A hike at the
Brooks Woodland Preserve in Petersham was first on the list today. After parking at checkpoint 54 on Quaker Drive, the path I took is highlighted below in brown.
As I walked past the F. Dudley Cellar Hole to enter the woods, I soon came upon an open meadow, where I immediately got lost because the trails were so hard to distinguish in the grass. Eventually, I found my way and headed to cross the river, where the were nice views of Mocassin Brook from a bridge. The sound of the brook flowing through this stretch was also pretty serene.
Heading past checkpoint 49, I happened to spot yellow circles on trees to my left, and headed onto it, turning out to be checkpoint 47b as I headed uphill. It was hard to trek this stretch because of all the fallen leaves and trees, but eventually I found the yellow signs again as I head up to checkpoint 47a. Here, I turned left to head to checkpoint 47 in an attempt to find the path south to the scenic vista indicated on the map. However, the path is actually hidden midway between the two checkpoints, and not at checkpoint 47 itself as it seems from the map above.
Heading the right way, there were only partial views of the surroundings at the viewpoint, however, due to the presence of trees.
From here, I continued onward, but I could not find the path to take me back to checkpoint 49, instead going down the other path, ending up at checkpoint 51. I then followed the path along the brook back to checkpoint 49, and then back across the bridge and back to my car. Given that the views were not that great and that I got lost several times here, I don't recommend coming here to trek.
Next, armed with more information and the GPS coordinates of Prospect Hill in
Harvard Forest, located in Phillipston, I decided to try my luck again from Lincoln Road. Apparently, with respect to the GPS coordinates, the peak is supposed to be in the path of Lincoln Road, so I did the same things I did
yesterday, parking at the end of Lincoln Road and walking down the rest of the way. The path I took is highlighted below in pink on Google Maps. Proper maps of Harvard Forest can be found on the Harvard Forest website.
As I got closer, I saw the hill on my right, but I could not find a feasible path up, and I started to realize that the road was beginning to head south away from the hill. At this point, I decided to bash up the hill. I would have to say this was not a very fun experience, but eventually I saw the fire tower at the top of the hill. Apparently, to climb it is to trespass on state property, but I did it anyway. As I headed up, I suddenly realized how narrow the stairway was, with wooden steps and only metal railings to hold on to, and how thin the entire tower was. I began to fear that one of the wooden steps would break and I would fall through, or that the tower would sway and collapse under my weight, and the fear only got worse as I got higher and higher up. At the very end, I was so scared that I did not even dare to stand up and take pictures, choosing to sit on the steps instead. The views from up here were terrific though.
Oh, how I dreaded the climb back down to solid ground. Every step I took toward safety was a step of apprehension, and I was gripping onto the railings for dear life. Eventually, I made it down though, and continued on my way down the path to Prospect Hill Road. There is a gate at the junction, and I turned right onto the road. Heading along, I eventually reached the end of Ward Hill Road, realizing that I could actually have driven relatively safely from here to the gate leading to the fire tower. Oh, the things we learn the hard way. Hence, I definitely recommend coming to this place, although it's up to you whether you want to climb up the tower, because I guess it's illegal. There are no good views at ground level, though. Anyway, I continued onto the dirt road that was Prospect Hill Road from Ward Hill Road, and headed the long way back to Lincoln Road, and back to my car.
I decided to take a break from hiking and try out the
King Phillip Restaurant in town for lunch. This place is pretty big with nice decor, probably because it is a motel as well.
I decided to have a pretty hefty lunch today, trying out the Asian Calamari, which was definitely a good choice for me among other calamari dishes I have tried, due to the use of sesame chicken sauce in this appetiser dish, and the Rack of Lamb special, which came with a caesar salad as well.
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| Caesar Salad |
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| Asian Calamari |
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| Rack of Lamb with Mint Jelly and mashed potatoes |
When I first tried the lamb, it was tender, but not very flavorful. I had thought the green jelly was for dessert, but after I tried it, I realized it was mint jelly, and thought that it was probably meant to go with the lamb. After applying some jelly to the lamb, it tasted so much better. All in all, I enjoyed my lunch thoroughly, and I recommend this place if you are in town.
Anyway, it was back to hiking again in Phillipston, this time at
Elliott Laurel. This place has a small field at the entrance, and a densely wooded area elsewhere. The route I took is highlighted in pink below.
The route was pretty simple to follow, with yellow circles on trees for markers. However, there were no good views in this area, hence I only took one picture while on the field.
With that, I was done with Phillipston, and on to the town of Templeton. I visited the town common area on Dudley Road and Patriots Road first.
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| Templeton Town Common |
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First Church of Templeton,
1 Wellington Road |
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Wind turbine behind
Naragansett Regional High School |
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Memorial Square, Central Street and
Circle Street |
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Holy Cross Church,
25 Lake Avenue |
The daylight was ending soon, so I decided not to hike at the
Otter River State Forest, which is mostly in Winchendon. Gardner was the next town I visited, where I arrived at the war memorial on Parker Street and West Street on the way to find the
Holy Spirit Catholic Parish.
The next place I passed by was the City Hall area at 95 Pleasant Street, with the Post Office as well.
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| Post Office, 69 Pleasant Street |
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| City Hall |
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| War Memorial |
Finally reaching the Holy Cross Church, I found the First Baptist Church in the same area too on 14 High Street. Several other buildings and areas I visited in town follow.
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| Old Building, Chestnut Street and Walnut Street |
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| First Baptist Church |
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WWI Memorial,
Central Street and Cottage Street |
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Olde Post Office Building,
144 Central Street |
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Old Fire Station #3,
Cherry Street and Elm Street |
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| Lake Wampanoag, Camp Collier Road |
I decided to call it a day at this point, it being too dark and all, and decided to head to the
South Side Grille and Margarita Factory for dinner. This place seems to specialize more in Mexican food, especially with their tortilla chips and salsa starters. The interior decor was decent as well.
I ended up ordering the steak and mushroom quesadilla because I did not feel very hungry after my heavy lunch, but did not have much of a fun time eating because there were scallions and onions in the quesadilla itself.
With that I was done for the weekend. I have just realized that I missed the big chair statue in this "Chair City", so I'm going to look for it the next time I visit.
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