Thursday Hikers

Mikle and Michelle have given the Thursday hikers and open invitation to continue to hike Tony’s good trails. Today, with Mike and Michelle, we set out for the beaver pond in hopes that the Fringed Gentian would still be in bloom. Had we been a week earlier, the bloom wold have been spectacular, but today Continue reading

Update: Joe Zadroga shared these good photos of the Quabbin. It is breathtaking in scope.  Continue reading

Seems like every two years or so we hike along the 20 foot high dike that was built along the Connecticut river to ensure that the farmland (badly flooded in the hurricane of 1938) would stay intact. The Swawsloski potato farm has been here for 200 years. Many Polish immigrants settled and prospered well here- Continue reading

A 3.7 mile hike today, once again in the Dubuque State Forest of Hawley and Plainfield. We’re scouting the many wonderful trails there. Today we were mostly on the “Periwinkle” trail and it was heavenly. My camera got little use, rather my eyes just took everything in. But here’s a spider web to wonder at! Continue reading

Still have about 70 wonderful acres in Charlemont. Although weather prediction was for 100 degrees we knew that once in the woods we’d have breezes and low heat. We hiked for 2.9 miles very comfortably, a nice long climb to an open area at first, then along the top of a stony ridge, then onto Continue reading

A beautiful 3.8 mile hike on narrow trails through cool green woods with a steady breeze. We came upon a short distance of trail through an area of Hawley Crow Foot Rock on the ground. It brings us great excitement whenever we find some. It’s a schist rock with black hornblende crystals (not fossils) 600 Continue reading

The heat was driven away by the shade of the forest and the cool breeze that just stayed with us. Seems to be that the fungi are started to emerge – is this a Chicken or a Hen of the woods at the base of that Oak tree Phil and Ellie? Really, really good 2 Continue reading

4 1/2 miles. Steep up and down on narrow trails. A hike we love and do once a yer. Saw a lot of Clintonia (Blue Bead Lily). Lunch at the top, a bi of a sit, hilarious conversation and great views. Got home and headed straight to the Conway Pond for a refreshing swim in Continue reading

Thanks to the Williamsburg Trail Committee, this beautiful historic hike is open for exploration. It commemorates the collapse of the Williamsburg Dam in 1874. At that time it was declared the worst tragedy in the USA. I’ve included some signage and hope you can enlarge and read about it. Early on, we Thursday hikers helped Continue reading

A really great 3.9 mile day. Photos don’t show it well. The trail into these deep quiet woods is high on my list of favorite trails. Sweet little Wood Sorrel was in bloom. Two octopuses (I checked and that is the plural! of octopus) one gray, and one brown, crept over some big rocks. Fuungi Continue reading