Posted By auntie on November 10, 2018

10.6 miles; Sharon and Foxboro, MA

So if the first two hikes this month were “Easy Walks,” I’d have to say this hike was the opposite. I made plans to hike this 30+ mile trail with some friends, and we had been warned that it was “pretty rough,” but I don’t think any of us was prepared as to how “rough” it really was. It hasn’t been actively maintained for a few years, and it showed. Without a gps-enabled map it would have been impossible. All that said, this first section was a lot of fun!

Trail Marker

First, a bit about the trail, from the “Friends of the Warner Trail” website and guidebook:

The Warner Trail offers delightful and varied outdoor experiences as it stretches more than 30 miles from Sharon, Massachusetts, to the Diamond Hill State Park in Cumberland, Rhode Island. The trail passes through Sharon, Foxboro, Wrentham and Plainville in Massachusetts and through Cumberland, RI. The possibility of establishing a woodland trail connecting the southerly fringe of the Boston area with the trail system in Rhode Island was first envisioned by Appalachian Mountain Club members, Charles H. Warner and John Hudson, prior to World War II. With the energetic assistance of Ron Gower and a number of other AMC club members residing in the general area, the trail was slowly put together, one section at a time, starting at RT. 128 and going through the Ponkapaug Camp of the AMC. By 1947 it extended south to High Rock in the State Forest in Foxboro. In the early 50’s the trail had reached Diamond Hill, RI., but shortly developers caused the loss of the Ponkapaug to Canton Jct. RR station section. Mead Bradner, another active AMC member who spent many years caring for the trail, established the Friends of the Warner Trail in 1994 to ensure that the trail continues to thrive.

Emphasis mine. At least one of those names should be familiar to Rhode Island hikers!

Misty Moisty Morning

The weather forecast for today’s hike was “AM Clouds/PM Sun.” But it was lightly raining for the first hour or so of our hike. So much for the Weather Channel!

The Trail (partly)

The hike started out promisingly enough from a nice little parking area on Edge Hill Road in Sharon, where you could follow a short spur trail to connect with the Warner Trail. There were some beautiful stretches through here. We followed an old woods road for a long way.

Late Oyster Mushrooms, Panellus serotinus

Our idyll didn’t last, however, and there were long stretches without blazes and some stretches of the trail without, uh, a trail. We had to do some bushwhacking. The good news? Whole lotta mushrooms!

Gillette Stadium, no, really

This trail runs contiguous with the Bay Circuit Trail for a stretch in Moose Hill, and so here’s another really bad shot of Gillette Stadium from one of the overlooks. See this post for another.

Green Stink Bug, Chinavia hilaris

Found this little guy on Moose Hill. I think he (she?) was pretty much done for, as he (she?) was on his (her?) back when we found him (her?).

Track (click for details)

The orange line on the above map is the Warner Trail. You can get maps and a guidebook for this trail from the Friends of the Warner Trail website. And the maps on the website have also been gps-enabled and can be downloaded as part of the “Maplets” app for iPhone or Android (not currently available on the Google Play store but can be obtained from Amazon). This hike would honestly not have been possible without them. As always, click the image above for details about this hike and to download my gps track.

Categories: Massachusetts, Warner Trail
Tags: Foxboro MA, MA, Over 10 miles, Sharon MA