The “Emerald Necklace†is the chain of parks and green spaces that runs between the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain and the Common in downtown Boston. There are only a few sections along the way where you’re walking among buildings rather than among trees. It’s not wilderness, but it’s pleasant.
The plan:
Meet at Forest Hills T stop (the end of the Orange Line) on Saturday at 1PM.
We will walk from the T stop to the Arboretum, with a quick stop to visit the lilacs, then proceed back out to the Arborway. A short walk on the Arborway brings us to Jamaica Pond, Ward’s Pond, Leverett Pond, and Olmsted Park. The Back Bay Fens will lead us to Commonwealth Avenue, which we will follow down its grassy median park to the Public Garden and the Common. Then maybe go out for beers at some downtown pub before heading to our respective homes.
If anybody, having joined us from the start of the trip, needs to bail out partway through, there are numerous public transport options. About one-third of the way through the trip, we’ll pass close to the Heath Street E Line stop. Halfway through, we pass close to the Longwood D Line stop. Two-thirds of the way through, we pass close to the MFA E Line stop. Three-quarters of the way through, we pass by Hynes/ICA Green Line stop.
Small children welcome.
And after-- <a href= "http://www.thatscamping.com/index.php/camping/single/pizza-barn/"> THE PIZZA BARN!</a>* Pitchers and pizza, the best reward for a job well done.
A+ day, in my opinion.
*This review is wrong in one area-- the sizes are actually "Stall" and "Barn"
Forest Hills, 1PM.
Anyone have a recommendation for a good apres-trek pub?
Participants: 7
Person-miles covered: 50
Beers consumed: 16 (plus one glass of wine, plus one Nalgene bottle of "grape juice plus" Shiraz flavor)
Seen: One oriole, several gargoyles, one young woman in an inflatable body, one small redwood tree, eleven monumental statues, one frittilarium.
We’ll leave Boston at 5:00 PM and drive north. We’ll arrive in the mountains after 8:30 PM, just as twilight gives way to the dark of night.
Our trailhead—the highest in New England—is at 3000’ elevation, at the top of the Jefferson Notch Road. There’s a sizeable gravel parking lot, with a self-service parking fee station, which will cost us a couple of bucks. There may be a very few cars in the parking lot at that time of night, but probably not many, because the trailhead doesn’t give easy access to any huts or established campsites. I very much doubt we’ll see anyone on the trail.
We’ll spend a few minutes getting our packs ready, letting our eyes adjust to the low light conditions, and putting on sweaters and coats. (At that elevation in early May, temperatures are likely to be in the 40s.) Then we’ll set off up the trail, without flashlights if possible. It will be slow going—fairly level and boggy at first, then steeper and rocky—but if skies are clear we should be able to grope our way by starlight. The trail is fairly straight, and the woods on each side are thick with firs and spruces, and there aren’t any intersecting paths in the first mile. It will be cold and dark, and we may bang our shins on rocks and trip on a few roots, but we shouldn’t encounter any life-threatening difficulties.
At about the 1-mile point, we’ll come to the first viewpoint: a prominent bedrock outcropping at the edge of a ravine. Beyond that point the trees get smaller and smaller, and then we reach the Caps, a series of little crags that the trail winds its way around and over. A few parts involve rugged scrambling, with attention to handholds and footholds, but at this point there’s no forest cover and the moon should be up, so we’ll be able to see what we’re doing.
Beyond the Caps the trail continues to rise fairly steeply, but more smoothly, to the summit. At the top of the mountain, at 5700’ elevation, temperatures are likely to be in the 20s, and there may be a stiff wind as well, so it’s very important that everyone have plenty of warm clothes including hats, gloves, and wind-resistant shells, and NO COTTON. If conditions are pleasant, we’ll hang out at the summit a while, enjoying the moonlight and stars. Then we’ll go back down, arriving back at the trailhead sometime before dawn.
My suggestion would be that we then head down to my house in Madison and nap until noon or so before driving back down to Boston.
That’s the plan. Anyone is welcome to join us; you just have to be fairly fit and adventurous enough not to mind getting a little scraped up, with maybe a few twigs in your eye, all in the name of adventure. You should wear sturdy hiking boots and plenty of layers of warm, non-cotton clothes (as noted above), and bring along some tasty food and a couple of bottles of water. You should also bring a flashlight or headlamp with fresh batteries, though we’ll only use lights if we find them absolutely necessary. If anyone has a camera that might take good pictures by moonlight, bring it along!
We’ll only do this trip if the weather forecast is for clear or mostly clear skies Saturday night. Otherwise, stay tuned for an alternate and less extreme excursion, to take place either Saturday during the day or Sunday.
After I went home, the trek continued on foot all the way to Harvard Square, thus bringing the total person-miles covered to about 60 and the number of beers consumed to approximately 86.
<img src = "http://www.geocities.com/marsupial_hat/largesuit.jpg">
severe apologies for my flaking out...
the Buzz (tm) and I were talking about the possibility of fatigues and berets (fake Uzi's optional)
and when I see someone wearing one of their shirts, I think that they're scum too:
<img src="http://members.aol.com/WernerVWallenrod/pe/pe4.jpg">
Notice to all dutiful sons and daughters: If you come along on the night hike, you can still be back down in Boston--<i>having had six hours of sleep</i>--by 3PM. You don't have to neglect your Mom.
For THIS weekend, I still want to hike, so we're looking at a strenuous day hike or bushwhack tomorrow (Sat.), somewhere in the White Mountains but below treeline in case it rains. Who's in? We can do it as a long excursion from Boston, or we can stop over at my house in Madison on Saturday night before driving south.
The Middlesex Fells hike, which has been on my schedule since its inception, will happen on Saturday morning. It's close by and provides a nice four-mile loop over interesting though not spectacular terrain--lots of rocky hills and ledges, with occasional views over the treetops to the city.
On Sunday I'd like to climb Mt. Lafayette, up in the White Mountains. It's no more than three hours' drive up I-93 from Boston; the trailhead is in breathtakingly picturesque Franconia Notch. It's about 2.8 miles up a steep trail to Greenleaf Hut, which is just at treeline. From there, if weather is good, one proceeds up into the alpine zone; it's slightly over a mile up to the summit, where the panoramic view encompasses most of New Hampshire, all of the Green Mountains, part of the Adirondacks, and a few peaks in Canada. One can return the way one came, or make a loop over Mt. Lincoln and Little Haystack and down the Falling Waters Trail to the car.
Anyone in?
The rock climbing excursion at Hammond Pond will happen on Sunday, not Saturday, because of the rain. I can supply all the necessary technical gear. I'm thinking roughly 1PM to 4PM. Anyone interested?
Also, if you're an adventurous sort of person, keep your schedule free for the moonlight hike next weekend. (Saturday night, 6/10)