BCT hike: Map 2, L - M OR Map 3, part of A - B (same hike, different names)
After the last hike, I noticed that the last bit of Map 2 and the first bit of Map 3 are the same hike, with different letters. Today I did that part, arriving at Map 2 point L/Map 3 point B. I parked at Boy Scout Park and hiked up Dana Road to where the BCT leaves Boy Scout Park, which is where I stopped last time. The driveway to the parking area was no longer sheet ice. I was optimistic about the trails. It turned out some bits were clear, some were snowy, some were sheet ice, some were wet, some were muddy. Springtime in New England, except there were no mosquitos. I fell on ice once, sat down to make controlled descents on two other steep icy parts, and otherwise picked my way along. I fell once on the way back when my foot slid off a tree root that wasn't even icy. I decided that was a signal that I was tired and should pay more attention to where I was putting my feet. There were no further mishaps.
Parts of Lockwood Forest in Boxford are pretty. Some bits can be confusing. The trail blazing more closely matches the map than the cue sheet, something I didn't figure out for a while. Getting from Dana Road to Lockwood Forest was my only time really lost. I followed the cues to the cul-de-sac and saw no blazes, so I took my best guesses, following what I think were trails in the woods in back of houses. I eventually found Fish Brook and the old mill site where I picked up blazes, and after that I stayed found all the way to the Bald Hill Reservation entrance, where I turned back for the day. I followed Middleton Road to Lockwood Lane, to where the trail crossed the latter, to save time and skip some of the iciness. There was no convenient way to skip Lockwood Lane to Dana Road. The blazes on the return trip put me on a trail that never entered the field mentioned, but did follow Fish Brook as the map indicated. The blazes disappeared, but the trail was visible and headed toward my car, so I stayed on it until it landed back at Dana Road.
If I'm going to hike between first snowfall and about May Day, I need to get some ice traction devices to carry. This is twice I've had falls. Not ideal.
1.4 trail miles, probably about twice that in actual hiking since it was out and back. A bit more than an hour and a half elapsed, I think.
Parts of Lockwood Forest in Boxford are pretty. Some bits can be confusing. The trail blazing more closely matches the map than the cue sheet, something I didn't figure out for a while. Getting from Dana Road to Lockwood Forest was my only time really lost. I followed the cues to the cul-de-sac and saw no blazes, so I took my best guesses, following what I think were trails in the woods in back of houses. I eventually found Fish Brook and the old mill site where I picked up blazes, and after that I stayed found all the way to the Bald Hill Reservation entrance, where I turned back for the day. I followed Middleton Road to Lockwood Lane, to where the trail crossed the latter, to save time and skip some of the iciness. There was no convenient way to skip Lockwood Lane to Dana Road. The blazes on the return trip put me on a trail that never entered the field mentioned, but did follow Fish Brook as the map indicated. The blazes disappeared, but the trail was visible and headed toward my car, so I stayed on it until it landed back at Dana Road.
If I'm going to hike between first snowfall and about May Day, I need to get some ice traction devices to carry. This is twice I've had falls. Not ideal.
1.4 trail miles, probably about twice that in actual hiking since it was out and back. A bit more than an hour and a half elapsed, I think.