Top Ten Hikes of 2018 Part 1
Posted By auntie on December 17, 2018
I know you’ve all been waiting with bated breaths for this post. Okay, prolly not. But still, I see by the old calendar on the wall that it’s time again for my annual “Best of” list, so here it is. I’ve broken it into two separate posts.
If you know me personally, you know that 2018 was not a great year for me. I had less time and less inclination to get out and hike than I usually do, so if some of these choices seem a little underwhelming, that’s why.
Anyway, with no further ado, here’s the list.
#10—Great Swamp Fight Monument
Sometimes even a bad day has its good moments. Today was like that. I had meant to do a much longer hike in the Great Swamp WMA, but it was cold and I just wasn’t feeling it. But so the trek out this way wouldn’t be a total bust, I thought I’d try and find this monument, which I had vaguely remembered reading about earlier in the year. Success!
I do love me a long trail (see Trail, Bay Circuit, The), and the Warner Trail, which was established in the 1940s, runs from Sharon, MA to Cumberland, RI; about 33 miles. It’s been on my list of “Hikes I’d Like to Do” forever. I proposed hiking this to some friends, and they agreed enthusiastically. To say it was an adventure is to seriously understate the situation. And unfortunately, we’d left it too late in the year to do more than the first section. But we’re all looking forward to finishing it up this coming spring. Stay tuned.
#8—Block Island, Mohegan Bluffs
This hike made my Top Ten two years in a row. This year it was because it was the first time I’d ever led a PCHC hike all by myself. I count it a resounding success because a) there were no serious injuries; b) we didn’t get lost; and c) I didn’t lose a single hiker. We had wonderful weather and the scenery was, as always, fabulous. Can’t beat the Block.
Wow, just noticed this was two “island” hikes in a row. Cool. I’d been out here earlier in the year with the same group as this hike, but the first time we went in July, mistakenly believing that since it was a small island in Narragansett Bay, it would be cooler and breezier than the mainland. Hah. Wrong. Hike day #1 was hot, muggy, and extremely buggy; i.e., no fun at all. But our return trip, just a month later, was amazing. There is an extensive and well-maintained network of trails on this little island, some nicely preserved and well-documented history, and some great roadside stand zucchini muffins. What’s not to like?
This group hike came about as a result of someone contacting me via this very blog. Carl Tjerandsen, an Avalonia Land Conservancy member, has a special connection to this property, and loves to take groups out to explore it. We had a good number of hikers and we hiked a decent distance, and we still didn’t get to see all the trails. It’s extensive and quite beautiful, and full of historic Native American stonework. It’s probably my favorite of all Avalonia’s properties. And boy howdy, 2018 was an especially abundant mushroom year!
And that’s the end of the first half. More to come tomorrow.
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