Great Brook Farm- WearBears MeetUp

Last Saturday, we went to a babywearer's meetup at Great Brook Farm State Park.  We've hiked there many times and I enjoy cross country skiing in the winter, especially the lantern skiing they offer at night.  I had been searching for groups of parents to connect with that might have similar ideas.  We have quite a few carriers thanks to some friends who have lent them to us.  Some days wearing Little Dude is the only way we can get things done.  It's also a great way to get him to see the woods.  So off we went. 

We parked in the $3 fee parking lot and met up with some of the other mothers.  At that point we were the only ones using a baby carrier.  We walked along to the otherside of the pond and snagged a picnic table.  Some of the children snacked and parents chatted about their experiences.  We had brought along our dog who attracted quite a bit of attention from the kiddos.

The pond had quite a bit of wild life.  We spotted several tadpoles and this big bull frog.  He had been croaking the whole time we were hanging out.  It was neat to find him only feet from where we were sitting. 

There also was this family of geese.  They were quite wary of us and had swum out to the middle of the pond.  Eventually they became brave enough to wander back towards their nest.

We finished snacking and decided that we wanted to hit the trail.  The other families didn't seem to be ready yet so we said our goodbyes and wandered across the street to the main trails.  It was a clear and sunny day.  We saw many bikers, walkers, and horseback riders. 

 Massachusetts had received quite a bit of rain in the last few weeks so all the ponds were quite full. 

There even was a washout of the bridge and some of the trails were closed off.

The trails that we took for the most part seemed dry and easy to travel on.  The mosquitoes had started to come out and I'm sure as we have a few more dry days they will be terrible.  Unlike previous hikes, we did not come home with a ton of ticks on the dog (or us).  I wonder if the park has treated for them.

With 20 miles of trails we usually wander for hours and have a picnic.  Unfortunately we had quite a bit planned for this day so we only hiked a short loop.  Carrying a 11 pound baby in a Kozy Carrier, it was just enough hiking for me.  I'm still working on strengthening my core so that I can hike longer distances carrying Little Dude.  Oh, and to get rid of the pregnancy weight.

Typically we would go and have ice cream after this hike as there is a working dairy farm on site.  This past week they had trouble with the DCR coming in and shutting the ice cream shop down due to construction permit troubles.  Definitely was strange news.  They had reopened the day we were there but we were heading to two parties with cake so we passed.  

We've always loved going to Great Brook Farm and will continue to head there.  It's not usually our first choice as there is a parking fee and many other local trails without a fee.  However, it's well maintained and well used.

Mother's Day Meander

On Mother's Day, Ben suggested we go for a hike.  Since the weather was nice but possible showers were on the way we went up to Mine Falls Park in Nashua, NH.  Mine Falls Park is a 325-acre park.  The trails wind through forest, wetlands, and open fields.  It is bordered on the north by the Nashua River and on the south by the Millpond and canal system.  


Pre-baby, we had hiked there many times with our dog.  We knew that the trails were mostly accessible with a stroller with hard packed paths.  It would be shady enough that we would be cool in the 80 degree weather.  We packed up the dog and Little Dude and found one of the trail heads.  


We parked at the Coliseum Drive entrance.  Ben had meant to park at the Whipple Street entrance but missed the exit off of Daniel Webster Highway.  It was probably for the best as Whipple Street was full of cars for soccer and baseball games.  


Little Dude had fallen asleep during the car ride, so we gently transferred his carrier onto the stroller.  Then we were off.  There were many families out on the trails. We saw a few bikers, some hard-core and some leisurely.  Mainly there were walkers and joggers. 

We followed the trails towards the falls.  Just before it we veered left and followed the shoreline of Mill Pond towards Nashua center.  We crossed under Daniel Webster Highway and decided to continue on along the bank of the canal.  We paused to take care of Little Dude at a large boulder that made a great place to sit and watch the Nashua River.  

After Little Dude was nursed and changed, we decided to head back home as clouds were building up.  If you look at the map, we essentially hiked the Green Trail and part of the Blue Trail.  The trails are marked with small wooden blazes.  We've never used them though.  With a good sense of direction, one can wander the paths and not get too turned around. 


Mine Falls Park is open from 6AM - 10PM.  The trails are well maintained.  It is not unusual to see fishing, cycling, running, or meandering taking place.  We hiked approximately 3.5 miles on Mother's Day.  There's tons of entrances and lots to explore.  Nashua has a website with more information about the park.        

Foss Farm - Carlisle, MA

Our first hike with the Little Dude was to be in the Lincoln Conservation area. However, after struggling to find the entrance we ended up at Foss Farm in Carlisle, MA. We found it by accident while we were heading to Great Brook Farm and decided to stop in. Foss Farm is a 57-acre parcel purchased in 1971 for conservation and recreation purposes. It is located on Route 225 in Carlisle, about a quarter mile west of the Concord River, on the right. It is separated from Carlisle's Greenough Land Conservation Area by a portion of the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. There are many trails that seem to wind throughout the woods and past the community gardens.  

We pulled into the parking lot and unloaded our dog and our baby stroller.  The area seemed level enough to use the stroller as opposed to carrying the Little Dude.  We went off towards the sign post hoping to see a map.  Unfortunately there wasn't one (this always makes me a bit nervous) but there were many postings on picking up after your dog.  A map of the trails can be found on the conservation website.

We went off down the trail and passed a horse rider working with her horse and another pair of hikers.  We crossed a dirt road that gave the gardeners access to the gardens.  On such a nice day there were many people working on the gardens.  According to one website there are over 70 garden plots for members to tend to.  

We wandered along and into the woods.  The trails were sandy and clear of tree limbs or storm damage.  That day wasn't as buggy as it could have been given the rainy weather we had the week before.  We then came across a dirt road with a sign asking us to watch for sled dogs.  We followed the trail towards the tower and down towards the wetlands.  

We found the entrance to the Great Meadows Refuge which we didn't enter because we had the dog.  And then we found a lovely house with sheep and goats in the yard.  We could hear in the distance someone working with a whistle to train a dog.  At this point we wondered if we were trespassing and decided to turn around and head back.  We took a few side trails that meandered back up to the parking lot.  There was quite a bit of still water at the sides of the trails.  We could see the mosquito eggs waiting to hatch.  As pretty as that was we were itching just thinking about it.

When we arrived back at the parking lot, there was only one other vehicle there.  We had hiked a little over an hour.  As we looked at our dog we could see ticks all over his paws.  We put the Little Dude in the car and then tended to the dog.  We must have pulled off 30 ticks in the parking lot, another 10 when we stopped for ice cream at Kimball Farm, and then brushed out more when we returned home.  We had read in the papers that it would be a bad tick season.  It appears that they were right.  

This was a good easy stroll in the woods.  Just right for a quick outing that can easily end in an ice cream sundae or frappe.  

Baby Steps

This winter the hubby and I were blessed to have the Little Dude join our family.  While HE won't be doing any hiking until he starts walking, the two grown ups in our family plan to expose him to the outdoors as much as we can.  We're starting with short hikes at forests close to home for now.  There are tons of places near us that are just crying out for exploration.

Over the winter a friend suggested that I check out a free app for my smartphone called AllTrails.  Since I'm  assuming you are reading this on something larger than a phone, feel free to head to their website...AllTrails.com.

The app uses your phone's GPS to locate trails and paths in your immediate area based on you're activity interest.  You can rate the trails, find them on a Google map, see the trail's topo map, and write a review yourself.  I have yet to find a way to add other trails to the system via my phone.  On the website, you can connect with other hikers.

I look forward to using this to find new trails to follow.

3 is a Magic Number

So once again, it's been a slow hiking season for me and The Hubs.  After we completed the Midstate Trail, I immediately purchased the Wapack Trail Guide.  I made plans and put them on my calendar.  Then I became very very very very very tired.  What I didn't know then is that my body needed quite a bit of rest to prepare for a new family member.  So all those hiking plans for July and August never happened.  The Hubs and I are very excited to be welcoming a baby.  Now that I've finished the first trimester I seem to have a lot more energy.  I hope that I can get out and do some small hikes this fall.

The subject matter of this blog will change a bit.  I can see it perhaps evolving from it's Peakbaggin' beginnings towards my geocaching explorations and some family friendly hiking and an occasional high peak tossed in.  For a long time, I have been fascinated with all the local trails out there.  My home town has a few that might need highlighting.  So with our baby news comes a new focus on playing outdoors.

Flag to fly over all 48 of NH's 4,000-footers as tribute to memory of 9/11 victims | New Hampshire NEWS10

It's been 10 years since the terrorist planes crashed into the World Trade Center Towers, the Pentagon, and the flight that went down in Pennsylvania. For some reason, I can't believe that it's been a decade. That was about the same time I started tracking my hiking and seriously began Peakbagging. The following article in the Union Leader, reminded me about how the hiking community comes together on that day to honor that date. Here's the link to the article:

Flag to fly over all 48 of NH's 4,000-footers as tribute to memory of 9/11 victims | New Hampshire NEWS10

It's been true that I've not been hiking much since July. Unfortunately, I won't be able to hike in this event. One day in the future I would like to participate in Flags On The 48. If you are able to participate please register at Flags on the 48's webpage.

Midstate Trail- End of the trail or is it the beginning?

On Saturday, we set off on the final segment of the Midstate Trail.  Three off us planned to hike the final 7.72 miles to the northern terminus.  We met up at the Mount Watatic parking lot and left one car and drove down to Rt. 12.  Ben checked to see if his snake friend from the week before was there but the snake had moved on.  We set off down the road a piece until we noticed that they yellow triangles disappeared.  Fortunately, we hadn't gone too far as we found this sign tucked back in the woods next to a yard and pointing us towards the trail.  

 

I must say it is super generous of the private land owners to allow hikers to hike on their property.  I don't think I saw once instance of a hiker abusing the trail on private property (on public trails that's a different story).  I hope that these properties continue to be owned by people who enjoy nature and spending time in the woods.

 

 We spent some time in this path, mainly because there was quite a bit of water running through it.  Some of the step stones were covered and we had to work our way gingerly through the streams. 

 

We crossed Russell Hill Road and started the climb up to Mount Hunger.  It was steep but had "flat" portions in between each ascent.  We gained about 350 feet of elevation in a little over a mile.  

 

We stopped for a snack on Mount Hunger because it seemed the thing to do.  There was a lovely vista north.  We could see our destination just beyond Stodge Meadow Pond.  Eventually we would climb down from our view point and walk along the shores of Winnekeag Lake (not shown).

When we did reach Winnekeag Lake, we were feeling pretty warm and were tempted to jump in.  We followed the road Camp Winnekeag parking lot and started our hike through the camp.  On the way we saw this shelter. 

 
A little further down was a fire circle with an amphitheater.  It looked like a fun place to be!  I have to admit, I miss camp during the summer.     

 

 The trails were hot and sticky.  At times the overgrowth was covering the trail.  I, unfortunately, wore shorts that day and managed to cut my legs on several raspberry bushes and pick up a few of my enemies, ticks.  We emerged from the brush and walked through a forest filled with ferns.  This of course led to comments about bears and velociraptors hiding in the woods, waiting to pounce. 

 

We saw neither bear or velociraptor but we did find Pierce Road and an older couple that let their GPS get them lost.  We tried to help them but the road they were looking for wasn't on my map.  They ended up turning around and heading back to Rt. 119.  We crossed 119 cautiously as the traffic was flying by and entered the Watatic Parking area.  We started up the trail and saw lots of families coming down.  We were told there were lots of blueberries up top.  Of course, many of these hikers thought we were just starting out, even though we had already hiked about 6 miles or so.    

 

The hike up wasn't too bad.  We did stop a few times to catch our breath but I just wanted to push on as I knew we were close to our goal.  I took a quick self portrait while waiting for my hiking buddies to catch up just before reaching the summit.  And I found this sign post which made me think of a smilie face.   

 

Finally we reached the summit!  Really it WAS an easy hike up but we were hot and tired.  There were lots of people up there and on the knoll to the east.  We stayed for a bit and took a few pictures.  I should have taken more but I was itchin' to find the end of the trail.  

 

 We found the trail that pointed towards the Wapack trail and NH and quickly went down the path towards Nutting Hill.  The trail probably wasn't as long as it seemed but its like when you know you want to go somewhere but you don't know exactly where it is, sometimes the journey seems a lot longer.  We crossed Nutting Hill and met up with a small group of hikers.  Then we went off down the old jeep road.  The trail signs were a bit confusing and we were pretty close to giving up when we found a small side trail with blue blazes.  I'm glad I brought my trail guide that day.  I almost left it in the car since I had a topo with me.  We followed the Blue Blazes and found the original Terminus Monument. 

 

After quickly snapping a photo because the bugs were thick, we started back south towards the fork in the trail.  We found a tiny garter snake getting some water.  

  

 When we reached the fork wit the crazy trail signs we took the path back towards Rt. 119 (State Line Trail).  It was significanly quieter than the main trail and a gentler grade for my knees.  The day was very clear and when we walked past the small pool near the parking lot the reflection of the sky and trees was lovely.   

So I started hiking this trail March 2008.  Obviously, this past year, I was determined to complete the trail.  I enjoyed the Northern Half more than the Southern Half.  I found that the road hiking in the south was uncomfortable and hard on the legs.  And of course I would prefer to be in the woods than in the neighborhoods.  

I am extremely grateful to have found this trail though.  I feel as if I have developed a better understanding about the state I live in.  Usually I hike in the White Mountains for a day hike or overnight.  This trail gave me an appreciation for neighborhood trails and local conservation groups.  I hope that it is a trail that can remain and not be overtaken by the nearby developments.  After all, we need a little bit of space to get back to reality. 

What's next?  Hmmm well the Wapack doesn't look too challenging (or is that just challenging enough?).  There's a few 4000' mountains calling my name too.  Guess I'll have to make sure to use my summer off wisely!