Noon Hill - March 2, 20205

From the top of Noon Hill

It was another chilly morning with no paddling trips that I could see, so I decided to join Papa Joe for his trip at Noon Hill in Medfield, MA.

Noon Hill is a prominent summit and scenic vista surrounded by 204-acres of open space. It offers 4.5 miles of hiking trails and is part of a larger network of open space that includes the Shattuck Reservation located to the northwest along the Charles River. A system of trails spans the two properties, some of which are part of the Bay Circuit Trail.

Along Holt Pond

We headed out from the parking lot at 158 Noon Hill Road in Medfield. At 370-feet, Noon Hill rises gently above the surrounding landscape giving great views to the southeast of neighboring Walpole and Norfolk.

Icy conditions along with rocks and roots that could snag on micospikes made the trails a little treacherous. We followed the trail over to the Shattuck Reservation, and then around Holt Pond to return to the cars. Distance was 4.1-miles.

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Gardner Hill Town Forest - January 20, 2024

It was too cold for paddling this weekend, so I decided to join Papa Joe and the crew for a hike at the Gardner Hill Town Forest in Stow, MA.

We met at the main parking lot at 86 Bradley Lane in Stow. Gardner Hill includes over 200 acres of white pine forest with lots of interesting glacial features. The 4.1-mile hike took us along Elizabeth Brook and the Assabet River, and then up the wooded summit of Gardner Hill.

Gardner Hill Stow Town Forest from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

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My Pictures

My Video

Stow Town Forest Trail Map

Property Description from Town of Stow

Noanet Woods - December 9, 2023

Noanet Peak

It has been a while since I have been out on a hike, and I didn’t see any paddling trips today, so I decided to join Papa Joe and the crew at Noanet Woods in Dover, MA.

Noanet Woods has 17 miles of trails adjacent to the Hale Reserve. We started our hike at the Powissett Street entrance and hiked into the Hale Reserve. From there, we hiked over to the Mill Ponds to check out the old mill site and dam. Then, we hiked up to the Noanet Peak to check out the view of Boston before heading back to the cars.

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My Pictures

Noanet Woodlands Trail Map

Moore State Park - October 22, 2023

Artist Overlook on Turkey Hill Brook

My original plan was to do a Tville run with the CTAMC, but with yesterday’s rain the river rose from 2.5-feet to 4.5-feet overnight. I knew it was too high for me, and wasn’t surprised when I got an email that the trip was cancelled. Fortunately, Papa Joe was doing a hike at the Moore State Park.

Moore State Park (290 Sawmill Road, Paxton, MA) has 400-acres of well-maintained trails through open fields and woodlands.The section along Turkey Hill Brook, which falls 90-feet in less than a quarter mile, was once the home to at least five 18th and 19th century mills. Old foundations and a restored sawmill stand on the site today. In the early 20th century, the property became a private estate and was heavily planted with azaleas, rhododendrons, and mountain laurels.

The crew

We started on the Davis Hill Field and Laurel Loop Trails, which wind through the fields and woodlands across the street from the parking lot. From there we headed up the Azalea Path to the restored sawmill on Turkey Hill Brook, and then up the Old Bringham Road, Secret Garden Loop and Stairway Loop Trails.

We ended up doing 4.6-miles. The leaves were just about peak. I also hear that it is beautiful here in June when the azaleas, rhododendrons, and mountain laurels are in bloom. 

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Moore State Park

Moose Hill – March 12, 2023

The crew on the Summit Trail

I was thinking about doing a Tville run today to try out my new drysuit, but the group wasn’t meeting until noon, which would have made for a long day. Instead, I decided to stay close to home and do the Papa Joe hike at the Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary in Sharon, MA.

Moose Hill was established in 1916 and is Mass Audubon’s oldest wildlife sanctuary. Moose Hill has 20-miles of trails through forests, fields, and wetlands. We started on the Summit Trail, which takes you up the to the highest point on the sanctuary - 534-feet with an abandoned fire tower at the top.

View of Gillette from the Bluff Overlook

From there, we worked our way over to the Bluff Trail which includes the Allens Ledge Chimney and the Bluff Overlook with its great views of Gillette Stadium. Shaped by glaciers thousands of years ago, you can still see striations in the bedrock that were left by glaciers.

Billing's Loop was closed for maple sugaring tours, but we worked our way back to the parking lot, and we finished up with a loop around the Vernal Pool Trail. The Bay Circuit and Warner trails pass through this property as well.

Links:
My Pictures
Moose Hill Trail Map

Bay Circuit Trail

Warner Trail
Warner Trail Guidebook

Mercy Woods Preserve - March 5, 2023

The crew - Sue, Mike, Steve and Erik

With a new drysuit on order and a family party scheduled for Saturday, I decided to put a hike on the RICKA Message Board for Sunday at the Mercy Woods Preserve. We met at 9:30 at the trailhead on Sumner Brown Road. We had about an inch of snow on the ground, which was frozen when we headed out, but wet and slushy about an hour later. We did the Ridge Trail to the south and then the Mercy Trail (behind the nursing home rather than along the road) to the north – about 3.5-miles. The hills were a little slick with the wet, slushy snow, but otherwise it was fine. It took us a little over 2-hours.

Links:

Cumberland Land Trust
Mercy Woods Trail Map

Trip Description from Explore Rhode Island

Harold Parker State Forest/Skug River Reservation - January 14, 2023

Paddlers on dry land -
Bob, Erik, Bill and Jonathan

Its been a while since I've been out with Papa Joe and the crew, so I decided to join this week's hike at Harold Parker State Forest/Skug River Reservation. The drive was a little longer than I would usually do for a hike, but I really needed to get out and get some exercise.

The Harold Parker State Forest in Andover includes over 3,000 acres of forest with over 35 miles of logging roads and trails. The area was inhabited by Pentacook Indians until it was settled by English farmers around 1650. By the middle of the nineteenth century the farms were abandoned and the fields have slowly been replaced by woodlands.

King of the rock -
now how do I get down?

We met at the trailhead at the Skugg River Reservation (315 Salem Street, Andover, MA) and headed out on boardwalks and bridges through the wetlands. The trail eventually climbed into a pretty pine forest as we wove our way around the Delano, Brakett, Field, Collins and Bear Ponds. 

The trail was littered with huge glacial erratics. I used my climbing skills to get up on one, and then had a hard time getting back down. We were on the Bay Circuit Trail for a short time on the way back to the cars. My knee was fine, and it was nice to see Bill, Jonathan and Bob.

Links:

My Pictures
Harold Parker State Forest
Skug River Reservation
Bay Circuit Trail

Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary - March 27, 2022

I didn’t see a paddling trip, so I decided to join Papa Joe and the crew for what for me would be the last Papa Joe hike of the 2021-22 season at Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary.

Broadmoor is a 624-acre Mass Audubon property with 9-miles of trails through a nice mix of woodlands and marshland. We took the Marsh Trail to the Indian Brook Trail, to the Glacial Hill Trail/Loop, to the Charles River Loop, to the Mill Pond and then back on the boardwalks of the All Persons Trail – about 4.5 miles. I was home in time to do some yard work.

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My Pictures

Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctury

Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary Trail Map

Hiking the Mighty Quin - February 20, 2022

Along the Mighty Quin

I wanted to do some paddling, but both Pauls had other plans and it ended up being a really cold day anyway, so I decided to join Papa Joe and the crew for one of my favorite hikes along the “Mighty Quin”.

The Quinapoxet River (aka the “Mighty Quin”) arises in Princeton, MA, and is part of the MWRA system supplying drinking water to greater Boston. The Quinapoxet Dam in Holden impounds a billion gallons of water in the Quinapoxet Reservoir. Below the dam, the Quinapoxet River flows 8-miles east to the Wachusett Reservoir, joining the Stillwater River to become the South Branch of the Nashua River in West Boylston. The section of the Quinapoxet from Canada Mills to the Wachusett Reservoir is a well-known whitewater run.

The crew (with half of Al)

We met at the Mass Central Rail Trail (265 Manning Street, Jefferson (Holden), MA) for a 5.2-mile hike down to the old Springdale Mill. The Mass Central Rail Trail follows the route to the old Massachusetts Center Railroad that connected Boston to Northampton. The rail trail itself was wide and clear, but we broke off into the woods in several places to follow the river. 

I have now done 5 hikes along the Might Quin, but only 4 paddling runs – I'll need to work on that. The river was running a little over 9-feet, which looked low and boney in places, but my open boater friends say it is a good level. I have run it clean at 10-feet (two runs) and 11-feet with a swim at 10.5-feet.

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My Pictures

Mass Central Trail

Quinapoxet River Gage

F. Gilbert Hills State Forest - February 6, 2022

The crew at Lookout Rock

It was a cold and icy morning, but the Papa Joe hike was just a half-hour from my house at the F. Gilbert Hills State Forest, so I decided to join.

The F. Gilbert Hills State Forest (previously known as Foxboro State Forest) is a 1,000-acre site with 23-miles of trails in the towns of Foxborough and Wrentham. It is adjacent to the Harold B. Clark Town Forest to the north, and connects to Wrentham State Forest to the west. The park is also part of the 30-mile Warner Trail that stretches from Sharon to Diamond Hill.

Trail Hut

We headed north from the main entrance on Mill Street in Foxboro to Sunset Lake, and then west cutting through the Harold B. Clark Town Forest to High Rock and the EMS radio tower. The park is a maze of trails dotted with hundreds of glacial erratics. We stopped for a picture at one of the largest – Lookout Rock.

From there, we headed south on a section of the Warner Trail that includes the Stone Staircase - one of many structures built on the site by the Civil Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930’s. We took a short detour to Sunset Ledge, which has great views of the Wrentham Hills and even Diamond Hill to the southwest.

Dolmen Rock

We then passed some unique stone structures that some believe were made by the Native Americans. Dolmen Rock is a large, flat boulder sitting on three small stones on top of a large exposed ledge that that may have been used as an altar. Not far away are four equidistant rocks that align due north. They could have been dropped by the glacier, but some believe that would be too much of a coincidence.

From there we followed a maze of trails back to the cars. The hike was originally planned to be about 5-miles, but with detours it ended up being closer to 6-miles.

Links:

My Pictures

F. Gilbert Hills State Forest

F. Gilbert Hills Trail Map

Warner Trail
Warner Trail Guidebook

George Washington Management Area – February 2, 2022

Frank at Bowdish Lake

With rain and sleet in the forecast, I decided to take some time off to join Henry, Earl and Frank for a snowshoe hike in the George Washington Management Area.

With over 4,000-acres, the George Washington Management Area is Rhode Island's second largest state property. The land was acquired during the 1930's by the US government and developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps. During WWII the land was turned over to the State of RI. There are two blazed trails on the property. The white blazed Angell Loop follows the shore of Bowdish Lake and then passes through a section of the campground.

Henry, Frank, Earl and Erik

The longer Walkabout Trail was created in the late 1960's by Australian Navy sailors on temporary duty in Newport. The trail consists of a series of three loops blazed Orange (8-mile), Red (6-mile) and Blue (2-mile). Some of the Walkabout Trail is also the route of Rhode Island's North-South Trail.

We started at the parking lot, headed up the Washington Trail and bush-wacked through the woods to Wilbur Pond before heading back. From there we went down to check out the snow-covered beach on Bowdish Lake. Not a long trip – probably 1.5 to 2-miles, but it sure beats working.

Links:

My Pictures
George Washington Management Area Trail Map
George Washington Management Area
North-South Trail
George Washington Management Area from Explore Rhode Island

Older George Washington Management Area Trail Map

Blackall Family and Ballou Farm Preserve – January 30, 2022

Steve and Bill at the trailhead

The Blizzard of 2022 dropped 18 to 24-inches of light fluffy snow across much of southern New England. I knew that I wanted to take advantage of the snow and go snowshoeing, so when Bill suggested the Blackall/Ballou Preserve just a mile from my house, I jumped at the opportunity. This would be my third hike at a Cumberland Land Trust property. It was nice to have Steve join us as well.

When most people think about the early development of the Blackstone River Valley, they usually think about the development of textile mills along the Blackstone River. It is easy to forget that for generations before the development of the mills the people in the Blackstone River Valley were primarily farmers. The old farmland land that is part of this this Cumberland Land Trust property was previously owned by the Ballou and Blackall families.

Heading out on unbroken trails

As early as the seventeenth century, this part of Cumberland was known as the Ballou Neighborhood. The patriarch of the Ballou family was Maturin Ballou who was recorded as a settler in Providence as early as 1646. At his death around 1685 his estate included his Providence homestead that was left to his daughter Hannah, and a large parcel in the “Outlands” of the “Attleborough Gore” in what is now Cumberland that was left to his sons John, James and Peter.

Settlement of the “Outlands” increased dramatically after the end of King Philip's War in 1678. James, who lived in what is now Albion, owned the west side of the parcel on the border with what is now Woonsocket. We know this because he donated the land for the Elder Ballou Meeting House that was located there. The Elder Ballou Meeting House was erected in 1732 and was one of the oldest churches in the state when it was destroyed by fire in the 1960’s. His son Obadiah Ballou settled on the property and in 1749 donated land for the cemetery across the street that contains the graves of generations of the Ballou family.

Back at the trailhead

Today, the Blackall Family and Ballou Farm Preserve consists of 184-acres with about 3.3-miles of trails. Based on its location just southwest of the Elder Ballou Meeting House it was no doubt part of Obadiah Ballou's original homestead. For most of the 20th century the Blackall family owned and farmed the northern section of this property. The western half of the Blackall property was sold and developed as Highland Corporate Park. The eastern half of the property was conserved as open space.

We started at the trailhead on West Wrentham Road (there are also trailheads at the Dollar Tree Plaza and Old West Wrentham Road), and headed west through the woods on the blue blazed trail. The trail was unbroken until we reached the west side where people had hiked in from the Dollar Tree Plaza and the Highland Hills Apartments. There is another 1.5-miles of trails to the north on the on the red and yellow blazed trails, but we saved that for another day. We stayed on the blue trail and looped back to the cars. We did about 1.5-miles, but that was enough. I forgot what a workout snowshoeing can be!

Links:

My Pictures
Cumberland Land Trust
Trail Map
Trail description from Explore Rhode Island

Noon Hill/Shattuck Reservation - January 22, 2022

That's me

It was another chilly morning with no paddling trips that I could see, so I decided to join Papa Joe for his trip at Noon Hill/Shattuck Reservation in Medfield, MA.

Noon Hill is a prominent summit and scenic vista surrounded by 204-acres of open space. It offers 4.5 miles of hiking trails and is part of a larger network of open space that includes the Shattuck Reservation located to the northwest along the Charles River. A system of trails spans the two properties, some of which are part of the Bay Circuit Trail.

The crew on Noon Hill

We headed out from the parking lot at 158 Noon Hill Road in Medfield on the yellow blazed trail to Noon Hill. At 370-feet, Noon Hill rises gently above the surrounding landscape giving great views to the southeast of neighboring Walpole and Norfolk.

Icy conditions along with rocks and roots that could snag on micospikes made the trails a little treacherous. On the way down from Noon Hill we had the first accident – a face-plant resulting in a cut on the bridge of the nose. After the cut was bandaged, the decision was made to head back to the cars before heading out again.

Not who you want at your trip

On our second attempt, we headed out past the skaters on Holt Pond and crossed the street onto the red blazed trail in the Shattuck Reservation. Before we reached the Charles River, though, we our second accident - another face-plant resulting in a nasty bump on the head and sprained wrist. This time an ambulance was called as a precaution, which brought our hike to an end. Thankfully both are home doing fine. 

Shit happens - nice to be with a group that is prepared and knows how to respond when it does. Hike ended up being about 3.5-miles.

Links;

My Pictures

Trail Map
Noon Hill Reservation
Shattuck Reservation
Bay Circuit Trail

White Cedar Swamp/Burlingame/Goldstar Preserves – January 15, 2022

Bundled up at 5 degrees

It was a brisk 5-degrees when I headed out for my next hike at a Cumberland Land Trust property - this time the White Cedar Swamp/Burlingame/Goldstar Preserves.

The combined preserve consists of three properties acquired from 2003 to 2017. On Nate Whipple Highway is the 23-acre Atlantic White Cedar Swamp Preserve. Bog bridges now allow easy access to the property that had once been flooded by beaver dams. On Pound Road is the 38-acre Gold Star Preserve that was donated by a developer who was subdividing an adjacent property for house lots. To the east is the 72-acre Burlingame Preserve with miles of stonewalls that separated hay fields, pastures and woodlots in the 1800's. 

Miles of stone walls

I started at the White Cedar Swamp trailhead on Nate Whipple Highway and followed the white blazed Cedar Swamp Trail (0.69-miles) over the bog bridges. Continuing on the Cedar Swamp Trail will take you to the Goldstar Preserve and trailhead on Pound Road, but I followed the red blazed Burlingame Loop (1.52-miles) around the perimeter of the property. The Blue (0.27-miles), Orange (0.31-miles) and Green (0.21-miles) trails cut across the Burlingame Preserve creating shortcuts. 

All the trails are well marked and the combined property includes 153-acres with 3.13-miles of trails. To the east of the Burlingame Preserve is the privately owned Cumberland Beagle Club.

Links:

My Pictures
Cumberland Land Trust Trail Map
Cumberland Land Trust Brochure
Trip Description from Explore Rhode Island

Mercy Woods – January 9, 2022

Trailhead on Wrentham Road

For years I wondered why cars were parked at the turn-off on Wrentham Road just before you crossed into MA. Now I know. At least some were probably hiking on the trails of what is now the Cumberland Land Trust’s Mercy Woods Preserve.

In 2018, the Sisters of Mercy sold 229-acres of provincial land to the Town of Cumberland. The Cumberland Recreation department will eventually use 18-acres for sports fields. The remaining 211-acres will remain as open space managed by the Cumberland Land Trust.

Ridge Trail

The Mercy Woods Preserve currently has 5.7-miles of trails including the Mercy Loop (2.3-miles), the Ridge Trail (2.1-miles) and the Stone Wall, Fisher, Fern, Fiske, Deer and Grape connecting trails. A short section of the Ridge Trail north of the Fern connecting trail is also part of the Warner Trail connecting Sharon, MA to Diamond Hill.

I started at the turn-off on Wrentham Road and did a 3.3-mile perimeter hike along the Ridge Trail (south) and Mercy Loop (north). It was fine, but next time I will probably do the section of the Mercy Loop east of Mount St. Rita since it doesn’t run so close to Wrentham Road. I’d also like to find the Warner Trail and the connection to Diamond Hill.

Links:

My Pictures
Cumberland Land Trust
Mercy Woods Trail Map

Trip Description from Explore Rhode Island

Warner Trail
Warner Trail Guidebook

Noanet Woodlands – January 8, 2022

Iron Mill Pond 

With Friday’s snow I knew that I wanted to get out somewhere this weekend. I didn’t see any paddling trips, so a Papa Joe hike it would be. This weekend’s hike was at Noanet Woods.

I had done this trip several times before, and it is a nice hike. In 1923, Amelia Peabody purchased Powissett Farm in Dover, and over the next six decades acquired hundreds of acres of nearby open space, including the Noanet Woodlands. I remember going to Powissett Farm as a kid to buy pigs. Now Powissett Farm is also Trustees of Reservations property.

The crew at Noanet Peak

Noanet Woods has 17 miles of trails adjacent to the Hale Reservation. On this trip we stayed in Noanet Woods and hiked in a clockwise direction on the Peabody and Noanet Peak Trails to Noanet Peak (with its view of the Boston skyline) and the Iron Mill Dam before heading back to the cars – about 3.3 miles.

It was 16-degrees when we headed out at 8:30, and 26-degrees when we got back to the cars at 11:00, but it never felt cold. I love the view of Boston from Noanet Peak.

Boston skyline from Noanet Peak

Links:

My Pictures

Noanet Woodlands Webpage
Noanet Woodlands Trail Map

Hodges Village Dam - December 31, 2021

Where are we?

Instead of paddling, I ended 2021 with a 5-mile hike at the Hodges Village Dam in Uxbridge on what All Trails calls the Hodges Dam West Loop.

The Hodges Village Dam was built by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1959 in response to flooding in 1936 and 1955 which caused considerable damage downstream in CT. The site includes 1,200 acres along the French River with over 18-miles of hiking trails. A pool is impounded behind the dam only during flood control activities.  

The three amigos

We started at the Hodges Village Dam OHV Parking Lot off Clara Barton Road in Uxbridge. We headed south on the OHV trails along the French River before crossing over and heading back along the Midstate Trail and over Rocky Hill. 

Some of the trails were a little soggy, but we also got to see some pretty waterfalls along usually dry streams as we hiked the Midstate Trail. Nice way to end 2021 - now I'm ready to start 2022.

Waterfalls on the Midstate Trail

Links:

My Pictures

Midstate Trail
Hodges Village Dam

Rocky Narrows - November 28, 2021

I had three days off from work for Thanksgiving, but with the holiday, family stuff, Christmas decorations and yard work I didn’t get my canoe out once. On Sunday an early morning hike with the Papa Joe crew fit into my schedule better than a mid-day paddle, so I hiked instead.

The hike was at the Rocky Narrows Reservation. The site is named for the granite cliffs that rise up over the Charles River as it twists and turns between the Sherborn Town Forest in Sherborn and the Medfield State Forest in Dover. I have paddled beneath these cliffs many times, but had never been to the top.

In 1897 The Trustees acquired 21-acres on the Charles River known as Rocky Narrows, the “Gates of the Charles.” It became their first reservation. A forested site with granite cliffs that date back 650 million years, the reservation would grow to over 80-acres with later acquisitions.

We met at the trailhead at 100 Forest Street in Sherborn and headed north to Mount Misery. We then headed south past the Farm Pond and Canoe Landing before climbing the cliffs up to the overlooks – the Narrows Overlook and King Philip Overlook.

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My Pictures

Rocky Narrows