Posted By auntie on August 31, 2015

8.37 miles; exeter, ri

today was forecast to be even hotter than yesterday, but since i’m moving my clock ahead in order not to be jet-lagged when i get to ireland (have i mentioned i’m going hiking in ireland?), i was able to hit the trail at around 6:45 am, so i was basically done by 10 or so, and managed to beat the heat and most of the bugs. good hike.

field on the shelter trail

i walked this loop clockwise today, rather than my usual counter-clockwise. and i included the part of the shelter trail i usually avoid because it seems just tacked-on, and there’s nothing much to recommend it. i was wrong about that, though, as it’s a very pretty part of the trail, and it ends in a huge field.

birches turning on penny hill

i also went up the penny cutoff to the top of penny hill, and was shocked to see that the birches are all turning yellow already. they must be under drought stress to be changing this early in the year.

white wood aster

another sign of fall’s approach are the white wood asters (Eurybia divaricata), which are in bloom everywhere now.

orb weaver’s web

and while hiking first thing in the morning means breaking through what seems like thousands of spider webs across the trail, i took care to avoid this one—it was too pretty to break, bedecked as it was by dew drops.

amused leaf is amused

all in all a very good hike. breakheart trail, were it passes north of breakheart pond, gets pretty hilly and challenging. fun.

you can find the breakheart-shelter loop in the hikefinder. trailhead, Auntie’s trail map.

Categories: Rhode Island, Walks and Hikes
Tags: 7–10 miles, Exeter RI, RI