Wayland - Hike the Eskers - March 13, 2024

 HIKE REPORT

 

Wednesday, 13 March 2024, Wayland - Hike the Eskers
Hike Leader: Betty Salzberg

~4.5 miles, 10:00 am start from Wayland, MA

Hikers (15) Betty, Barbara Jacobs, Barbara Pike, Ellen Harvey, Ernie Glickman, George Stromberg, Kristina Leclaire, Lynell Stromberg, Marie Keutmann, Melissa Norton, Mike Hanauer, Patrick Ward, Susan Broome, Susan Sabin, and Ted Nyder.

It was a warm and sunny day.  We walked past the large hosta farm where all the potted plants were under white wraps, which made it look like snow from a distance.  We then passed a large house under
construction and walked parallel to the Sudbury River which we could see in the distance.  The Sudbury River is overflowing now and there was more water to look at than usual.

Then we crossed Trout Brook on Oxbow Road and went onto a path (on private land) which is used by many neighbors to get to the Trout Brook Conservation Area.  We immediately climbed onto a high esker with views over a large marsh.  As we hiked along the esker, we saw a couple of impressive kettleholes before descending to cross Sherman's Bridge Road on our way to the next esker in the Castle Hill Conservation Area.

 

After another ascent, we looked down at Schoolhouse Pond.  Hazel Brook feeds Schoolhouse Pond then goes over a dam and under a footbridge before reaching the Sudbury River.  We could not see the river when we were in Castle Hill, but the pond was large and
beautiful.

We then walked back on a different path on the Trout Brook esker.  We also hiked around a peninsula which was surrounded by reeds, before exiting Trout Brook.

We met for post-hike lunch at Verrill Farm in Concord.  Some excitement occurred when a bottle of Verrill’s root beer was mistakenly thought to be a real beer.

Here is a link to the route which was provided by Mike:   https://ridewithgps.com/trips/154326120:

 

Report by Betty Salzberg.