HIKE REPORT
Wednesday, 11 January 2022, Hike October Farm and Brewster Woods
Hike Leaders: Mike Hanauer (& Jack Mroczkowski)
4.2 miles, 10:00 am start from Concord, MA
Hikers (28): Mike, Barbara Jacobs, Barbara Martin, Betty Salzberg, David Kaiser, Don Mannes, Ed Hill, Everett Briggs, Francie Sparks, Janet Miller, Judy Perrin, Margie Lee, Marie Keutmann, Marlene Heroux, Mel Prenovitz, Melissa Norton, Merle Adelman, Patrick Ward, Richard Vignoni, Romaine Randall, Susan Broome, Susan Sabin, Ted Nyder, Tony Lee, William Feiring, first-timers Bill Cohen, Maureen Febiger, and Phyllis Evan.
Present at hike start: Jack Mroczkowski.
I was supposed to co-lead this hike, but, since Jack had come down with a bad cold, I became the leader.
It was quite a large group (perhaps the largest since the start of Covid), but we managed, with Jack’s help, to accommodate all of the cars in the limited available space. The air was crisp at about 25 degrees, with a light breeze, even in the woods. The skies were totally blue - about the same color as Janet's ski parka.
Virtually all trails had water-views, either of the Concord River or of the wet areas around it which are often hard to distinguish from the river. We first took in Brewster's Woods, now owned by Mass Audubon, a beautiful sight with an amazing estate which could be a primo party house some day. There were fields, woods, barns, outhouses, and inspirational sculptures, as well.
Then, we continued to October Farm, owned by the Town of Concord, with still more water views, some from on low and some from on high (meaning hills). We skipped the climb up Ball’s Hill and saw Brewster’s cabins (stone foundation remains) and an amazing canoe storage cave. We then climbed Dakins Hill, followed by the two knolls of Holden Hill. While a few fields had a bit of snow and ice, all areas in the woods were bare ground, often covered with leaves. I heard of no slipping or mishaps (and no reports of slipped chains or flat tires).
At this point the leader became disoriented (as you can see from the route we took), but the lights went back on with help from Richard, Everett, and Barbara. We did get to see, twice, one of the biggest and ugliest homes in Concord (IMHO), as we came down from Holden Hill.
Thanks to Janet for sweeping.
It was good to see Everett with apparently all faculties intact after a serious cycling accident a bit ago.
Eight lucky people had a good, post-hike lunch at "Nosh" (formerly Trails End Cafe).
Jack - get well soon and thanks for organizing/creating this winter hike and, additionally, for acting as “parking attendant.”
My RideWithGps route: https://ridewithgps.com/
Both properties we hiked were owned by William Brewster (July 5, 1851 – July 11, 1919) who was an American ornithologist. He co-founded the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and was an early naturalist and conservationist. Brewster served as the first president of Mass Audubon from 1896–1913. See https://en.
More on Brewster's Woods at https://www.massaudubon.
More on October Farm at https://www.concordma.gov/
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