Wednesday, October 18, 2023
Black Walnut
Tuesday, October 17, 2023
Tuesday, October 10, 2023
Sunday, October 8, 2023
Thursday, September 21, 2023
Erosion Controls
Wednesday, September 20, 2023
Mattaponi Trail
Monday, August 28, 2023
Saturday, August 26, 2023
Signs
Tuesday, August 22, 2023
Bump-outs
Sunday, August 6, 2023
Favorite Garden
Sunday, July 23, 2023
White Pine
It started after I left the Cranberry Pond Trail, hung a right onto a fire road, then decided to take the so-called White Pine Trail, which appears on some maps but not on others. As it turns out, the White Pine Trail is very poorly marked. Heck! The last honest-to-goodness marker I saw was the one shown above . . .
Thursday, July 20, 2023
Mount Toby Forest
So my next hiking adventure took me to the Mount Toby Forest where I planned to hike the Cranberry Pond Trail. Here's what the University of Massachusetts has to say about this area:
"Department of Natural Resources Conservation at UMass-Amherst has responsibility for managing the 755-acre Mt. Toby Demonstration forest for teaching, research and demonstration. We also try to coordinate with recreational users of the Forest, as well as the Mass. DCR (who operate the fire tower at the summit), and other organizations. The Forest is topographically diverse. To the south are three hills, the highest being Mount Toby (1269 feet). Slopes are steep with small cliffs and ledges to the east and west. There is a deep valley between two of the hills – Roaring Mountain to the south and Ox Hill to the north – with a brook that drops in a waterfall near the eastern border of the Forest. Most, but not all of it, has been logged more than once, but some areas are so inaccessible that they were never logged. Today, UMass students and faculty use the forest for teaching, field exercises, and forestry research activities. Mount Toby is used heavily by the general public for a variety of recreational activities. These are allowed so long as they conform with the University Trustees guidelines for use of the Forest and do not interfere with teaching and research activities."
Saturday, July 15, 2023
Buffam Falls
Saturday, July 8, 2023
Holiday Travel
Thursday, June 15, 2023
Saunders Bridge
Tuesday, June 13, 2023
Friday, June 9, 2023
Retention Pond