I was so delighted with the unnamed trail I found in Petersham that I decided to go back and do a far more known trail – one that hooked to where I had already hiked. It was also on Quaker Road, with a small parking lot, lots of signage, and a cellar hole right out front attached to the parking lot. Here I found 4 people parked HORRIBLY which forced me to park bizarrely in return but I figured it out…
It was a gorgeous day to go out and I was super happy to be back once again. Although the trail started through a meadow it wove through the woods in a very clear path. This was the sort of well-kept trail you often find closer to cities with lots of people on them but on this day there were hardly anyone else out there – just another couple of hikers on one of the adjoining trails and two women on horseback. This would be a LOVELY place to horseback ride!
Throughout the trail there were several cellar holes and other historical artifacts that may be of interest. The wildlife was buzzing that day as well – which sadly meant there were quite a few black flies and mosquitoes but that’s all part and parcel to coming out here. What I loved about this place is how quiet it was. There was no human noise what-so-ever. No traffic, no music, no people talking, no kids playing… it was like being dropped out in the middle of the wilderness, a beautiful retreat for the introvert in all of us. And there was moderate inclines every so often – not too bad even though I am woefully out of shape.
About halfway through the trail there’s a little spot where it juts off to another trail and there’s this awesome bridge which I stood on an enjoyed a view of the river for a while before sneaking back to the original loop I was on.
On this particular day I was huffing and puffing from being so direly out of shape, so I decided to only walk the first yellow loop on the map although there’s a bunch of other trails and even loops that attach to this one. In fact there’s an X of trails in between the loop trail, all named Tumble Down, which I am told I must go back to investigate, but we shall see about that! With a name like Tumble Down I have to wonder if it’s all ghastly hills and no scenery. I don’t know… I’ll leave that for a different day!
