Roller Coaster Hike - March 2, 2022

 HIKE REPORT

Wednesday, 2 March 2022, Roller Coaster Hike

Hike Leader:  Jack Mroczkowski

3.7 miles, 10:00 am start from Concord, MA

Hikers (9):  Jack, Bob and Carol Anderson, Clyde Kessel, David Wean, Marie Keutmann, Richard Vignoni, Rochelle Holman, and Ron Beland.

For most of the attendees, this was a first time visit to the area.  That factor, together with the interesting nature of the terrain, made for a particularly enjoyable experience.  We had pretty much everything that makes a hike interesting:  ponds, trees, meadows, twists and turns, the Concord River with lots of Canada geese, several small hills, and a nice day.  The hike was measured by someone to be 3.7 miles long, but in the well-packed snow it seemed more equivalent to a six mile hike.

There was one strange accident near the end of hike (the victim agreed to be named). The shoe lace loop from one of Marie's boots got caught on the lace hooks of the other boot. The sudden constraint on foot movement resulted in a violent crash to the ground!  This was sufficient to set off her Apple 7 watch alarm messaging "Do you need help?", together with a watch vibration.  Marie quickly declined help (she was not injured), but if she had ignored these messages (perhaps from being unconscious), a 911 alert with our location would have been sent out - and we would have been met by a police car and ambulance at the trailhead parking lot!

Report by Jack Mroczkowski.

Photo courtesy of David Wean.