Blue Hills, Buck Hill- RLBH Series

AMC SEM POST-HIKE TRIP REPORT

TRIP DATE:         Jun 19, 2014   

TRIP LOCATION:    Blue Hills Reservation   

WAS TRIP CANCELLED? (y/n):  No

MEETING TIME:     5:45 PM   

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS (INCLUDING LEADERS):    32

TOTAL HIKING TIME (IN HOURS):    2.5

LENGTH IN MILES:     5.86

TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN (IN FEET):     934

DIFFICULTY:        C                           (A=very strenuous; B=strenuous; C=average; D=easy)

LEADER NAME(S):     Joe Keogh, Michael Swartz, Cathy MacCurtain

CO-LEADER NAME(S): Mark Pacquin

TRAILHEAD PARKING LOCATION & DESCRIPTION:    RT 28 pull off close to I-93

CAR SPOTTING REQUIRED?:      No                    TIME REQUIRED TO SPOT CARS:

WAS TRIP WITHIN WHITE MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST?      No

IF YES TO ABOVE, DESCRIBE SPECIFIC TRAILS HIKED AND TRAIL CONDITIONS ENCOUNTERED:

WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR HIKE:  Nice evening hike, clear night, nice sunset

OTHER COMMENTS (problems, views, terrain, etc.) At the break we celebrated Bill Doherty’s 100 mile hiking finish with delious homemade cookies he brought.

IMPORTANT: Contact Hike Committee Chair ASAP with any medical emergencies or other serious incidents.

Email to: hikingchair@amcsem.org and Cc hikingvicechair@amcsem.org

Blue Hills CCC Camp Hike

TRIP DATE: June 17, 2014        

TRIP LOCATION: Blue Hills, Canton, MA                      

MEETING TIME: 9:15 am 
                    
NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS (INCLUDING LEADERS):  9        

TOTAL HIKING TIME (IN HOURS): 2 ½ hours 

LENGTH IN MILES:  5 miles    

TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN (IN FEET):   < 100 feet

DIFFICULTY:     D                              (A=very strenuous; B=strenuous; C=average; D=easy)

LEADER NAME(S):  Cathy MacCurtain           

CO-LEADER NAME(S):  Paul Brookes

TRAILHEAD PARKING LOCATION & DESCRIPTION:  Shea Ice Rink parking lot, Quincy Mass

CAR SPOTTING REQUIRED?:     No                     TIME REQUIRED TO SPOT CARS:  N/A

WAS TRIP WITHIN WHITE MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST?   No     

WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR HIKE:  Clear, dry, Mid 70’s

OTHER COMMENTS (problems, views, terrain, etc.):  Enjoyable hike to site of historic CCC camp.

Blue Hills Border Path and Hemingway Hill Hike - RLBH Series

TRIP DATE: June 12, 2014

TRIP LOCATION: Blue Hills Reservation

MEETING TIME: 5:45 PM

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS (INCLUDING LEADERS): 30

TOTAL HIKING TIME (IN HOURS): 2.5 hours

LENGTH IN MILES: 5.30 miles

TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN (IN FEET): 657 ft.

DIFFICULTY: C     (A=very strenuous; B=strenuous; C=average; D=easy)

LEADER NAME(S): Joe Keogh, Michael Swartz, Cathy MacCurtain

CO-LEADER NAME(S): Bob Vogel

TRAILHEAD PARKING LOCATION & DESCRIPTION: North Parking above Trailside Museum

CAR SPOTTING REQUIRED?: No

WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR HIKE: Nice evening hike, overcast with very brief sprinkles

North Hill Marsh Nature Hike - Duxbury

TRIP DATE:      May 29, 2014                         

TRIP LOCATION:   North Hill Marsh, Duxbury, MA               

MEETING TIME:  9:45 am                  

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS (INCLUDING LEADERS): 12 AMC members + 1 non-AMC member

TOTAL HIKING TIME (IN HOURS):  3 hours

LENGTH IN MILES:  4-4.5 miles         

TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN (IN FEET):  0-200 ft.           

DIFFICULTY:     C/D                          (A=very strenuous; B=strenuous; C=average; D=easy)

LEADER NAME(S):       Sally Delisa

CO-LEADER NAME(S):   Wes Blauss

TRAILHEAD PARKING LOCATION & DESCRIPTION:    Mayflower St. parking lot in Duxbury

CAR SPOTTING REQUIRED?:         No             TIME REQUIRED TO SPOT CARS:

WAS TRIP WITHIN WHITE MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST?  No      

BRIEFLY DESCRIBE SPECIFIC TRAILS HIKED AND TRAIL CONDITIONS ENCOUNTERED:

WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR HIKE:  65 degrees and sunny

OTHER COMMENTS (problems, views, terrain, etc.):  Wildflower hike theme supplemented with birding when two Audubon leaders joined hike; saw lots of Lady Slippers in prime…

Blue Hill's Fisherman's Beach Trailwork Hike - RLBH Series

TRIP DATE:      6/5/14,  Thursday                              

TRIP LOCATION: Red Line the Blue Hills (Blue Hills, Milton, MA)                

MEETING TIME: 6:00pm                    

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS (INCLUDING LEADERS): 17       

TOTAL HIKING TIME (IN HOURS):       2.5

LENGTH IN MILES:      5+

TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN (IN FEET):    0 (flat)

DIFFICULTY:     D   (A=very strenuous; B=strenuous; C=average; D=easy)

LEADER NAME(S):       Cheryl Lathrop

CO-LEADER NAME(S): Kathy McCurtain, Michael Swartz

TRAILHEAD PARKING LOCATION & DESCRIPTION:    Fisherman’s Beach, Ponkapoag, Blue Hills

CAR SPOTTING REQUIRED?:      no                   TIME REQUIRED TO SPOT CARS: n/a

WAS TRIP WITHIN WHITE MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST?  no       

BRIEFLY DESCRIBE SPECIFIC TRAILS HIKED AND TRAIL CONDITIONS ENCOUNTERED:

Facing the beach, we walked left around the pond to the YMCA, gathering each little side trail and spur along the way. We also walked to the end of the boardwalk and back. (We had many side trips into the woods to fetch beer cans at the various “party” spots.)

This edition of the RLBH series hike was a conservation/trailwork hike, in honor of National Trails Day on Saturday June 7. Participants came early to pick up trailhead trash. Then each participant carried a bag and gathered trash along the way.  A brand new $20 hiking/backpacking book was the prize awarded at the end of the hike to make it fun and (slightly) competitive. There’s nothing quite like watching adults scurry and try to beat each other to grab an errant beer can! It was mildly competitive and a lot of fun! Sue S. won the prize.

Friends of the Blue Hills donated trash bags. Blue Hills Rangers donated trash bags.  Trails Committee budget provided the vinyl gloves and hand sanitizer. Prior arrangements had been made with the Rangers to leave the trash gathered at the Fisherman’s Beach map board sign for pick up by truck. All of this made a nice cooperative collaborative effort with both the FBH and the Rangers. It put SEM on their radar as caring. And the FBH were reminded that the Executive Board had just recently made a $250 donation to them. All in all, a lot of good will was generated!

WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR HIKE: Rainy, drizzly. Had rained all day. Trails were wet, muddy, and sometimes flooded. The “boardwalk” (bog bridge) was submerged, but walkable to the end.

Stinson Mountain, Rumney, NH

TRIP DATE:      5/31/2014                              

TRIP LOCATION:          Stinson Mountain, Rumney, NH                     

MEETING TIME:          10:00   am

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS (INCLUDING LEADERS):    2

TOTAL HIKING TIME (IN HOURS):   2:45

LENGTH IN MILES:    3.6

TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN (IN FEET):    1400

DIFFICULTY:         C                       (A=very strenuous; B=strenuous; C=average; D=easy)

LEADER NAME(S):       Bob Vogel

CO-LEADER NAME(S): N/A

TRAILHEAD PARKING LOCATION & DESCRIPTION:    Stinson Mountain Trail trailhead parking lot

CAR SPOTTING REQUIRED?:       N                  TIME REQUIRED TO SPOT CARS:

WAS TRIP WITHING WHITE MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST?           Y

BRIEFLY DESCRIBE SPECIFIC TRAILS HIKED AND TRAIL CONDITIONS ENCOUNTERED:
Stinson Mountain Trail. Trail OK

WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR HIKE: OK. Mostly cloudy but no rain, and good visibility into Baker River valley and of Stinson Lake

OTHER COMMENTS (problems, views, terrain, etc.) At one point there were 6 of us going, but 4 (including CL) cancelled.

Blue Hills Great Cedar Swamp Hike - RLBH

TRIP DATE:                  5/22/14
                                 
TRIP LOCATION:          Great Cedar Swamp in Blue Hills             

MEETING TIME:                      6:00 pm

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS (INCLUDING LEADERS):             20

TOTAL HIKING TIME (IN HOURS):       2.5

LENGTH IN MILES:      4.8

TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN (IN FEET):    mostly level terrain   

DIFFICULTY:              D                     (A=very strenuous; B=strenuous; C=average; D=easy)

LEADER NAME(S):       Joe Keogh

CO-LEADER NAME(S):

TRAILHEAD PARKING LOCATION & DESCRIPTION:    Upper parking lot, West Marine, Wood Rd., Braintree

CAR SPOTTING REQUIRED?:       no                  

 

WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR HIKE:  rain threatened but didn’t happen, quite pleasant

OTHER COMMENTS (problems, views, terrain, etc.)            some mud