Whipple Hill and Arlington Great Meadows winter hike - February 5, 2025

 HIKE REPORT 

Wednesday, 5 February 2025, Whipple Hill and Arlington Great Meadows winter hike
Hike Leader:  Tom Allen

5 miles, 10:00 am start from Lexington, MA

Hikers (9):  Tom, Barbara Jacobs, Jack Mroczkowski, Janet Miller, Marc Baskin, Marie Keutmann, Marlene Heroux, Ted Nyder, and William Feiring.

 

Nine of us met at the bright, but chilly, parking area in Lexington with traction spikes at the ready.  I advised that folks wouldn't need them until further along, as we had some paved walking to do.  However, the combination of snow, thaw, and freeze in the prior couple of days made all path walking pretty much just ice.

 

We started down a small hidden path to the Arlington Reservoir (aka "the Rez"), proceeding very gingerly.  Upon reaching the Rez path we encountered a very conveniently located bench where we all sat and installed our various traction aids.

 

Proceeding around the reservoir and along a couple of short street blocks, we arrived at the Whipple Hill trailhead.  One of our participants decided that her spikes were not up to the icy conditions and opted to return to the start, taking a street route that could give her a good walk without footing challenges.  The rest of us proceeded along the trail despite the dodgy surface conditions.  It was quiet and serene with only a couple of dog walkers encountered.  Quiet except for the crunching of spikes on ice.  

At one point the leader lost the intended track and we took a steeper. but shorter, route to the summit of Whipple Hill.  We could see Mt. Wachusett and some unidentified water towers in the distance.

 

Descending via a different trail, we left the Whipple Hill Conservation Area and proceeded along streets to the entrance to Arlington Great Meadows to enjoy more icy trails, but with less climbing.  The Great Meadows trails took us to the Minuteman Bikeway, not far from our starting point.  The bikeway was plowed, so with the aid of another conveniently placed bench, we were finally able to shed our traction devices.

 

Eight hikers convened for soup, salad and sandwiches at the Great Harvest Bread Company.

 

Report by Tom Allen.