The Hawk on the Hill in Massachusetts

Day 9 and our last full day of the vacation. Our AIRBNB in Dedham is about 30 minutes from the airport in Boston where we will be flying out of in the early morning.

We had breakfast then stopped at the second oldest cemetery in Dedham, the Brookdale Cemetery. While it opened around 1880, it has a more modern look to it. It is large so we mostly drove around since we had somewhere else to go.

We arrived at the Fairbanks House a little afternoon to discover that you needed a reservation for the tour and they were all booked up! They had 1 spot open on the 1:00 tour. The women working there were very kind and after some questions about our interest in the house, the made an exception and allowed both of us to do the next tour. So we walked around and waited for the tour of the inside of this old house to begin.

I found out about it through the kind woman who owns the AIRBNB we are currently staying. The Fairbanks House is the oldest house in Dedham and probably one of the oldest in the country. It began with Jonathan Fairbanks who signed a Covenant in 1636. Generations of his family lived there until 1930.

We had a informative tour of the house which had some original pieces and some donations that fit the time period and decor of the house.

We went back to the AIRBNB and it was nap time for Shelly and hike time for Mike. There were a couple short hikes in the area I had mapped on my GPS and the one I absolutely had to do was Hawk Hill about a half hour away. I would later discover that this was part of a huge trail system in Blue Hills Reservation.

It took me an hour to get to the trailhead due to traffic and Google messing me up! But I got to the gate and started my hike up a wide and well kept trail. The trail turned up toward Hawk hill and narrowed a bit. I came to a gully between two rocky hills and had difficulty seeing the trail.

I later found out that it turned right and went up the hill, but for the moment I found myself scrambling up the rocks and going off trail to the top. It wasn’t to difficult and soon I was back on the trail at the summit of Hawk Hill. I had a Bamboo Ocarina in my hip pack that I pulled out and played at the summit. There was a Towhee that kept chirping along with me. And I have it on video so it will eventually be on my YouTube page!

With it taking so long to get to the trailhead, I knew that I did not have time to drive to the other hike I had coordinates for. But I noticed that across the road there was another trail that lead up to Buck Hill. But first, I had to cross a very busy road! The was a map on the other side indicating that I was hiking in Blue Hills Reservation. If I had more time I could have hiked to several summits and a tower!

After a steep climb I came out on Buck Hill with some good views including a look over at Hawk Hill.

Near the top I could see Boston in the distance!

Puffin on the summit!

More mountains in the direction I was headed

I dropped down off Buck Hill, crossed over North Boyce Hill and decided that I only had time to hike over to South Boyce Hill and call it a day. I discovered that South Boyce Hill was off trail in a sea of green!

I made it to the top and decided on my way down to take the trail in the opposite direction and see if I could avoid the climb back up Buck Hill. It only took a few minutes to see that this was not going to work so I turned back. I was looking at something and somehow passed up the trail leading back up Buck Hill. A few minutes went by before I realized something wasn’t right! So I turned around again and found the trail in the right direction!

Retracing my steps I eventually ended up back at the road. Must have been at least 5 minutes before I was able to cross the road!

Funny, it took an hour to get there and only 20 minutes to get back to the AIRBNB. Shelly was just getting up from a Nap!

This was the last hike and a great way to top off a vacation that started rough, but turned around and was a fabulous time!

We got up very early and thanks to some great directions with pictures, had an relatively easy drive and found where to return the rental car.

Cruising down the runway we say goodbye to Boston!

Our flight had been delayed a half hour but we were back in Tennessee around 12:30 pm.

Back to reality... we found out that it had rained about every day that we were gone so the grass was high and so were the weeds. The only beauty was a single naked stalk with some very pretty lady Lilly's! After a short 30 minute rest, I mowed the lawn and did some heavy duty weed eating. Welcome back to the real world!

 

Blue Skies Today, Acadia National Park

Part 2 of Day 8 begins with great relief and anticipation of seeing the Acadia National Park that I saw in the pictures while planning this trip! Yesterday was fun; but foggy no real good views. Today would be different. I pulled out very soon after getting in the park so that Shelly could see the ocean and thankfully some nice views!

I had hoped that we were early enough to get a parking spot at Sand Beach so that Shelly could enjoy the beach and I could get at least 1 of the 2 hikes I had wanted to do yesterday. NO DICE! It was mayhem again. I did part a couple miles down the road and took Shelly out on the rocks which did have some nice views.

As we stood on the rocks, I looked up at the mountain behind us and saw several people standing on what I thought was the top of the mountain. I looked at my GPS and it looked like a half mile to the summit of Gorham Mountain. So I asked Shelly if I could do a short hike to which she of course said yes. My lovely wife is very good about these things and will generally read or take a nap while I am trekking about. Lucky man I am!

So I walked about a tenth of a mile down the road and up to the trailhead. The first thing I noticed was that my half mile was actually .9 miles!

I stood there for a moment contemplating if I should just go back to the car. I didn’t know what else I could do if I did not do this as I had hiked to the Bubbles yesterday. So this was it! So I took off and busted it going up the mountain. Of course it was rocky and steep as I neared the top. As I got closer the views began. It was bittersweet after yesterdays foggy excursions!

I soon discovered that the people I saw from below were not at the top but an overlook below the actual summit.

I was in Heaven. This is what I came to see. I only wish I could have spent a couple hours up here. But I was dang grateful for the time I did have. This was the epic hike of the trip!

Interesting that most people trek all the way up here and stop at the overlook. I began my climb the rest of the way to the summit.

From the summit at 525 feet you have views off both sides. You get the added bonus of a pristine look at Cadillac Mountain.

Pictures just don’t do it justice. As I headed down I was still getting different views from another perspective. It was hard to leave. 

When I got back to the car the wife said that she expected a short hike to be an hour; however my short hike had been an hour and a half. Luckily she was not mad as she is somewhat accustomed to my “SHORT” hikes HA HA! But she did request a restroom stop. The only one available was at Jordan Pond which had been crazy yesterday and was even worse today. I told her to just get out and I would circle around. There was no where for me to pull off so I circled about 5 times before she finally appeared. She had waited in line 15 minutes to use a restroom!

We headed out of the park and began our journey to Dedham, Massachusetts which is about a half hour from the airport in Boston.

I did have one thing else on the days agenda which I figured we would skip; however the wife said she wanted to go so go we did!

In North Manchester there is a Meeting House and the Scribner Cemetery next to it.

 The reason Shelly wanted to go to this cemetery. Well...to see a rock! Here is the story I found online:

“As Manchester grew in size, the construction of Scribner Road began. The story goes that a worker involved in the project came across a large, unmovable rock impeding the continued construction. After working with the rock for some time, he eventually proclaimed it impossible and swore that he would sell his soul to the devil if the rock could be moved.

The next day, the worker was nowhere to be found. He had, seemingly vanished into thin air. However, the rock was gone. It had been moved out of the way of construction and the road could now be completed as planned.

However, there was a strange difference in the rock. Two distinct markings had been placed on the face of the rock. One, in the clear shape of a cloven hoof and the other, in the strange formation of two feet.

The markings are said to have been placed by the devil himself, proof that the construction worker had, indeed, sold his soul in order to have the rock moved. The stone can be seen clearly embedded within the wall of the nearby cemetery in North Manchester.”

And here is that rock

This was definitely the rock we saw online but it did not seem as distinct as the online photo. I let you make your own analysis!

We made a stop in York, Massachusetts for dinner. I had one last Lobster Roll and we hit the road once again. We did not get to our AIRBNB until 9:30 pm and were met by a very nice lady who gave us a tour of her quaint abode and then we soon hit the beds! I will say that I had a heck of a time finding a place with a private bathroom in the Boston area. This was one of a few and the only one that was affordable! It was very nice and met our needs.

 

McCloud Mountain, Verona Island, Maine

Day 8 it was time to leave Maine and head back toward Boston. Well maybe not just yet! I got up earl because just down the road on Verona Island was one trail. And that trail lead to the top of McCloud Mountain!

There was about enough room for me to get my car off the road and not block the gate which is to say that I had the trail all to myself. I wondered at first because the trail was a bit overgrown and unmaintained; but thankfully it got better!

It is only .7 miles to the top and as I got closer to it some stone walls came into view.

 A trip report on Peakbagger had mentioned a home site near the summit but I did not expect to find as much as I did.

There were no chimney remains. Perhaps there was no chimney? But a lot of foundations and even some steps that lead down into what was likely a cellar. I even spotted a pile of bricks and something leaned up against a tree. This far exceeded my expectations!

No view at the top; but I had fun clowning around a little before heading down.

Sadly it was time to head back and check out of our AIRBNB. But the big news of the day was no fog and blue skies for our trek to Acadia National Park. Stay tuned for part two of Day 8.

A Foggy Day in Acadia National Park Part Two

I missed the main trail and went down about a tenth of a mile to a pull out that I thought was the trailhead. I probably walked a quarter of a mile before deciding that I had missed the trail. Thus, I returned to the pull out and walked down the road a tenth of a mile to find the actual trailhead. Welcome to Day 7 Part two!

Another straight up rocky hike on this one. Had one foggy view in the distance on the way to the summit.

No view at the top but lush green pines amidst the rocky terrain made for a pleasant spot to rest and absorb Mother Nature.

Me and Puffy hanging out at 407 feet. They may not stand tall like the ones out West, but you still have to climb to get to the top!

Back to the car and a little stop at an inlet along the way.

I was going to stop at Sand Beach for some hikes, but that place was nuts. Parking lot was full and people parked in the right lane for a mile past the parking lot.

I read an article a few months ago where the author was talking about National Parks that you could visit and avoid the crowds. Acadia was at the top of the list. I’d like to smack that guy!

The Bubbles are two summits located thankfully past Jordan Pond parking lot. With bathrooms and a visitor center this place was also packed. But then again, so was the Bubbles trailhead. I got the very last parking spot. I had no other place to hike past this and the road had just changed back to two way so there was no going back!

A little more than a quarter mile is the junction to both Bubbles. The North Bubble looked a bit rougher so I decided to do that one first. I was correct in my assumption.

 The trail was predominantly rocks and rock steps most of the way to the top. Each Bubble is a .3 mile hike, but it is all climbing and mostly rock on the North Bubble.

The North Bubble sits at 872 feet and on a clear day you might have some views. That day was not today!

Back down to the junction to begin the climb up to the South Bubble.

Somewhat less rocky until you get toward the top. On a clear day you would likely have some great views on the 736 foot summit.

Walking out on Bubble rock there are lots of places that probably have views; but not today. Still, I hiked to several summits and thankfully did not get rained on. That was surprising given all the fog.

I was really thankful that Shelly stayed back and we would have a shot at hopefully better weather tomorrow. She had a great day hanging out at our beautiful AIRBNB watching deer and just chillin’ while the old man did his thing climbing up mountains!