Wolf Hill Forest Preserve
Posted By auntie on March 11, 2014
2.69 miles; smithfield, ri
this was a hard one to walk, because the snow cover was about 3 inches thick and very unstable, so it was hard on my ankle. i actually cut it short… it could have been a much longer walk, but i just wasn’t up for it. this is a great property, and i’d love to come back when there isn’t any snow cover.
self-portrait with trekking poles
okay, it was an accidental click. not hard to do on an iPhone. but i liked it. so i kept it.
the trail
an example of the trail. it’s quite an undulating terrain. according to the gps, i climbed 276 feet. [go ahead, white mountain hiking people, have your little laugh. i’ll wait. m’kay? done? it’s a lot of climbing for a fat old broad recovering from a broken ankle!] added to that was the instability of the packed snow, where every 3rd or 4th step broke through the crust, so you never knew when to trust your footing. it was exhausting, and i didn’t feel too guilty about cutting it shorter than planned. i truly do intend to go back when there’s no snow cover.
airmen’s memorial
at the end of the yellow trail, past the intersection with the red trail and across the power lines, is a lovely memorial to 3 world war 2 airmen who crashed a bomber into wolf hill in 1943. it’s an interesting story. go google it.
ken weber trail head
the red trail is also called the ken weber memorial trail. i consider ken weber my spiritual mentor. i began reading his nature columns in the providence journal when i was a kid, and i have all his books, several signed. it’s thanks to him that i am the avid hiker that i am and it was an honor to be on this trail and remember his inspiration.
nice view
nice view from this little overlook, though it’ll be invisible come summer. one of the advantages of hiking through the winter. there aren’t that many, but this is one of them!
you can find this hike in the hikefinder.
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