Wayland - Hike the Eskers - January15, 2025

 HIKE REPORT

Wednesday, 15 January 2025, Wayland - Hike the Eskers
Hike Leader:  Betty Salzberg
4 miles, 10:00 am start from Wayland, MA

Hikers (11): Betty, Barry Kaditz, Frank Calabrese, Jim Whinfield, Jonathan Kannair, Marc Baskin, Margie Lee, Marie Keutmann, Richard Vignoni, Susan Broome, and William Feiring.

We started our hike at the access road near 30 Grove Street in Wayland which leads to the hosta farm and then along the Sudbury River.  The access road intersects Old Oxbow Road which is a town road that is not
paved, and continues along the river until it meets Oxbow Road which
is paved.

From Oxbow Road we went into Trout Brook Conservation area and walked
along the esker, looking down at the marshes along Trout Brook and a
few large kettleholes.  Then we crossed Sherman’s Bridge Road and went
along Alpine Road to Alpine Field and the entrance to Castle Hill
Conservation area.  After crossing Hazel Brook which flows out of
Schoolhouse Pond at a large beaver dam, we continued walking on more
eskers looking down at the pond.  We then retraced our steps, making a
detour along the old horse track used by the Minuteman to get to
Concord and the North Bridge in the start of the Revolutionary War.
Back at Trout Brook, the leader made a wrong turn and we got down into
the marshes, but not where there was any trail.  Climbing back out, we
made it back to our cars and about eight of us had lunch at Verrill Farm
in Concord.

Report by Betty Salzberg.

Adams & Wright Woods winter hike - January 8 , 2025

 HIKE REPORT

Wednesday, 8 January 2025, Adams & Wright Woods winter hike

Hike Leaders:  Marie Keutmann & Barbara Jacobs

 ~5.5 miles, 10:00 am start from Lincoln, MA

Hikers(16):  Marie and Barbara, Annemarie Altman, Barbara Martin, Betty Salzberg, Clyde Kessel, Greg Stathis, Jack Mroczkowski, Janet Miller, Jim Whinfield, John Trotter, Marc Baskin, Phyllis Evan, Steve Hoffenberg, Ted Nyder, and first-timer Rena Sokolow.

Sixteen hikers met at Red Rail Farm in Lincoln in sunny, but cold and blustery, conditions.   The hikers set out through the woods along the many ups and downs of the kettle holes left behind by glacial activity.  We walked around a bicycle race track, or velodrome, that is the sole visible remains of a mid to late 1800’s fairground which people reached by steam locomotive on the Fitchburg line.  At the velodrome, I gave a brief talk about the history of the fairgrounds (see link below) before we walked around the perimeter of the track.  We climbed a steep trail to the top of Fairhaven Hill, where Jack gave a brief talk about the large estate with Buddha statues and an ice rink at the summit.  We then worked our way over to a route along the Sudbury River with great views of the river and Fairhaven Bay.  From there it was back into the woods and back to our cars.  The crisp temps and bright skies made for a great day of hiking.

Thanks to Barbara Jacobs for helping me navigate the route and to Betty Salzberg for sweeping.

Approximately twelve people had post-ride lunch in the greenhouse at Verrill Farm.

Report by Marie Keutmann.

Additional Information on Racetrack and Fairgrounds

The bicycle race track was part of the fairgrounds from the late 1800's.  The track is about 500 ft in circumference and has a pronounced bank on one end.  In its heyday, the fairground included a dance hall, a restaurant, a baseball field, a race track, and amusements.  On weekends, people flocked by the thousands to “Lake Walden” on the Fitchburg train line to go boating, swimming, and to use the fairgrounds.  The fairgrounds were built by the owners of the railroad to encourage ridership.  There were several fires over the years, likely due to sparks from the steam locomotives, so in the early 1900's it ceased to exist.  Today, the only visible remains are the race track and cleared ground between the trees.

Click on the link below and view Exhibition Images 5 to 8 which show the entrance gate to “Walden,” the picnic grounds and the amusement park buildings:

Online Exhibition of Walden Pond images

Information on Wright woods where we hiked

Two Famous Swing-Era Ballrooms, plus lots more! - December 18, 2024

 HIKE REPORT

Wednesday, 18 December 2024,, Two Famous Swing-Era Ballrooms, plus lots more!

Hike Leaders:  Zach Woods & Judy Perrin

5.8 miles (~4 hours including lunch), 10:00 am start from Auburndale, MA

Hikers (21):  Judy, Zach, Aiko Pinkoski, Barbara Jacobs, David Goldberg, David Wean, Gerry Sheetoo, Jim Whinfield, Joanne Samuels, Kristina Leclaire, Marc Webb, Marie Keutmann, Mike Hanauer, Patrick Ward, Phyllis Evan, Renee Rees, Steven Venizelos, Susan Amsel, Susan Sabin, Ted Nyder, and Todd Palmer.

 

The weather was almost too warm and sunny, but our large group enjoyed exploring along the Charles River starting in Auburndale, moving east to Waltham, and then crossing the river to head back west to Weston and, eventually, east into Auburndale.  Along with enjoying the scenery and chatting along the way, we stopped to talk about recreation, industry, and history.

 

At about the halfway point, lunch was enjoyed at the South Street Cafe in Waltham.  There were some good laughs along the way as we passed by the Norumbega Tower that was built in an effort to reinforce the inaccurate claim that Vikings had settled along the Charles River in the early 1000s, and as we passed the Boston Marriott which is no longer owned by Marriott and is located in Auburndale, not Boston.

 

There was also a lot of interest in the life and significant first in history achievements of early woman architect, Ida Annah Ryan.  We even discovered, as we walked by different locations, that folks among our number were famously connected to those locations as follows:  one plays Pickleball at The Cove; one attended a college visible along the way; one grew up in a neighborhood we passed; another’s childhood home was visible across the Charles River from our route; one member of the group had attended their high school prom in the Totem Pole Ballroom in Norumbega Park (before it burned down)!

 

Report by Zach Woods.

 

Photos:

     The group admiring the Norumbega Tower and the view from the top of the Tower (photos by David Wean).

     View of the Waltham Watch Factory across the Charles River from the Mt. Feake Cemetery (photo by Kristina Leclaire).

Hike from Twin Pond to Pigeon Hill Folly Ruin and Back - December 4. 2024

 HIKE REPORT

Wednesday, 4 December 2024, Hike from Twin Pond to Pigeon Hill Folly Ruin and Back

Hike Leaders:  Zach Woods & Judy Perrin

5.5 miles (~2.75 hours), 10:00 am start from Lincoln, MA

Hikers (15):  Judy, Zach, Aiko Pinkoski, Annemarie Altman, Betsy Kimball, Betty Salzberg, David Goldberg, David Wean, Jim Whinfield, Kristina Leclaire, Marie Keutmann, Melissa Norton, Renee Rees, Steven Venizelos, and Susan Sabin.

Present at lunch:  Frank Aronson.

Cold but sunny weather made for a great hike with little to no wind and temperatures starting just below freezing and finishing up at nearly forty degrees.  Everyone had a great time on the walk, talking and discussing several historical sites (Garfield cellar hole, Pigeon Hill Folly, and the former site of a colonial era rope walk where hemp fibers were worked into lengths of rope) and some natural features, including a hogback ridge formed by a glacier and Pigeon Hill which was named for all the countless, now extinct, passenger pigeons that used to flock there.  We also learned about several of the Modernist houses viewable from the trail.

Six folks enjoyed lunch at Revolution Craft Food Hall in Lexington after the hike, including Frank Aronson who was not able to join us for the hike.

The attached group photo was taken at the Pigeon Hill Folly ruin.

Report by Zach Woods.

Around, about, and Along Morses Pond - November 20, 2024

 RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 20 November 2024, Around, About, and Along Morses Pond hike

Hike Leader:  Susan Sabin

~4 miles, 10:30 am start from Wellesley, MA

Hikers (15):  Susan, Aiko Pinkoski, Ann Northup, Clyde Kessel, David Goldberg, Don Mannes, Frank Aronson, Jim Whinfield, Judy Perrin, Julie Dodd, Kristina Leclaire, Marc Webb, Marie Keutmann, Mike Hanauer, and Zach Woods.

With fifteen Wednesday wheelers showing up to share a glorious autumn day, we overwhelmed the parking lot near Wellesley's CrossTown Trail, forcing several later arrivals to park on side streets nearby.  Nonetheless we began almost on time, missing only one of the registered attendees.

As promised, the area surprised several of the participants, leading one to declare, “you can be in downtown Wellesley and, at the same time, in the woods anywhere - hearing and seeing no signs of people.”  And, when we wound through the modest neighborhood that borders the south portion of the pond, another asked, somewhat incredulous,  is this still Wellesley?”

One of the highlights of the walk for me was watching a garbage truck back up along the narrow street that slithered through that neighborhood.  If there was a contest for best back-up driver on narrow, winding roads, this guy could’ve won!  

We hiked for about four miles before we returned to the start.  This, as so often happens, was a great group of strong people, one of whom walked part way without the soles of his old hiking boots attached to the upper parts.  

Nine of us lunched at Sweet Greens in Wellesley, six of whom walked from the hike start to lunch and back, for a solid five miles total.  

Report by Susan Sabin.

Spring [sic] Butterfly Ride - November 6, 2024

 RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 6 November 2024, Spring [sic] Butterfly Ride

Ride Leader:  Clyde Kessel

30 miles, 10:00 am start from Carlisle, MA

Clyde, Dave Balaban, David Goldberg, Ed Hill, Frank Aronson, Gary Williams, Keren Hamel, Marc Webb, Marie Keutmann, Todd Palmer, Tom Allen, Wing Chow, and first-timers Barry Slosberg and Steve Hoffenberg.

Yet again, we had fantastic weather for cycling.  One of these days, winter will arrive and we will realize how spoiled we have been this fall.

The rider leader (who rides a recumbent) was happy to see another rider in the group on a recumbent.

By 10:05, we were all briefed and safetied and the human arrow system was explained to the new guy on the block.  We were missing Barry who had registered but hadn’t arrived.

We headed out of the parking lot and on the way out, Barry drove in.  Frank knew that Barry didn’t have navigation equipment, so Frank kindly stayed behind to help him out.  The rest of us proceeded on our merry way.  The group never got very spread out because we had lots of regrouping stops.

On the return, just before the climb up Scribner Road, there was a construction crew replacing a culvert.  We asked if we could walk through on the side of the road and the police officer kindly escorted us.  A few weeks ago, on a different WW ride in an identical situation in Harvard, the police officer refused and sent us off on a long detour on a busy road.  It’s kind of like calling medicare - sometimes you get a good person and sometimes you don’t.

Four of us stayed for lunch at Chelmsford Pizza.  After lunch, as we got back on our bikes for the one mile ride to our cars, Frank and Barry showed up - they had finally caught up to us.  For a couple of minutes, we had perfect attendance . . . . .

Thanks go to all the arrows and, especially, to Tom for sweeping.

Report by Clyde Kessel.

Apple Pi (short) Ride - October 30, 2024

 RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 30 October 2024, Apple Pi (short) Ride

Ride Leader:  Simon Lingard
~37 miles, 10:00 am start from Bedford, MA

Riders (9):  Simon, Betsy Kimball, David Goldberg, Ed Hill, Frank Calabrese, Frank Scibilia, Marc Webb, Martin Hemler, and first-timer Todd Palmer.

The VA carpark was huge and mostly full, so the ride leader arrived early to direct riders to an area where there were enough parking spaces.  The roads were wet after overnight rain, a fact we discussed during the safety talk.  

About ten miles in, Frank C's vintage bike made a pop sound, and the rear wheel skidded to a stop.  A bulge in the tire had forced the rim to bend jamming the brakes.   After releasing the rear brake caliper Frank was able to slowly cycle to the nearest bike shop, while the remaining eight riders continued.

In Westford, the ride leader had a little difficulty finding the Dunkin’ Donuts rest stop location - it required the group to cross a busy four-lane road.  After the break, which was slightly off-route, Frank S. and Ed helped the ride leader find the route, somewhat limiting his embarrassment.

We did not use human arrows, but Ed graciously swept and let the ride leader know when we needed a re-group.  And, the sun came out, the roads dried out, and we all returned together!

Report by Simon Lingard.