Mt. Wachusett via Harrington & Jack Frost (Mt. Wachusett State Reservation)
Distance: 5.7 miles
Elevation: 1240 feet
Time: 2 hours, 34 minutes
Hiking Challenges: 52 Hike Challenge; Wachusett Mountain Redliner
Hike #2 of the Wachusett Mountain Redliner challenge! I loved my first hike up and was super excited to get up again. Something different about this hike was that I went after school on a Wednesday. Probably got started around 4:30 and finished around 7:00pm. Once I finish this challenge, I definitely see a sunset hike in my future. Just over an hour drive home, which really isn't that bad. The creator of the challenge patch curated four hikes that cover all the trails in the reservation, so that was my guidance for this one!
My hike started at the parking by Stage Coach Road. I wasn't alone due to other after-work hikers and many, many bugs (thankfully this was the last time I would see most people and bugs!). Stage Coach Road is an access road to the wind farm so it's a steady incline and wide wooded road. At the top of the wind farm there's room for wandering, but I headed right into the Stage Coach Trail. The map provided on Facebook has a "bushwhack" cutting across the wind farm, but I decided to hike the whole Stage Coach Trail to Harrington. I wrote bushwhack in quotes because there were a couple clearly defined herd paths cutting through the wind farm.
Once on the Harrington Trail, I headed away from the mountain to hike the short windmill footpath, which was poorly defined and seldom used, and to hike the Dickens Trail. The Dickens Trail was muddy and buggy but very scenic. At one point it crosses a view of a beautiful meadow/bog/swamp/whatever it's called, and at the height of land the trail technically ends and turns into the Mass Audubon property. I turned around at that point, took a few photos of the signs, and made my way back to the Harrington/Stage Coach junction.
I continued on the relatively featureless, yet still scenic Harrington Trail until it crossed West Road, which I followed towards Administration Road, and ultimately the Jack Frost Trail, which might be my new favorite trail. It starts through dense rhododendron which were probably a week or so away from blooming, then meanders through a hardwood forest, then climbs steeply, then wanders through a grassy pitch, and then a pine forest to round things out. I never got bored! Also, the Jack Frost Trail is blazed in blue with little white paw prints, which is just a plus.
At the terminus, I joined the Mountain House Trail for my final push to the top. This was the first and last time I would see people on this hike, which I was not upset about. The summit is nice once you get past the heavy infrastructure. The views are lovely and it's spacious enough to not be too crowded (as long as the auto road is closed). I contemplated staying for sunset, but I had two more new trails to hit and it was a school night - another time!
The return trip started off quickly - Mountain House back to Jack Frost. Just before the steep section of Jack Frost there is a junction for the High Meadow Trail, which I took. High Meadow and Jack Frost are very similar trails in terms of difficulty and terrain. The plus of Jack Frost is the rhododendron, and the perk of High Meadow is its namesake high meadow! I was so happy to see a bench and a lovely view - highly recommend going this way.
After the overlook, the High Meadow Trail leads to Echo Lake, Echo Lake Road, and eventually the Echo Lake Trail, which was relatively featureless, but it brought me back to the car! It was another great day on Wachusett and I'm excited to go for my (possibly) final hike of the redline challenge soon!
- Park at Stage Coach Rd. Parking.
- Walk up Stage Coach Road.
- At clearing, veer right to continue onto Stage Coach Trail.
- At terminus, turn left onto red-blazed Harrington Trail (aka Midstate Trail)
- At unmarked junction, turn left onto footpath to the Windmill Farm (faint blue triangles and footpath unclear at times).
- Turn around, return to Harrington Trail, turn left to continue on Harrington Trail.
- Cross Westminster Road and enter Dickens Trail (aka Midstate Trail).
- At approximately the height of land, turn around at the entrance to the Mass Audubon Wachusett Meadow Sanctuary (clearly marked).
- Retrace steps across Dickens Trail and Harrington Trail to original junction with Stage Coach Trail.
- Continue on Harrington Trail to West Rd.
- Turn right onto West Rd. and follow.
- Veer right onto Administration Rd.
- Turn left onto blue-rectangle-with-white-pawprint-plazed Jack Frost Trail (appears to be Lower Link Trail on the map, but clearly marked as Jack Frost Trail in person).
- Follow Jack Frost Trail until it's terminus at the Mountain House Trail.
- Turn left onto Mountain House Trail and follow to summit.
- After enjoying the views, return to the Mountain House Trail and then the Jack Frost Trail.
- At junction, turn left onto the High Meadow Trail.
- Follow High Meadow Trail until it's terminus at Echo Lake.
- Continue on Echo Lake Road and then turn left onto Echo Lake Trail.
- Follow blue-blazed Echo Lake Trail back to the parking lot.
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