There is a pretty intricate trail system here. There are a lot of wide grassy cross-country skiing paths, mixed in with woodsy foot trails, and fire roads.
Hmm. Where to begin....
We chose the nearest, widest, apparently easiest path, to start off.
It wasn't long before these signs began springing up. It took a few minutes for me to realize they were skiing trail signs, not foot trail signs indicating tough times ahead...
Early on, we came across several balancing beams and other gymnastic-oriented challenges, strangely set up here along this particular trail. They'd pop up every few hundred feet or so. We had to try them...
Kelly did pretty good on the challenges, but it was a humbling experience for me. Two minutes of hanging like a pork loin, gasping and groping hopelessly for the next ring, and it was crystal clear that I am not as agile as I used to be...
Farther on we came across an opening, with winter bird feeding shelters set up in a semi-circle.
With this winter feeder system, the skiing difficulty signs everywhere, and the abundant skiing trails, it seems the whole trail system is kind of geared more for winter use. This was confirmed when we came across this ski shelter, equipped with shovels and kindling wood...
We continued on. Goaded by my GPS and the map Kelly acquired at the visitors entrance, we decided to take a more direct route to the top, via the foot trails that intersect with the ski trails in this cob-web trail system...
The wide ski paths narrowed and lost their grass, as we were soon on roads less traveled.
The narrow foot paths were marked with orange blazes. So not 100% sure where, still, we knew we were somewhere...
We'd occasionally reemerge onto and cross a ski trail, with a sign tucked away here or there, to further add to the mystery.
It got rather steep for a bit, and it was a little humid, so we donated our share of sweat and toil to the mountain. But the mountain repaid us handsomely with the occasional nature scene.
Hawk-eye Kelly, of course, spotted this little frog. It was not more than an inch long, and sitting among like-color brush and cover, on the trail far ahead of us.
Amazed as usual, I prodded her for the secret to her near Elf-like ability to pluck out the smallest details and animals, among the vast clutter of the forest. Her secret....She's constantly on the lookout for snakes...so the slightest movements immediately draw her attention. Hmm.
This immediately drew my attention. It's coming, brace yourselves...
We finally cleared the top, only to find this.
A giant, fenced in radio tower, with a small slope to the reservoir that sits atop the mountain. Protected by a chain link fence.
We were a little disappointed with the payoff...
We couldn't believe that was the lookout marked on the map. The map said nothing about the radio tower. We back tracked a little bit, and moved down another trail. In a couple of minutes, we were rewarded with the true lookout.
There's a big drawing of the scene in front of us, naming the mountain peaks in the distance.
It was a nice view, but there were power lines right across the field of vision. I guess this could be expected, as Northfield Reservoir isn't a drinking reservoir, it's actually a power generating reservoir. It uses the force of the water coming down from the hill top to generate hydro-electrically.
Mission accomplished, we began our trek back down. At first we used the same trails we came up on, until we had the bright idea of taking a shortcut. We immediately became lost in the maze of trails, and tacked on about half a mile to our hike, emerging at last on a paved service road going along the side of the far edge of the mountain.
The good thing about getting lost on a mountain, is you can always be pretty sure heading down will lead you back to civilization. Following this 50-50 logic, we soon found ourselves back on the broad fields of at the foot of the mountain.
Lately we've been doing our exploring one of two ways: Weighed down with stuff and over prepared...or imprudently light, life-riskingly under prepared. Today was option B. We needed to find a store with water, and quick. We motored on up to Northfield center, and eagerly bought a gallon of Spring water at Mim's Market. Humans and Canine greedily guzzled most of it down.
We slumped back in our seats, satiated. Our gazes then drifted over to the ice cream spot, right next door.
It was tempting, but we decided against it. Maybe next time. It was time to head back...
2 comments:
I hiked the exact same path up and down Northfield as you. Including the fence, and taking the road.
It's a weird hike. The way the trails are laid out. They make no sense for hiking. You feel lonely and lost.
Yeah, it looks like most of the trails are probably geared more towards cross-country skiing...
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