Day 13 – Hawk Hill and lots of Paths

I am way behind on making these blog posts. It is currently mid-October and I’m just now getting around to catching up with hikes I wrapped up in July! So the next several narratives are going to be limited to the few parts of the day I can remember. The biggest thing I remember about this day is that descending the West side of Hawk Hill while sticking to the trail as its marked on the map was very difficult. This was seriously the steepest and most treacherous downhill climb I had experienced on the trail. It was hard to believe that this was the actual trail and several times I was in doubt that this was the intended path. As I carefully scrambled and scooted down the hill on my butt, I found a few very faded trail makers painted on the rock which reassured me I was on the actual trail. After that harrowing descent I embarked on an even more dangerous challenge, crossing Rt. 28 a total of four times. Obviously I survived, but you never know if the pilot of the speeding 2-ton metal brick flying by you chose that very moment to check their texts, so scary nonetheless. After looping around the roadway, I trekked back into the woods and hit a bunch of named trails: Savoy Path, Hawk Hill Path, Braintree Path, Bouncing Brook Path, Glover Path, and Bugbee Path. I finished up with a long straight walk along the Pipe Line from Chickatawbut Rd to nearly the end of the 3000’s section. I’ve found that I like wrapping up a hike with a long uninterrupted path. It lets me wind down a bit and relieves me from constant checking of my GPS to make sure I’m on track.

Day 12 – Snakes on a Trail

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Given the attention grabbing title, I’ll lead with some spoilers. Yes, we saw a snake. Yes, Wesley almost stepped on it. No, it did not bite us. With that out of the way, I’ll start from the beginning. The kids have had a listless summer vacation thus far and I had the week of Independence Day off from work. These two factors resulted in my decision to require they join me on a hike that Friday. There was much protesting, whining, and complaining but they eventually relented and agreed when I reminded them that I control the internet access for the entire house. As an aside, to the new Moms and Dads out there; Do NOT give up control of the router. Take the time to learn how it works, how to control it, and how to block certain devices based on IP/MAC address. Eventually it will be your only leverage.

So with the threat of restricted internet access, they capitulated and agreed to be dragged along. We didn’t get to the trail until about 1pm and it was a fairly warm day, high 80’s and sunny. We parked at the Southern most roadside parking along Randolph Ave. The plan was to take care of the two dew-drop shaped trail loops between Hawk Hill and the Great Cedar Swamp that junction off from #3072; with hopefully a few extra trails for good measure. The grumpy-teen-o-meter was near max levels so the kids were vacillating regularly between several different modes. Penny focused mainly on the ‘my brother is the most annoying human being on the planet’ mode, with occasional visits to ‘gleefully impish’ and ‘detached introvert’. Wesley divided his time evenly between ‘random unplanned thoughts about life, the universe, and everything; spoken aloud without filter’ mode and ‘ask Penny lots of questions about why they are so annoyed at me’ mode. These modes created some pretty tense moments during the trek, but in between the various schisms, there was plenty of actual good moments and loving interactions. Gotta take the good with the bad I guess.

Aside from the disgruntled teens, the hike itself had a few challenges. We overshot the Southern connecting trail between Laurel Path and Braintree Pass Path and had to double-back after we bumped into I-93. We had no problem finding the connecting path at the bottom of Branch Path, but the turn onto Streamside Edge Path was not clearly marked and there was some hunting to find where it branched off as the connecting path continued on well past the junction even though it wasn’t officially marked on trail map. Credit goes to Wesley for spotting that path through the overgrown foliage. By this time, the kids were done with their outdoor adventuring and made it clear that there would be a violent uprising if the pursuit of a few extra trails after these two loops wasn’t swiftly abandoned. I too was suffering in the late afternoon heat so I begrudgingly agreed. Around this time is when we encountered Mr. Snake, quite accidentally. There was much arguing about who was actually navigating our adventure and who got to hold onto my printed map with section marks. I was well ahead of the exhausted teens on the trail when Wesley let lose with genuinely shocked expletive. We all quickly turned around to see a handsome gray and brown spotted snake. It had probably been enjoying a nice sunbath on the open trail but it had now curved up its front portion into a tense S-shape while it’s tail was rattling around in the leaves. We gave it plenty of room as it weaved its way into the underbrush while we were able to snap a few pics and a quick video. Some post-hike Googling with our pictures let us identify it as an Eastern Milk Snake; completely harmless to the point where they are often kept as pets. They do a good job of faking that they are rattlesnakes when threatened by shaking their tails rapidly along the ground or leaves, but they are non-venomous and only grow to about three feet long, which was roughly the size of the one we almost trampled on.

After the snake scare and the teen uprising, we headed back to the car after a roughly 5 mile hike. Average for me, but the kids acted like they had scaled Everest. In a genius move of parental planning, I insisted we all grab our swimsuits and towels so we could cap off the trip with a dip in Houghton’s Pond. Even this plan was met with some reluctance, but once they both got in the water, tempers and bodies both cooled off effectively. In fact, this post-hike dip felt so good that I plan to route as many mid-Summer hikes as I can with start/stop points at Houghton’s pond to allow for this pleasant cool off. The announced closure of the bathhouse prompted us to dry off and head home.

Day 11 – The Boys

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I recruited my friends Jamie and Doug to join me on a post-Independence Day hike. We met up at the small parking lot at the corner of Chickatawbut and Randolph. Once we hit the trail and I started up all the apps, I cautioned them that everything we say is recorded and posted to YouTube. There was a brief pause of consideration, and then we proceeded to have the same uncensored chats us middle-aged guys have all the time, which varies from middle-school level “that’s what she said” and bathroom jokes to the more serious crap that no one under 40 is worried about – yet. The weather was warmer and muggier than expected but it was slightly overcast with just enough of a breeze for occasional cooling relief. The guys were patient with my seemingly random route that was plotted out to fill in the blanks from previous days hikes. They did heartily join in on the trail marker selfies and hammed it up reliably. We spent most of our time hiking up and down Chickatawbut Hill and around the Chickatawbut Tower. The Tower was closed off with an impressive locking system that we all stopped to examine and discuss potential weaknesses should we want to crack it open. The hike included the complete path around the fenced off Norman Smith EEC and it’s associated summer camp. After our second descent down Chickatawbut, we did a small side loop formed by Bouncing Brook, Braintree Pass, and Lee Path. As I write out this synopsis, I’m realizing it’s much shorter than usual. Not because little was discussed, but because so much was discussed that to delve into it a little would cause me to delve into all of it. So if you really want a more in-depth review of the hike and our discussions, fire up the video and enjoy the fly-on-the-wall experience of three Dads walking in the woods.

Day 10 – Father’s Day Hike

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As a gift for Father’s Day, my kids decided to gleefully join me on a short afternoon hike. NOT! I coerced and blackmailed my kids who reluctantly agreed to come with me only because it was Father’s Day. They are 17 and 14 so I’ll take what I can get at this point. It was a quick hike, less than 3 miles. The main purpose of this hike was to cover a few missing segments in the 4000’s section of Blue Hills. Namely a short connector trail I skipped by accident on Day 8; the path between #4155 and #4202 that crosses Wamputuck Road; and the trail along the East side of St. Moritz Pond. With these segments knocked off, I’d be done with the 4000’s save the Skyline Trail. The kids had a good time being goofy and overall enjoyed the hike, but they have zero stamina. Lots of whining and complaining by the time the hike was over. This was partially may fault as I botched my navigation duty and took us up a super steep part of the Skyline Trail to Rattle Rock, but then got turned around and took us down the same path by accident. When I got to the bottom I realized my mistake and had them re-scale the rocky grade back to the top. Oops. Still, not a bad way to spend Father’s Day.

Day 9 – Swamps and Parking Illegally

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Blogging is lots of work and I’m behind on my posts so this description will be short and sweet, comparatively. For the first time in this Challenge, I parked in an unofficial, non-approved, non-DCR spot. It was both thrilling and stressful. There was a half-leased / half-empty industrial building on Wood Road in Quincy. The sign there said parking was for patron’s only but the deli shop that used to be there was shut down so I figured no harm no foul. I scribbled out a quick note an index card and left it on the dash pleading my case. “Hiking in Blue Hills. Please don’t tow.” Despite my written plea, I spent much of the hike wondering if my car would be there when I returned. This was a solo hike and the weather promised to be in the mid-80’s. I learned my lesson and front-loaded the majority of the elevation at the beginning. There was lots of back and froth on several tributary trails so I probably only knocked off 4 miles of actual trails. The biggest section here was I circled the Great Cedar Swamp via the Laurel Path and the Hemlock Path. On the map there is a tiny little connecting path between these two trails that parallels I-93 and this was probably the worst trail I’ve been on so far. The trail was barely there and what was there was sandwiched between swampland and a chain link fence. This is also the lowest elevation point of the Great Cedar Swamp so the bugs were thick in the air. Despite being covered in DEET, they were still buzzing around me. They DEET kept them from actually stinging and biting, but they were still a nuisance as they flew in my eyes, nose, and ears. I found that keeping a swift pace would let me actually outrun the bugs and keep them from dive bombing me. At one point, the trail went right through a huge patch of marsh mud but luckily someone had cut through the chain link fence here allowing me to skirt around the bog. At another point, there were remnants of what was at one point a sturdy footbridge, but as of today, it was a collapsing deathtrap of rotting wood and exposed spikes. Just like I learned my lesson with elevation, I am now paying closer attention to the little symbols for marsh and swamp land on the trail map. Once I connected with the south end of Hemlock Path, conditions were greatly improved. It was an easy hike back to my car which thankfully had not been towed away.

Day 8 – The Elevation Strikes Back

It seems like I’m destined to spend FOREVER covering all the trails in the 4000 area. The plan for this day was to wrap up the section and then move on but sadly that did not happen for reasons which I will get to later. Otherwise it was a perfect day of hiking. The weather was sunny and warm with zero chance of rain. I got out early as planned hoping to beat the worst of the noon heat and parked at the small dirt lot at Blue Hills Reservoir. As soon as I got out of the car I debating taking the roughly 1/2 mile circle around the res, but figured I’d just loop it when I got back out of the woods. There were a few sections of the plan where I knew I’d have to cover the same trail twice, but I’m slowly accepting that duplicative efforts are really unavoidable. I headed up Chickatawbut to cover the East tine of the fork at the bottom of Pasture Run having skipped it last time, followed it up to #4048, then back down via Ridge Path. Then following the path that parallels Chickatawbut on the North side, I headed halfway up Brook Path until #4084.

My route was supposed to take me up a small connecting trail to Fox Hill Path. Only problem was I could not find the path. I stomped around a bit looking for any signs of a worn section in the dirt or blazes or anything. I started to madly consult my iPhone GPS on AllTrails and Maprika, but my geek brain knows that the iPhone GPS has an average margin of error of 9.9m. I returned to the #4084 intersection marker and with a fresh set of eyes when I finally saw the rocky trail that clearly lead up to Fox Hill Path. I huffed and puffed my way up the hill (ELEVATION!) and encountered my first missing trail marker in a long time. #4096 was nowhere to be found so the Sharpie and index cards were employed for a DIY sign. I headed right back down the hill I had just climbed via Fox Hill Path and turned onto Indian Camp Path, where I followed it all the way to the Skyline Trail at #4155. This is when I officially gave up on completing the 4000’s for the day. The plan had me continuing all the way past Wampatuck Rd, continuing to the Pipe Line to the bottom of Murphy Path at #4202 then doubling back; roughly a mile of hiking. Nope. I was irritated at not finding the path at #4084 and then further irritated at not finding the sign for #4096 and the temps had already hit 80+ degrees so I called an audible and decided to skip the extra mile of hiking. It’d be easy enough to make it up later.

My mood was much improved when I discovered a rocky crag just off the Skyline Trail (ELEVATION!) with some amazing views across the valley to the peak of Rattlesnake Hill. There were a series of rusted metal posts embedded in the rock which I’m guessing was part of long since decayed protective fence. Thanks to Eric Heinrich and Jay Theriault from the 125 Mile Club Facebook group for helping me later identify this outlook as Rattle Rock. Jay even pointed out that the crag was actually labeled Rattle Rock on the 1905 map of the Blue Hills. I’ve been collecting as many digital copies of old maps of the Blue Hills that I could find so after looking through what I have, the first map that shows this label is one dated 1895. It then shows up on maps I have from 1905, 1919, and 1928. My collection has a big chronological gap after 1928 with my next edition being dated 1980 which does not show the name Rattle Rock. So somewhere between the Great Depression and Reaganomics, the label was dropped from the maps.

After some water and a protein bar while enjoying the view, and with a lifted spirit, I continued on by cutting through a small connector trail over to Crags Foot Path. There is a small triangle in the trail which leads off to #4153. I was sure to cover the adjacent and opposite sides to the triangle as I had skipped them on Day 7 when I hiked the hypotenuse. (Go Geometry!). At the apex, there was a tiny 200 foot trail that headed South that I knew I would have to cover with a quick back-and-forth but I told myself I’d cover it later on in the hike on the way down from Wampatuck Hill. I continued re-tracing parts of Crags Foot Path that I had hiked with Brenda on Day 7 until reaching #4142. Here I turned off onto yet another unnamed trail to #4120 where I would head to the top of Fox Hill again (ELEVATION!). This time I had an even harder time finding the actual trail. More furious checking of my iPhone GPS and some back and forth pacing on the trail did not help the matter. I was so befuddled I forgot to take my usual picture of just the intersection marker. I noticed two rounds of lumber near the marker so I thought these might serve as entry posts to the trail, but that proved wrong. After about 10 minutes of stomping around, I said “F*** It!” to myself and just pointed myself towards the top of the hill and started walking. I found the actual trail about half way up but by this point my previously lifted spirits had devolved into irritated territory. If you feel like self inducing some motion sickness you can see my bodycam footage swivel around and around several times as I persistently look for the trail. I’ve also included a screengrab of my tracking on Google Earth to show my confusion. I finally made it to the top and then proceeded to follow Fox Hill Path all the way down, past the missing #4096, and down to Indian Camp Path. I followed this to a small trail triangle formed by #4082, #4085, #4086 which I had also covered on Day 7. I turned onto a small path at #4090 towards #4073, re-traced some of the Day 7 hike on Pine Tree Brook Path where I came to #4084 where I had to now climb Fox Hill a THIRD time! (ELEVATION!). Mental note: double-check what parts of the trail I choose to double-back over for elevation. By this time I had mentally replaced the “Fox” in Fox Hill with another choice F-word. I followed F*&% Hill Path down to the where it paralleled Chickatawbut Road until I go to the Pipe Line across from the Blue Hills Reservoir.

It is now 11:30am, temps are now roughly 85-degrees, the dew point is in the muggy zone, and the mosquitos are out in full force. The DEET does keep them from actually landing and biting you, but it does not prevent them from swarming around your face and buzzing your ears, eyes and nose. For the first time, this is feeling a bit more like a chore and less like a leisure activity, but nothing worth doing is always going to be easy so I soldier on. I must say that the area around the pipeline is quite lovely with more open trails and fields and some nice beds of wildflowers that I’m sure will just expand over the summer. I cover a figure-8 in the trail and notice that the trail map shows a very acute triangle at it’s top so I do the requisite up and down to ensure I cover all sides (Geometry!). I cover the path from #4131 to #4134 and follow the Skyline Trail to the top of Wampatuck Hill (ELEVATION!) and then back down to #4155. I’m exhausted and I know I have just under a mile back to the car and I’m looking forward to some AC and a cold shower. I turn off Skyline at #4155 and cover another triangle in the trail which I had partially covered earlier. This is where I make my third mistake of the day that I did not realize until much later. I was supposed to cover the 200 feet of trail North of #4153 with a back-and-forth on this return trip but in my eagerness to wrap things up I forgot and now I’m gonna have to hoof it back up there another day to tick that little section off the list. I trudge down the Pipe Line trail to Chickatawbut Road and I’m too tired to pull myself up and over the roadside barrier and even if I did, there isn’t much room on the road for pedestrians. Sticking to the safe side of the barrier came with it’s own dangers as I found myself on a very narrow ledge at the top of a steep dyke that formed a portion of the Blue Hills Reservoir. The farther I went along the road, the ledge grew higher and higher above the ground making this probably the most treacherous portion of the days walk. The barrier came to an end right across from parking lot for the res. No consideration was made for completing the shade-less trail around the res with that also put off for another day.

Day 7 – Bugs, Mud, and Time

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I had procrastinated making my Day 7 hiking plan all week long so it wasn’t until late Friday night that I laid out a convoluted 7-miler that would cover all the trails in the 4000 block between Fox Hill and Randolph Avenue with a quick detour across Chickatawbut to cover the circle path around Blue Hills Reservoir. I was going to wake up early to fit this in for two reasons. One: we had tickets for “Downton Abbey – A New Era” for 3:20pm at South Bay and didn’t want to be late; and Two: temps were going to be in the mid-80’s so the earlier I got started the less I would be melting in the afternoon heat. Unfortunately, I slept through my alarm clock by a whole two hours so when I finally got out of bed I knew I’d have to cut things short. I had no idea how so I figured I would just improvise along the way. On the plus side, the morning was much cooler and cloudier than forecast, so even with my late start, I didn’t have to face the brunt of the day’s heat. There had been some rain showers over night and that lead to a coastal fog that cooled things down. However, it also came with a huge blast of humid air that I knew would bring out the skeeters, muck up the trails, and cause me to sweat a river.

Suspecting another roadside gravel parking lot I took the teenagers car, a 2014 Kia Soul in Solar Yellow – impossible to lose in a parking lot, to avoid bottoming out my precious Golf R. I parked at the lot near the intersection of Chickatawbut and Randolph which turned out to be nicely paved, so the car swap wasn’t necessary. Regardless I’ll think I’ll keep using the Kia for these morning hikes. Before heading out, I thoroughly sprayed myself in some Deep Woods Off! and am so glad I did. As suspected, the rain and the humidity brought out the bugs in force. As I hiked I could feel them bumping into me non-stop like an invading army of blood suckers. But the bug spray worked like a charm and the bugs would retreat away from me right after I felt their attempted landing. The trails were moist and wet and there were some substantial mud patches, but nothing that was impossible to traverse.

I knew I had to cut things short but I hadn’t figured out quite yet what to cut. I started out on my original path which was to head North-East on the Headquarters Path, which became a Pipe Line trail, until I hit the section of Sawcut Notch Path on the South side of Little Dome that I had covered last week. I retraced my steps from last week until I hit #4086 and then it was decision time. I figured I’d cut out the eastern portion of my hike, so instead of covering everything west of Fox Hill, I’d just zig zag around a bit without straying too far from the parking lot and just head back when time was getting short. I turned onto an unnamed trail between #4082 and #4049. I did a prompt U-turn and covered Pine Tree Brook Path half way through and then turned onto a side trail that curved around to the parking lot for Chickatawbut Tower. I then turned up Pasture Run and did another U-turn on Headquarters Path to come back down Cedar Rock Path. Then I hoofed it down Chickatawbut Road until I got to the driveway for the Norman Smith EEC. I did a re-read of the Official Rules of the TTBH and noted that Rule 6-G says that while the driveway isn’t part of the trek, the unpaved connector path from the driveway to the water tank is. So I covered that section, which I’m glad I did as I found a magnificent hawk feather just laying on the path. It was getting hotter and later and buggier, so I took a sharp right and made it back to my car with plenty of time to make the movie.

Day 6 – Four Paths and a Friend

My early morning weekend schedule continues to deter Patricia and the kids from joining me on my hikes. In all fairness, Patricia and Penny have seasonal allergies and were happy to stay sealed up in our air conditioned and air filtered house. Luckily my good friend Brenda is fine with both early mornings and long hikes so she volunteered to join me on today’s outing. We started out at the parking area on Wampatuck Road where I was concerned for the health of the front bumper of my low riding Golf R as we pulled off the pavement onto the gravel parking area. Nary a scrape was heard so the car survived, but barely. May grab the teens car (Kia Soul) next time I know I’m parking at one of these side-of-the-road gravel pits. We started out on a small connecting path that lead to Crags Foot Path and then zig-zagged across Wampatuck Road a few times and then turned onto Sawcut Notch Path. Unlike last week, I was able to stick to my planned path pretty easily and there was an abundance of trail markers to pose in front of. Brenda was quite amused at my selfie project. We turned onto Old Furnace Brook Path at #4180, cut onto Crags Foot Path again at #4145, onto Short Path at #4124. We rejoined Sawcut Notch Path at #4133. The skeeters were out in force today and Brenda and I patted ourselves on the back having dosed ourselves in DEET back at the car.

A left turn at #4133 had us headed to Little Dome and then onward to the CCC Camp. This part of the trail runs along the edge of the Granit Links Golf Course. We came across a swampy patch that was covered in a reddish brown residue and sludge. Neither of us had any idea what caused it. I wondered aloud if any runoff from the fertilizer on the golf course could be the cause, but no way to know. We also encountered the first of many ferns that Brenda was interested in. She had an app that identified each fern and we found a Sensitive Fern, a New York Fern, an Interrupting Fern, but I honestly don’t remember the name of the one I got a picture of. The map showed some sort of parking lot and structure on the northern path around Little Dome. When we got there it turned out to be a pumping station for the Algonquin Gas Pipeline. It also had an ominous WARNING sign on the fence but no members of House Slytherin were spotted on the trails. We got a little confused in tis area direction wise as the trail goes straight through the pumping station and follows the pipeline a bit where it was very muddy. Then we missed the turn onto the Sawcut Notch and had to double back a few yards to get back on track. Brenda was a good sport and joined me on the first of several back-and-forth journeys down dead-end trails in order to cover every marked path. The first dead-end path worried me as it was clearly on the official Blue Hills map, but not on AllTrails so wasn’t sure what to expect. Luckily it was very easy to find and was a ravine like rain trench that followed the path on the trail map perfectly. It dead-ended into a brush covered hill along the edge of the 4th Hole of the Milton Course at Granite Links. We re-traced our steps back to the main trail and headed to the CCC Camp.

On the way to the CCC Camp, we had a few more dead-end trails to cover and took in a few interesting sites. I love seeing trees that have toppled over in dramatic fashion and came up on one that he clearly been wrent by a storm and twisted apart at the trunk. At marker #4011, we saw the sign announcing and describing the Civilian Conservation Corps Blue Hills Camp, the granite trail marker for Sawcut Notch Path, and a friendly toad. As we headed towards the trailhead at Ridgewood Road, Brenda’s sharp eye spotted a beaver swimming right towards us in the stream. I tried to get a picture but the beaver was underwater and there is too much reflection to make it out. Finally we got to the CCC Camp and poked around a bit. It’s hard to imagine this was home to hundreds of men during the depression.

At this point, the mercury was rising and Brenda and I were both feeling the effects of the ambitious 7+ mile length of the planned hike. It was practically a record-breaking temperature for the day. We finished up the loop and spokes around the CCC Camp, and headed back to Little Dome along the southern side and then the reverse of the zig-zag we walked on the way out. Made it back to the car right around 11:30am with both of us fantasizing of tall ice-filled drinks, oscillating fans, and a soft place to put up our weary feet.

Day 5 – The Futility of Planning

I tried all week to hype my family into coming with me on this hike, but to no avail. The eight mile planned path was not helping, and as the day approached the grim weather forecast ensured I would be alone for this one. While prepping for this weeks hike, I spent way too much time in AllTrails messing with routes and paths in an effort to minimize the amount of time retracing my steps. Eventually I came up with a convoluted plan that switched directions and zig-zagged and bounced around with the hopes to save me some steps. Then on Saturday morning as soon as my feet hit the trail, I forgot all about my plan and just charged forward. It wasn’t until 30 minutes later that I checked my app and realized I was totally screwing up my plan. So I stopped, reviewed the route plan, made some mental notes on how to adjust course and then carried on. I then discovered… Hills. With a capital “H”. I guess there’s a reason my app tells me the elevation change. So about half way through the hike I realized I might not make the full eight miles. Either way, I started out going down Slide Notch Path and right away came upon the aftermath of the May 1st brush fire. It was almost surreal how the East side of the path was just fine, and the West side was charred and burnt out.

This was mostly a downhill hike and then I came to Bouncing Brook Path which was flat and level and I was going strong. I took a sharp left on Curve Path, another left onto Sassamon Notch Path and then a right onto the Skyline Trail. I reached the top of Nahanton Hill and that’s when I realized that this was going to be a lot harder of a hike than I expected.

After checking out the view, catching my breath, and checking my heart rate (169 BPM!) I headed down the hill and enjoyed a fairly flat long walk around Squamaug Notch Path and then Curve Path. I kept going according to my newly revised plan and headed down to Laurel Path. When I got to marker #3111, I had to stop, reassess, and revise my plan. Again. I’m not a morning person and I got a late start and it had taken me 2.5 hours to make it 4 miles and I was hoping to cover the entire hike in less than 4 hours. If I stuck to the plan, it would be 4 miles of trails until I returned back to this point and then, I’d have one more mile, all up hill, covering 300 vertical feet to the peak of Kitchamakin Hill and then a short walk to my car. OR I could skip the 4 miles and just hike the one more mile up Kitchamakin Hill, then car, then home. Decision time.

I decided to abandon the 4 mile loop I had planned and headed up the hill to cut the hike short and then head home. Again, old man gravity took it’s tool and I was huffing and puffing like a geriatric wolf trying to get to his little pig dinner. With this image in mind, I found I was getting a little hungry so grabbed one of the several varieties of energy bars I had picked up to experiment and figure out which brand / flavor I like best. After I dug a PowerCrunch Salted Caramel bar out of my backpack, I figured I’d save time by not stopping and enjoying my PowerCrunch Salted Caramel protein as I continued to trudge up the hill. This is when I learned two new and important facts. Fact One: PowerCrunch Salted Caramel protein bars, are VERY dry. Like sandstorm dry. My mouth was filled with a cloud of wafer cookie protein dust with every bite. Fact Two: If you are huffing and puffing like a geriatric wolf, you do NOT want to fill your mouth with a cloud of wafer cookie protein dust as you will quickly inhale sed cloud and find your self coughing and choking all alone in the middle of a hiking trail while scrambling to retrieve your water bottle which is in the side pocket of the backpack still strapped to your back in an effort to re-hydrate the wafer cookie protein dust sandstorm currently raging in your mouth and windpipe. It’s moments like these where I’m grateful none of my family chose to join me, as I’m sure this little act would have induced peels of laughter from my immediate relations. With these two new facts firmly implanted in my brain, I found a handy rock to sit for a spell while I finished my snack with my water bottle readily available. With snack finished and re-hydration complete, I continued on and finally made it to the top of the hill. This is when plans changed for a fourth and final time.

When I finally crested Kitchamakin Hill, I stopped yet again to admire the view, catch my breath, and check my heart rate (173BPM!). After recovering briefly I took a left turn and headed West on the Skyline Trail for a bit and then came back to the Slide Notch Trail. This is when I changed plans for a fourth and final time. I was back in the burn zone from the brush fire and I was curious to see how far the damage extended, so rather than heading back to the car I kept heading West on the Skyline Trail for about 500 feet when I reached the West side of the burn zone. I knew the Northern edge wasn’t that far away since I walked through it earlier, but I wondered how far South the fire had spread. There was no trail here so I stopped and had a serious debate with myself. Should I satisfy my curiosity and hike off into the uncharted parts of the Blue Hills or should I just take my tired ass home and not waste my energy on hiking where it wouldn’t ‘count’ towards my 125 Mile Clube and TTBH goals? In the end, curiosity won and I spent the next 40 minutes or so stomping through the woods, tracing the edge of the burn zone. It was kind of fun to make my way through the woods, climbing over rocks and along ledges. At least it was fun until a stumbled on some loose rocks with a sharp 30 foot drop just a few feet away. I fell forward onto my hands and I slammed my right shin into some rocks. My metal water bottle was launched from backpack and landed a few feet away. I was foolishly walking with my phone in my left hand and so when I fell, it was slammed against a jagged rock with my full body weight behind it. As I got up, my right hand had some abrasions on the palm but no blood. My phone screen was completely shattered at the point of impact. Thankfully, I’ve been using a 9H glass based screen protectors for a while now. I was hoping that the damage was to just the screen protector and not the actual screen. My shin was bleeding a little but was more or less okay. If you are curious, you can see the whole fiasco play out on the video from my bodycam. After a delayed “ow” or two, I cautiously proceeded. I got a real sense of the damage from the brush fire and when I finally reached the end of the burn zone I found myself at the bottom of Kitchamakin Hill, again. So I climbed up the Slide Notch Trail one more time. I stopped for an energy bar and some water and finally made it back to the car thoroughly exhausted.

AllTrails Map – Day 5

Two things to note about this map. One – ELEVATION!!! 1,056 Feet (322 Meters)! That’s the same height as the Chrysler Building, including the antenna, and an extra 10 feet thrown in for good measure. Two – I totally screwed up my well thought out plan by taking the wrong trail from the very beginning and then towards the end I really went off track, literally. I was curious about the fire damage, so I went off trail and followed the edge of the burn zone to get a sense of how much area it covered.