11/29/13 False Starts and Then Lower Hadlock Pond

Very contrast light and me fooling with the camera settings again resulted in a not good day for pictures.

Cold ( lower 20's ) but sunny.  Thought we would explore the network of trails below Norumbega in an area called "Schoolhouse Ledge" We started from the parking area at the end of Lower Hadlock Pond and  took a trail from there that took us to Rte. 3.
We backtracked but did not see the other trails and ended up back where we started.  We had walked these trails awhile back but had entered at a different point and had had better luck finding the different trails.

The trail we did walk- this is an attractive area to explore

We gave up and walked along the edge of Lower Hadlock Pond

to the Norumbega Mtn. Trail . This is a pretty trail with lots of variety and is less steep than the Goat Trail which many people take.

It does, however,  have several spots where Kelley needs to do a work around . Today she was not very enthusiastic about them and I thought maybe she was not doing as well as she has been and decided to give up on Nurumbega for today. We took the Golf Course Trail down, which was much easier for her

and does end up at the golf course and works around it and back to the pond

From there we decided to do the trail around the pond which is pretty easy. At the upper end a small bridge takes you across  Hadlock Brook which empties into the pond

We had lunch along the pond and then continued back to the car. There had been little wind so it was pretty comfortable even though it was  only in the mid twenties when we finished. 2  1/2 hours

11/28/13 Walden -City Forest

Yesterday it rained all day and Kelley went to the nursing home to visit for the day. This morning when we got up it was 34 degrees with a forecast high of 27 degrees- mix of sun and clouds . As the temperature was dropping we headed out early. Usually I have been stalling and waiting for it to warm

We just wandered trails at random and ended up off the trust land and met two deer hunters. I thought I knew about where we were and asked the man if he knew a route to the old rail bed ( and back on land trust property) . He actually said, " you can't get there from here"- I thought we could and after apologizing for interrupting their hunting ( Kelley had run ahead to greet them before I saw them) we headed off and did find our way.

After the three inches of rain yesterday there was water everywhere.  Kelley had no problem with ice keeping her out of the water as she had two days ago.

While we were on the old rail bed one of Kelley's friends came charging up. We have seen she and her owner many times on the trails here. Sophie is a high energy dog and is in almost constant motion all over the woods . She almost always arrives before we see her owner. At which point Kelley takes off in the direction Sophie came from to greet her owner who Kelley also likes.

A pretty good hike in spite of a wet glove and hat that resulted from trying to keep myself from falling into some water ( my new boots kept my feet dry) .  Kelley got lots of water and greeted several other people and another dog.  2  3/4 hours

11/26/13 Sheepscot Headwaters

Gray but not as cold and little wind. We have a dusting of snow- the first that hasn't immediately melted. We planned to hike the Sheepscot trails to the Hogback Overlook and then explore beyond that- the trail becomes a bit confusing, I think because of some logging activity.

We started from the Whitten Hill parking area and as soon as we parked we heard a nearby dog barking. This got Kelley excited and as soon as we crossed the road a dog appeared. It was somewhat tentative at first but seemed to want to join us.

and did. I tried to get it to go home but it ignored me and  off we went

they are waiting for me to take this picture

Whitten Hill Trail

We took the trails outlined above to the Hogback Connector and found this sign

OK- we would go a bit further and pick up the Hemlock Hollow Trail to take us up to the Northern Headwaters and make a loop of that instead of the planned hike.

Our dog friend was sometimes with us but was very active and did a lot of running all over the place. She reminded me of Faith's dog Roxie- disappearing into the woods only to come charging back from who knew which direction. She would do a play growl-attack , trying to get Kelley to play but Kelley, even though she understood this was not aggression,  was mostly content to amble along with me but would  then rush ahead to catch up with the other dog.

Also a lot of sniffing to be done

 Sometimes they waited while I took pictures

Goods news for Kelley was water. There were several small streams that were flowing with open areas.

The stream she was in

Some leaves

Together on the Hemlock hollow trail

Looking down from the trail as we climbed to Whitten Hill

There is a lot of old stone wall along the Northern Headwaters Trail

The hike had not taken as long as expected so we continued on the Norther Headwaters to a relatively new trail I had seen but not taken. It is called the Whitten Fields Trail and took us across fields and through woods down to the road.

There was a man working in his nearby yard and I verified we were on Halldale Rd. He did not know the dogs name but said it lived near where we had started and her owner let her run free. The dog had disappeared into his yard exploring and maybe headed home . We started walking the road back to our car and the dog  was once again with us.

We saw a yurt and a memorial on a tree

As we got to the parking area our new friend disappeared again- presumably home. She had been with us for all of a 3 hour hike. She helped make this an interesting hike and the snow added to the beauty. The dogs were friendly enough though Kelley chose not to be involved in any roughhousing .

11/25/13 City Forest and Walden

Cold and windy again but the sun is shining. I stalled 'till the temperature  reached 19 degrees and  then we headed out. We started from our usual spot at the end of Kittredge Rd. Kelley was quickly frustrated as the pond had thicker ice then last time  and there was no getting in. We followed the West Trail to the rail bed and that to the snowmobile trail ( Kelley's choice) and then an unnamed trail ( Kelley leading the way) to the Loop Trail and back to the rail bed. Our usual trail took us back out to complete our loop.

We met a few people and one dog which Kelley liked but there was no water to get into. I tried to break through in a couple of places but the ice was thick enough to support my weight. I didn't take many pictures as I was not anxious to take off my mitts and open my jacket to reach the camera.

Kelley was happy to be out and we had a pretty brisk hike 2  1/4 hours

11/24/13 Walden Parke

Gray cold morning- 19 degrees with a windchill of 9 and a wind advisory for this afternoon. I decided it was time for me to have an easy short day so we just went to nearby Walden for an hours walk on the loop trail.

Besides feeling like winter it was wintry looking - Kelley was just glad to be out and thought I had stalled long enough.

I didn't think anyone would be about but we met a man on a bike with his dog and then on the old rail bed  a nice couple who gave Kelley some attention which made her happy.

Most of the water had ice on it and I thought I might get home with a dry dog but the outlet from the beaver pond had flowing water

Tomorrow is supposed to be more of the same- I can hear the wind howling as I type- but we will deal with that tomorrow.

11/23/13 Boyd Road and Hunters Brook

Cold and windy so we wanted woods for some protection. Our friends Faith, Roxie, and Gus joined us. Boyd Road is an old road/path that has been abandoned. We started from the service road on Rte. 3. and followed it to the start -parts of this path are a narrow trail and other sections show evidence of the road it once was.

At the intersection with the Pond Trail we found this pond ( not the one for which the trail is named)

We continued on the Boyd to where it curves up to the carriage road. I have never found the section the rest of the way to Bubble Pond but today we gave it a try. This amounted mainly to a bushwhack as none of it looked like what we had been on up to that point and we gave up and moved up to the carriage road to Bubble Pond.

It was really windy in the open and we did not linger but went back to the Pond Trail and took that to the carriage road and that to the Hunters Brook Trail.

Gus and Kelley talking it over

Gus having a drink- you can just see Roxie in the distance as she is usually ahead of the rest of us.

We followed Hunters Brook to the loop road and the short walk back to Rte. 3 and our nearby car.

A pretty good hike in spite of the weather. The woods turned out to be a good idea and the dogs all seemed happy with the hike.  3 hours

11/22/13 Little Long Pond

After yesterday's workout I thought Kelley deserved an easy hike that she likes. Besides water, this hike usually offers people and dogs. Today we met only two men with one dog - Tyler who we have met many times- a large Labrador. The day was cool and dreary, with uniformly gray skies and sleet/snow for the last part.

We started from the Long Pond parking lot and walked down the Friends Path to the pond. This short trail is quite varied with big old trees, open granite ledge, stone steps, a section of skinny trees and some very lush areas.

The obligatory shot of the pond

Much of the water near shore was covered with a thin sheet of ice. Kelley did not like this but it provided some interesting effects for me to photograph.

This birch stood out against the gray background

Once past the pond we followed the Jordan Stream

to the cobblestone bridge

We then took the carriage road back down the east side of the pond.

A meadow along the way- since it was now sleeting we would have lunch in the car on the way home and just kept walking

 looking across the pond

still some leaves about- blackberry, I think

A nice relaxing hike in spite of the dreary weather. Kelley doesn't seem to care much what the weather is doing as long as she can be out hiking.  2 hours