I found myself with an extra 20$ and a full day to myself on this past Good Friday, so I decided to tackle some of the “lesser” high points in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Originally I had hoped to get up to Maine, but decided to save that for another trip. So, after dragging myself out of bed two hours later than I intended, I drove up to Andover, MA, to the Essex county highpoint.
Essex County, MA: Holt Hill, 420 feet.
At the time of the ascent, Holt Hill was the lowest high point which I had climbed. I arrived on site at 11:55, parked at the Ward Reservation parking lot on Prospect road, and walked past the private homes to the trailhead. I thought I would do a quick ascent, but ended up on the Rachel loop trail instead. This extended my hike time by 5 minutes or so, but it was a pleasant side-trip around a smaller hill and through a small wooded area. Looking left from one point on the trail, the view across the hill looked remarkably like a classic Windows desktop. In the end I was glad that I took this trail rather than the shorter summit trail, since the Rachel loop took me past some interesting ruins as it climbed Holt Hill.
The summit of Holt Hill is home to a nice view to the south, with Boston visible in the distance. On the summit itself are a series of solstice stones, a tower, and two large reservoirs. I sighted the ground and determined that the highest elevation was next to the first reservoir, but this was clearly artificial. I Lobdellized around the solstice stones and tower, and in the process found the BM. This may or may not be on the highest ground, so I recommend gridding a bit to make sure. All in all, this was a nice short hike with a pleasant summit and good view. Much more rewarding than either of my last two highpoints in Rhode Island, even though they were higher. I returned to my car via the shorter summit trail, passing a Death Star-like reservoir hidden in the trees north of the trail.
Once back at my car, I read the reservation signboard and took an interest in the bog, which is southwest of the hill and accessible by skirting the boundary of the private property next to the lot. A sign indicates the direction to the bog, so walking this way appears to be OK. The bog itself was interesting; a narrow boardwalk winding perhaps .25 miles, if that, through a bog and out to a quiet pond. I saw a snake and disturbed a pair of ducks along the way. The air definitely smelled like a bog. On my way back I passed several other hikers, and returned to my car at 12:45. 15 minutes to hike the hill, and 30 minutes to wander the bog. I then set my GPS for Suffolk County.
Suffolk County, MA: Bellevue Hill, 330 feet.
It took nearly an hour to locate this point, mostly due to congestion in Boston. I have heard rumors that the transit authority in Boston is planning to cut service substantially, and I would hate to see traffic on this route during rush hour with mass transit cut. The hill itself turned out to be pretty anti-climactic, a short walk up a driveway to a pair of large reservoirs at the summit. The highest ground appeared to be between a tree and a metal pole, directly in front of my as I walked up the drive. Some workers were chatting in their trucks next to the spot, and I felt very self-conscious wandering around up there. I didn’t stick around too long, and was back in my car after only 8 minutes. It was 1:45.
Norfolk County, MA: Great Blue Hill, 635 feet.
Great Blue Hill is only about 20 minutes from Bellevue, so I was willing to stop here first before getting some much-needed lunch. I parked at the museum lot and started to work my way up the trail. The trail eventually terminates where it meets a paved road, which I followed to the right. Eventually, the road is intersected by the Red Dot Trail, which is signed as a trail to the summit. This is true, but you can probably get to the summit faster by just following the road. The Red Dot trail took my through a Devil’s Den of rocks and boulders to a false summit with an observation tower and a few cairns strewn about. I saw higher ground, though, and followed a faint trail (little more than a game path, really) to a parking area and, beyond that, the larger Observatory at the actual summit. I reached the summit in just under 30 minutes, and determined the highest natural ground to be the rocky shelf next to the tower, directly in front of me as I approached. There was no BM or marker, so I stamped around a bit and also circled the observatory for good measure.
There were nice views to the east and west, and this would not have been a bad place to linger for a while. As it was I had an agenda to follow, and walked around for a few minutes before walking briskly back down the road to where it met the trail again. I reached my car at 2:50, for a total climb time of 45 minutes.
Interestingly, I have read reports suggesting that Great Blue Hill is the “highest point on the Eastern seaboard south of Maine.” The East Peak of Meriden Mountain in CT, at ~900 feet (I can’t remember exactly) is also sometimes given this title. I may have to do some research on this topic, but something in my heart suggests that both claims are specious.
Bristol County, MA: World War I Veteran’s Memorial Park, several knobs, ~390 feet.
I arrived at the WWI park at 3:40, after stopping for lunch across from Foxboro Stadium (or Gillette Stadium, you corporate sellouts). I was surprised to find the park heavily populated with small children and other wild animals, as their is a petting zoo on site. I parked in the lot right next to the zoo, drawn to the lure of animals. For some reason, I never lost that childish fascination with petting zoos, and took many pictures of the animals as I walked toward high ground. Actually, the highest lot can be found by following the road past the petting zoo and parking at the base of the observation tower. Here, there are three obvious candidates for the highest ground: a large rocky contour directly next to the lot, another rocky rise behind the observation tower, and a picnic area to the southwest. A fourth “invisible contour” is also supposed to exist, but is apparently lower than the other three.
Now personally, I’m no fan of small children and even less of a fan of their over-protective, paranoid parents. I felt very uncomfortable wandering around trying to find the high ground, enduring the stares of bewildered onlookers as I hopped from one rise to another, attempting primitive hand-levelings and snapping pictures as I went. I determined, and later confirmed based on concensus, that the rise behind the observation tower is higher than either the picnic area or the rocks next to the lot. I recommend visiting them all to be sure, and doing so should only take a few minutes anyway. I was back at my car by 4:00, and antsy about getting to Newport.
Newport County, RI: Pocasset Hill, 302 feet
I hopped on the highway and headed toward Pocasset Hill, which is the highpoint in Newport County, Rhode Island. A traffic jam along the way slowed me down, and it started to rain, so I was having doubts about being able to do Bristol County, RI, as well. I eventually reached Pocasset Hill road at 5:00, and parked in the turnabout at the highest point on the road. It was immediately obvious that high ground was not directly in front of the reservoir, but next to the road off a short path into the woods. Here a rocky outcropping and scattered boulders presented several possible highpoints, so I stepped on all of them. I also located a BM, although this was not on the high ground. I got back in my car five minutes later and assessed my situation. It was 5:05, and I still had plenty of light. The rain had also abated, so I decided to go for it and finish Rhode Island.
Bristol County, RI: Mount Hope, 221 feet.
I arrived at Tower street at around 5:15, after a terrifying drive over the most frightening bridge I’ve ever seen; the narrow, high, two-lane (!) Mt. Hope Bridge. The sign at the turn said that the Museum’s galleries were closed, which didn’t bode well. I continued to drive and figured on scouting the area, and found it heavily posted. It was also apparent that the road which was noted in some reports was private, and possibly owned by someone other than the Museum. Past that intersection the road was signed as private museum property, and I grew increasingly nervous. However, at worst I could plead the “I was lost” defense, and in a sense it would be true. I parked at the gated jeep trail and sat in my car for several minutes, going over my options.
Finally, I decided that I had come too far to turn back. I sprinted around the gate, up the road to the second fence and crawled through the hole, listening as I went for the sound of vehicles. Once the road ended, I followed game trails through several thickets and thorn plants until I reached a rocky area which appeared to be high ground. After Lobdellizing and fist-pumping over my victory, I descended back to my car, cautiously. From a distance I thought I saw another car and freaked out, thinking that I was caught! But it turned out to be my own car, sitting there unmolested. I climbed in, caught my breath, and the booked it out of there.
The history of Mt. Hope is kind of interesting. It seems that Metacom, or King Phillip, maintained his war council there during King Phillip’s War, and was actually killed on the mountain. In actuality, Metacom was a fairly cosmopolitan individual who purchased his clothes in Boston, rejected Christianity because he believed it would impede his ability to govern, and who resisted the encroachement of colonists and other native tribes. The Metacomet Ridge, which bisects Connecticut, is named after this “Osama Bin Laden” of the colonial era. But one wonders: 400 years from now, how strange would it be if we named landforms after Osama?
The total time for the ascent and descent of Mount Hope was 15 minutes, with no views, cairn, or BM. But this completed the wholly uninteresting state of Rhode Island, where my highpointing journey began.
That makes 25 CoHPs, including 3 SHiPs. I’ve ascended 12 CoHPs this year (in the last four weeks, really) which already matches my total from last year.
On an interesting side note, I stopped by Gates Hill for the third time, with the intention of wandering around and chilling in the graveyard. I arrived to find that the wooded area behind the graveyard has been cleared of trees for about fifty feet, making determination of the high ground easier. Several candidates, including the ground around the stone wall between the towers, and another rise and boulder next to the northwest tower, are more easily seen and compared now.