WLBH, Hancock Hill, February 20, 2018

AMC SEM Post-Hike Trip Report

TRIP DATE: 02-20-2018               

TRIP LOCATION:    Blue Hills Reservation –Hancock Hill

MEETING TIME:     10 am   

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS (INCLUDING LEADERS):    22

TOTAL HIKING TIME (IN HOURS):    3 hours 15 mins

LENGTH IN MILES:     3.8 miles

TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN (IN FEET): 339 feet

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

LEADER NAME(S):     Paul Brookes, Cathy MacCurtain, Pat Achorn, Len Ulbright

CO-LEADER NAME(S):   

TRAILHEAD PARKING LOCATION & DESCRIPTION:    Unquity Rd, parking pull-off

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:

We hiked to the top of Hancock hill, then headed over to Hemenway Hill via Breakneck and Hill path where we had lunch on the rocks looking out to Great Blue.  After lunch we came down Hemenway to the green dot trail and then over to the Jefferies path where we descended to our cars.  

WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR HIKE: Clear, Sunny, dry, 60oF!

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

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

WLBH, Little Blue Hill, February 13, 2018

AMC SEM Post-Hike Trip Report

TRIP DATE: 02-13-2018               

TRIP LOCATION:    Blue Hills Reservation – Little Blue Hill

MEETING TIME:     10 am   

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS (INCLUDING LEADERS):    18

TOTAL HIKING TIME (IN HOURS):    3 hours 11 mins

LENGTH IN MILES:     4.8 miles

TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN (IN FEET): 270 feet

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

LEADER NAME(S):     Paul Brookes, Cathy MacCurtain, Pat Achorn

CO-LEADER NAME(S):   

TRAILHEAD PARKING LOCATION & DESCRIPTION:    RT 138 Park N Ride in Canton

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:

A lovely hike in Little Blue Hill on a cloudless sky.  The trails were ice-free, and the ground was starting to soften after the freeze of prior weeks.  We partook in a long lunch on a grassy bank at the end of Royal Street, enjoying the feel of the sun on our backs.

WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR HIKE: Sunny, dry, mid 20’s

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

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

WLBH, Ponkapoag Pond, Feb 6, 2018

AMC SEM Post-Hike Trip Report

TRIP DATE: 2-6-2018 

TRIP LOCATION: Blue Hills 

MEETING TIME: 10:00 am 

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS (INCLUDING LEADERS): 26

TOTAL HIKING TIME (IN HOURS): 2 hrs 20 mins

LENGTH IN MILES: 3.45 miles

TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN (IN FEET): 150 feet

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

LEADER NAME(S): Cathy MacCurtain, Paul Brookes, Pat Achorn

CO-LEADER NAME(S): N/A

TRAILHEAD PARKING LOCATION & DESCRIPTION: Parking at the end of the RT93 exit 3 ramp

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:

We hiked trails in the northern part of Ponkapog pond including the boardwalk that goes over the floating vegetation bog on the pond. The boardwalk was frozen and stunningly beautiful. The group took many pictures which were shared:

WLBH Unquity Rd, January 23, 2018

AMC SEM POST-HIKE TRIP REPORT

TRIP DATE:         January 23, 2018

TRIP LOCATION:    Blue Hills Reservation   

WAS TRIP CANCELLED: Yes

MEETING TIME:  

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS (INCLUDING LEADERS):

TOTAL HIKING TIME (IN HOURS)  

TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN (IN FEET):    

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

LEADER NAME(S)Paul Brookes, Cathy MacCurtain, Pat Achorn

CO-LEADER NAME(S):

TRAILHEAD PARKING LOCATION & DESCRIPTION:RT Unquity Road

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:

OTHER COMMENTS (problems, views, terrain, etc.) This hike was cancelled because of the prediction of heavy rains with heavy winds.

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

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

WLBH Jan 9, 2018 Field Path

AMC SEM Post-Hike Trip Report

TRIP DATE: 1-9-2018

TRIP LOCATION: Blue Hills

MEETING TIME: 10:00 am

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS (INCLUDING LEADERS): 21

TOTAL HIKING TIME (IN HOURS): 3 hrs 18 mins

LENGTH IN MILES: 3.99 miles

TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN (IN FEET): 295 feet

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

LEADER NAME(S): Paul Brookes, Cathy MacCurtain, Pat Achorn, Len Ulbright, Dexter Robinson

CO-LEADER NAME(S): N/A

TRAILHEAD PARKING LOCATION & DESCRIPTION: Street parking at end of Royal St.

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:

About 12” of lovely soft snow. Some of the group used snow-shoes and rotated through who was breaking snow (caterpillar). The day was beautiful, sunny, not too cold and everyone had a good time. This section of the reservation is less travelled and more isolated which made for nice snow. Our lunch stop was at a frozen pond off a private road.

WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR HIKE: Sunny, dry, clear, low 30’s

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

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

Introduction to Hiking #3 - Blue Hills 10-21-17

AMC SEM Post-Hike Trip Report

TRIP DATE: 10/21/2017

TRIP LOCATION: Blue Hills Reservation

MEETING TIME: 8:15am

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS (INCLUDING LEADERS): 9

TOTAL HIKING TIME (IN HOURS): 2 1/2

LENGTH IN MILES: 3.5

TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN (IN FEET): 1046

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

LEADER NAME(S): Pat Achorn

CO-LEADER NAME(S): Wendy Fox

TRAILHEAD PARKING LOCATION & DESCRIPTION: parking lot north of Trail Side Museum

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: Wolcott

Path to Hemingway Hill and back Border Path; roots, rocks and ruts

WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR HIKE: excellent

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

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

serious incidents.

Introduction to Hiking Series #2 - Braintree Pass 10-7-17

AMC SEM Post-Hike Trip Report

TRIP DATE:     10/7/2017      

                        

TRIP LOCATION:         Blue Hills (Braintree Pass Path)  

MEETING TIME:         8:15am   

       

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS (INCLUDING LEADERS):         14     

  

TOTAL HIKING TIME (IN HOURS):    2 3/4

LENGTH IN MILES:     5.9 miles

TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN (IN FEET): insignificant

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

LEADER NAME(S): Pat Achorn, Wendy Fox and Cathy MacCurtain     

   

CO-LEADER NAME(S):   

        

TRAILHEAD PARKING LOCATION & DESCRIPTION:

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

WAS TRIP WITHIN WHITE MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST?    

    

BRIEFLY DESCRIBE SPECIFIC TRAILS HIKED AND TRAIL CONDITIONS ENCOUNTERED:

Dry, leaf litter, blow down trees over the trail in 4-5 places, branch debris

WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR HIKE: warm, overcast, humid, intermittent sun

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

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

Introduction to Hiking Series #1 - Ponkapoag Pond - 9-23-17

AMC SEM Post-Hike Trip Report

TRIP DATE: September 23, 2017

TRIP LOCATION: Ponkapoag DCR Mass

MEETING TIME: 8:15am

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS (INCLUDING LEADERS): 9

TOTAL HIKING TIME (IN HOURS): 2 1/2

LENGTH IN MILES: 5.6

TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN (IN FEET): negligible

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

LEADER NAME(S): Pat Achorn and Wendy Fox

CO-LEADER NAME(S):

TRAILHEAD PARKING LOCATION & DESCRIPTION: Ponkapoag Golf Course Parking

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: DCR Green

Dot trail around Ponkapoag; Damp, muddy

WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR HIKE: Clear, humid, becoming warm

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

IMPORTANT:

WLBH 1-17-2017 - AMC Cabins

AMC SEM Post-Hike Trip Report

TRIP DATE: 1-17-2017     
                                          

TRIP LOCATION:         Blue Hills     

MEETING TIME:         10:00 am  
     

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS (INCLUDING LEADERS):         20

TOTAL HIKING TIME (IN HOURS):    3 hrs  50 mins

LENGTH IN MILES:     7.47 miles

TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN (IN FEET): 216 feet

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

LEADER NAME(S):      Paul Brookes, Cathy MacCurtain, Pat Achorn

CO-LEADER NAME(S):            N/A

TRAILHEAD PARKING LOCATION & DESCRIPTION: Street parking at end of Turner Dr in Randolph

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:

Trails were dry and clear with some small patches of ice.  We hiked in the West Ponkapoag section of the reservation walking trails around the AMC cabins.  We had lunch at the pier overlooking the pond and presented Bill Doherty with a patch for completing his first White Lining series.  Bill brought cookies to share with the group (a Red Lining/White Lining tradition when you complete your series). On the way back to the cars we stopped at the new(ish) Horse Bridge, some graffiti has started to appear.

WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR HIKE: Sunny at start, turned cloudy, Dry in the upper 30’s.  

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

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

WLBH 1-10-2017 - Eliot Tower

AMC SEM Post-Hike Trip Report

TRIP DATE: 01-10-2017

TRIP LOCATION:         Blue Hills     

MEETING TIME:         10:00 am    
   

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS (INCLUDING LEADERS):         16

TOTAL HIKING TIME (IN HOURS):    4 hrs  40 mins

LENGTH IN MILES:     6.86 miles

TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN (IN FEET): 480 feet

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

LEADER NAME(S):      Paul Brookes, Cathy MacCurtain, Pat Achorn

CO-LEADER NAME(S):            N/A

TRAILHEAD PARKING LOCATION & DESCRIPTION: Houghton’s Pond Parking

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:

Climbed Houghton’s Hill and then over to Hancock Hill (great view), on to Great Blue Hill using the North Skyline.  Lunched at Eliot Tower. Returned to our cars via Wolcott, Eustis and Hancock Hill path.  Hike was a little more challenging that intended for this series, folks were tired but everyone did fine.

WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR HIKE: Dry, sunny, mid-20’s.  Frozen snow and patches of ice on the hills.  Microspikes were used by all the hikers.  

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

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

WLBH 1-3-2017 - Buck Hill

AMC SEM Post-Hike Trip Report

TRIP DATE: 1-3-2017

TRIP LOCATION:         Blue Hills    

MEETING TIME:         10:00 am    
   

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS (INCLUDING LEADERS):         12

TOTAL HIKING TIME (IN HOURS):    4 hrs  

LENGTH IN MILES:     7.5 miles

TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN (IN FEET): 435 feet

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

LEADER NAME(S):      Paul Brookes, Cathy MacCurtain, Pat Achorn

CO-LEADER NAME(S):            N/A

TRAILHEAD PARKING LOCATION & DESCRIPTION: Houghtons Pond

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:

Hiked Houghton’s Pond to the top of Buck using the smaller trails that summit from the southern slop of Buck.  After summiting Buck we hiked down Buck using the New England Mountain Bike Association (NEMBA) trail built two years ago in coordination with the DCR.  We then summited again using the newer NEMBA trail built this October.   Together these trails form a loop for the mountain bikers that keep the bikers of the Skyline.   We returned via the notch between Tucker and the Boyce’s.

WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR HIKE: Raining and mid-40’s.   

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

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