Happy National Trails Day!

There are SIX hikes available this morning: 

Hike 1 - Douglas 1st Baptist Church, Sutton to Rte. 16, Douglas State Park
Start Time: 10:00 AM
Start Location: Route 16 trail crossing in Douglas [Near 200 Webster Street, GPS 42.056044 - 71.786750].
Directions to Start: Take Rte. 395 to exit 2. Go east on Rte. 16 for 4.3 miles to state trail parking lot on right(alternate parking on opposite side of Rt. 16 across from lot). From Rte.146 and East Douglas, take Rte. 16 west. Lot is on left, .9 miles past entrance to Wallum Lake/Douglas State Forest (Cedar St). Leave some cars there and shuttle to parking lot by church on Central Turnpike in West Sutton.
Hike Length: 6.2 miles.
Leader: Ken Baldyga; 508-757-5812

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Hike 2 - Intersection of I Capen and East Charlton Roads to Sibley Farm Conservation Area by Worcester Chapter AMC
Start Time: 12:15 PM
Start Location: Meet at Sibley Farm on Greenville St., Spencer
Shuttle Hikers to starting point. Hike back to Sibley Farm (about 3 miles). 
Hike Length: about 3 miles
Leader: Don Cunningham; e-mail: hiking@amcworcester.org

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Hike 3 - Moose Hill Dam to Sibley Farm Conservation Area
Start time: 11:00 AM
Start Location: Sibley Farm on Greenville St., Spencer
Shuttle hikers to Moose hill Dam parking area on Donnelly Cross Rd., Leicester. Hike back to Sibley Farm
Hike length: about 3.9 miles
Leader: Sandra Snow; 508-885-7787 e-mail: sandra@qss1.com

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Hike 4 - Barre Falls Dam to Route 122 Rutland
Follow the Mid-State Trail over Harding Hill, past Blood Swamp, and end back at the Route 122 trail head in Rutland.
Start Time: 9:30 AM
Start Location: MST/Rail Trail parking lot on the right, one mile north of the Rutland State Park Long Pond boat ramp on Rte 122 in Rutland. We will shuttle hikers to the first parking lot on the left after entering the Barre Falls Dam grounds on Rte. 62 in Barre.
Length: approximately 6 miles
Leader: Jeff Keay; 508-353-1174 e-mail: jkeay23@gmail.com

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Hike 5 - Princeton/Crow Hill
Start Time: 10:30 AM
Start Location: Redemption Rock on Route 140 in Princeton, just south of the Westminster town line (MapQuest, near: 271 Redemption Rock Trail North) We will shuttle to trail head and walk south, over Crow Hill Ledges and back to Redemption Rock, walk over ledge outcrops, stream crossing, stone walls and ridge-tops with views.
Leader: Marie Auger; 978-874-5629 e-mail: mandmauger@comcast.net

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Hike 6 - Ashburnham State Forest
Join Ashburnham Conservation Trust and North County Land Trust as we hike through the Ashburnham State Forest on Mount Hunger to pick up the Midstate Trail. You will not want to miss the outstanding views of Mount Watatic and Stodge Meadow Pond. We will follow the Midstate Trail south and loop back to our starting point.
Start Time: 1:00 PM 
Start Location: Meet at the end of Kelton Road in Ashburnham
Directions to start: From the center of Ashburnham, head South on MA-12 toward Fitchburg for a 1/4 mile. Bear left onto River Styx Road. In just under 1/2 mile, take your first left onto Kelton Road. Continue up Kelton Road until you reach the end.
Length: 1-1.5 hours; beginner-moderate difficulty in some spots.
Leader: Desiree Hamelin, 978-424-7328, e-mail: dhamelin@northcountylandtrust.org

The festivities at Sibley Farm start at 2 with BBQ, music, yoga and more! Please join us!

Here at the Lodge at 9 am, it is 63.9 degrees and steady.

The humidity is 82% and steady.

The barometer is 29.74 inches of mercury and steady.

The current fire danger is MODERATE.

NWS Boston is forecasting the following: Scattered showers, mainly before 10am. Cloudy early, then gradual clearing, with a high near 71. North wind around 11 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Chilly but sunny

Still chilly and windy here today, 'though we're running out of April. Nice day for a hike, but layer up, as it will be a chilly start.
At 7:30 am, it is 35 degrees and rising.
The humidity is 51% and steady.
The barometer is 29.62 inches of mercury under clear skies.
Wind in the observed period ranged from 0.5 to 2.5 MPH.

The US Forest Service Fire Danger for today is HIGH.
Today's NWS forecast: Mostly sunny, with a high near 53. Northwest wind around 11 mph.

We'll have a crew out today with Working for Worcester, and we're also getting some experience in with using a grip hoist out at Mount Wachusett. 

April at last!

We made it to April!
Don't miss the Worcester Telegram and Gazette article about Ted in today's paper! Ted's posts are updated over here.
At 7:30 it is 27.5 degrees and steady.
43% humidity and steady
The barometer is 29.74 inches of mercury and RISING! which is a good sign.
The sun is up over Cook's Pond to clear skies today.

The National Weather Service forecast for today: Sunny, with a high near 43. Northwest wind 7 to 13 mph.

WE ARE OPEN!

Thanks to more than one generous neighbor (you guys are great!), we now have a CLEARED parking area. You can park on the left as you turn into the driveway.
PLEASE be thoughtful in your parking so we can get as many people in as possible.

We've already had more than one hiker come through on the Cascades Trail. This is a light fluffy snow, so it is fun snowshoeing, but it takes some energy to cut a new path.

Enjoy the trails and send photos, if you would!

Happy hiking!

The snow has ended

The clean up is starting.

The end of the Cascades Trail at Olean.

Cascading Waters sign on Olean Street

Yes, the fire danger DOES remain NONE.

Here's the same shot from yesterday from Olean up the Cascades Brook to the Lodge. Now with snowpiles of about three feet at the street.

Cooks' Pond at Cascades Brook

And the trail from Olean to Cataract is broken. After that, you're on your own! We have not YET gotten the parking area open, but we are working on it! If you're within walking distance, come by. We will post as soon as the parking area is open.

BEAUTIFUL!

Well, folks, if you were waiting for spring, you've got it!
We are expecting that it will be in the mid-sixties by noon today, so get out there and enjoy it!
Should you be coming through here, do know that several days of melting means that trails are extremely muddy. In the places where the line between trail and brook is somewhat foggy (Silver Spring comes to mind), expect water. So long as you're prepared for that, great weather for it!
We also are lucky enough to have a spring break crew here from Clark for a second day, doing some timber shaping. This is in addition to our stalwart "every other Thursday morning" volunteers, who are routing some signs.
At 10:45 am it is 58.8 degrees and rising.
The humidity is 60% and falling.
The barometer stands at 29.35 inches of mercury and steady.
We currently have about 9 mph of wind
Enjoy!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

At 8:20, it is 59.7 degrees F and steady,
80% humidity and steady,
27.12 mercury and steady,
0.04 inches of rain today,
1.18 inches of rain yesterday, and
5.8 inches for the brook, sometimes rising to six.
If you are planing on hiking today wear rain gear.

Warmer?

You know it's been cold when you look at the thermometer at 8:30, it says 25, and you think, "Hey, it's warming up!"

It is!

At 9 am, it is 28 degrees and rising; we may break freezing today!
The brook is, well, frozen, though still running down the middle.
The barometer stands at 29.44 inches and steady under sunny skies.

Trail conditions are good, if you want to get out there today. Trails are snow-covered and broken, but not so packed as to be slippery in most parts of the Cascades. It also looks like it's going to be a nice couple of days for it (might be up to 40 by Saturday).

Raining

After a long day's work (they didn't come back until nearly dark), the SCA gang slept well in their tents and were out for another day's trail clearing before 8:30 this morning!
At 9 am, it is 52 degrees and steady
85% humidity and just starting to rain.
As of 9, we had not gotten enough rain to measure. At 2pm, we've gotten 0.08 inches.
The stream remains at 4.4 inches.
Barometer is at 30.12 and steady.
The current storm is moving offshore.

We've had an enormous amount of leaves come out over the past few days. The forest is really filling in!
Yesterday afternoon, we planted two forsythia bushes, one red maple (I know, I know! but it came free from the Arbor Day Foundation!), and ten mountain laurel. The laurel is down by the street. We're hopeful!

Flurries

...just a bit in the air at the moment.

We came home from our round of errands this morning to disturb a hawk. He was perched on the north side of the driveway, and came flying, low, across the driveway and over to the southern bound. He (she? don't know) has been around quite a bit lately. I've consequently felt leery of filling the birdfeeders.

At 3 pm (sorry for the late post) it is 27 degrees and steady under overcast skies
52% humidity and steady
Barometer is at 29.44 and steady
Fire danger remains LOW
And we have yet to break the new ice off of the stream gauge.

The ground is a curious mixture of bare, drifted snow, crunchy ice covered by drifted snow, and ice. You won't have to slog on the trails, but it isn't easy going either.

Still frigid

Cold enough to make your hands start to freeze if you're out without gloves. Not recommended. But it does look like the weekend will be great! Maybe some of the ice will melt. Do know that, as always, if you're out and about on GWLT property this weekend, we'd love to hear what you find!

At 10 am, it is 17 degrees and rising
54% humidity and steady
Barometer is at 30.24 inches of mercury and steady under overcast skies
Fire danger is LOW

When the trails turn into streams

We took a lengthy hike this morning: up the Cascades Trail next to the waterfall (which is still running fast and furious; if you haven't been by, you should!), around to the Silver Spring Trail to its end, by road to West Tatnuck School, bushwacked to the West Tatnuck spur trail, down that to Cascades, and down the Newton Trail. (That's blue circles to yellow triangles, to the road, to yellow circles, to blue circles, to red circles, for those of you who go by blazes.)

The most notable thing is how very wet it is. The ground really is saturated, and there's lots of water just sitting on the ground out there. If you're planning on taking the Silver Spring Trail in particular, wear waterproof footwear, because you are going to get your feet wet. Parts of it have become the brook that it turns into in the spring, and there's plenty of water just sitting there, too. In places it's difficult to tell that there's water due to leaf coverage.

If you have never been on the Silver Spring, or haven't lately, let me recommend it. I hadn't been up there in awhile, and with all the brooks running, it's really lovely. There's a number of benches out there to sit and contemplate it all; a nice antidote to running around.

It looks like a tree took out a picnic bench up at the picnic grove at Boyton Park; I'll send that into the Parks Department and see if we can get anywhere on it.
For those who have despaired of ever again seeing that huge sign that belongs in Boyton Park, we're on it! We're getting there! We've had the great problem of having to update it to include more preserved land just about every time we thought we had it done. As there's nothing in the works in that regard, we'll see about getting it back out there.

Brr....

In case you somehow missed it, it's COLD out there!
While the falls are running, we're getting some icicles along the top, and ice is gathering along the rocks here and there in the stream. We rescued a soccer ball this morning that was on its way to spending the winter frozen in.
At 10 am, it is 27 degrees and steady.
The barometer stands at 29.88 inches of mercury and steady under sunny skies
Humidity is 45% and steady
We've got a good wind going here.
The stream is 5.2 inches deep

A hike this morning up the Newton Trail and down the east end of the Cascades Trail showed some improvements by the Parks Department at the Newton Trailhead. The trails been blocked off a bit so only those on feet (and two, unmotorized wheels) can make it up the trail, plus there's a shiny new "no motorized vehicles" sign, adding to the discouragement. Nice work! No signs that it's been disturbed.
It's a tricky time of year up there. With the ground covered in (mostly oak) leaves, and everything brown, following the trail isn't the mindless activity it is the rest of the year. You need to watch for the trail markers a bit. The wind has been dramatic enough to blow nearly all of the oak leaves down (usually about half hang on for spring). Those leaves on top of frozen ground makes for slippery footing; watch it as you come down the hill!
Do get out there, though. You get a very different perspective this time of year!

Nice morning for a hike!

And so we had six West Tatnuck students set off from the Newton Trailhead this morning at 8am, and, barring a bit of mud and one wet foot, all made it safely up the hill and across the stream(s), through the poison ivy, to the playground for 8:30. Let's plan on doing that again!

And so we're late with posting today...
at 11 am, it is 57 degrees and rising
73% humidity and falling, due to a brisk wind
Barometer stands at 29.41 inches
Fire danger is LOW
The Cascades are great!

Trail conditions are a bit muddy, but it's largely avoidable (no thanks to ATV's; yes, we're working on that).

International Walk to School Month

In honor of International Walk to School month, a group of Olean Street area kids and parents are walking to West Tatnuck tomorrow through Cascades Park.
If you'd like to join us, meet at the Newton Trailhead at 8 am. We'll be following the Newton Trail to the Cascades Trail to the West Tatnuck Trail.
Wear your sneakers!

Up with the sun

I think a cardinal started singing around 4 am this morning...
Ah, wilderness!

At 8 am, it is beautifully clear
64 degrees and rising
92% humidity and steady
Barometer is steady at 30.06

Fire danger continues to be LOW, although it looks like the Berkshires are up to high.
The brook and the falls are down to a summer trickle.

Trail crews are continuing work at Columbus Park today, as there's more to do!

Much trail activity

...not just here, but across the city.
The city trails crew are out at Coes Knife in Columbus Park, blazing trails and clearing trash.
Our interns are out doing some touch-up blazing in the Cascades.
By fall, there will be more trails in Worcester!

This is a late post today, due to running around with trails crews. Sorry.
At 2pm it is 82 degrees and clear.
49% humidity (very low for here!)
Barometer holding steady at 30.03 inches
Fire danger is LOW

Skies are clear all the way down the coast. Get out and enjoy it!

Signs going up today

A group of city trail employees (high school students) are out on the trails of the Cascades system today, putting up new city trail signs! You may have seen the signs elsewhere in the city (the city got a grant awhile ago): they're green rectangles with Worcester's "Heart of the Commonwealth". If you see the workers, thank them, as they're working very hard on hot day! And the park will be that much better marked as a result.

At the Lodge at 8 am, it was 73.4 degrees and rising
94% humidity
29.8 inches of pressure and holding steady

The numbers up on the hill:
72.3 degrees and rising
81% humidity and steady
and the pressure is the same

Memorial Day weekend

A lovely weekend for a hike, folks!

At 10 am it is 60 degrees and clear
57% humidity
Fire danger is LOW

C'mon through! The walking is fine!

Ducks!

We have...ducks!

The Junior Rangers report in that they have seen, several times now, a mallard pair (this morning just one of them) in the brook between Olean Street and Cook's Pond. We suspect they may be nesting down by the pond. We hope if they decide to cross Olean, they will take the culvert under the street, as we have no friendly Officer Michael on hand to help them cross!

A hike this morning the length of the Cascades Trail! There was a pretty impressive wind up on the hill this morning. No trash (well, except for the remains of the old dump on Cascades East, which practically qualify as antiques now!). There has, unfortunately, been someone out with a knife blazing the trail: it isn't good for the trees, dude! Not to mention that carving "John 3:16" into a tree is not a great evangelizing technique!

The trail itself is in good shape, 'though the sign pointing the way onto the Silver Spring Trail up from the Cascades Trail is down (and now propped up). We also could use a bit more blazing (with PAINT!) right there, to make the Cascades Trail clearer.

At 10:30, it is 48 degrees.
63% humidity
Overcast skies, but steady barometer
Fire danger is MODERATE
No rain to measure yet today.

Chillier than you'd think out there.