Eastern Great Blue Hill Area Loop (Blue Hills Reservation)
Hike Type: Lollipop Loopty Loop w/ a Side of Spaghetti
Distance: 7.53 miles
Elevation: 1165 feet
Time: 2 hours, 57 minutes
Hiking Challenges: Blue Hills Winter Trace; Blue Hills Grid
Hiking Challenges: Blue Hills Winter Trace; Blue Hills Grid
The Hike
Back in school after yesterday's surprise snow day, which conveniently dumped no snow on Boston/the South Shore, so I headed down to the Blue Hills for another after school hike! It was 40 degrees with some intense wind gusts, but other than that the weather was okay! After missing the parking area, I popped a U-turn and parked at the Border Path trailhead on the Great Blue Hill Area side of Unquity Road. Right away I could hear how strongly the water was flowing, so I opted for my winter boots (which was a GOOD move), got suited up, puffed my inhaler, and got my journey started!
My goal was to finish up the trails I still needed on the eastern side of the Great Blue Hill Area. Right away, I knew that my choice to wear my winter boots was the right move - the Border Path was almost literally a river. I will say, the multiple streams and new cascades along the Chestnut Run were stunning and I could have happily parked a chair and sat the whole afternoon and been delighted. I guess there was a lot of rain, even if no snow from yesterday's Nor'Easter! Soon after starting the hike I noticed a granite marker ~15 feet into the woods. I don't think it's a town boundary - maybe its a park or property boundary? Not sure. There were also a few trails leading into this land. My favorite spot was an old fireplace between the trail and the Chestnut Run - very beautiful. Some of the stream were more like rapids today.
I had to keep an eye for any widowmakers due to the intense wind gusts - thankfully I only had to deal with a few sticks to the head. I passed a lovely lady walking her (leashed) dog who was DELIGHTED to see another human - apparently I was the first she'd seen all day! I was absolutely astounded at how much water there was as I made my way to Eustis Trail (which I maintain from my last time on this trail - its a lovely trail). The woods around the Eustis Trail had lots of blowdowns - curious if its from fire damage or a past storm? Or maybe its just old forest? There were traces of snow at the higher elevations, but nothing more than an inch anywhere. The sun was peeking through every now and then, which was just beautiful.
I guess we're officailly in mud season! I made the first of many little loops with the Rotch, Border, and Wolcott Paths (and one unnamed one), and then started heading up Hemenway Hill via the Hemenway Hill Path. Someone was about 40 feet ahead of me, which is usually a strong deterrent, but this hike really had no wiggle room, so I continued on. He was on the phone and had two large dogs, one of which charged at me while jumping and barking. He reassured me that "he's friendly!," which drove me crazy. When the dog kept trying to block my path and jump on me he finally hung up his phone and tried to grab the dog, which he did not succeed with. I just wish dog owners would either 1) actually train their dogs with recall or 2) keep them on a leash. Just becuase I'm not terrified of a charging dog doesn't mean that everyone isn't, and it's incredibly unresponsible to let them loose like that.
I eventually made it past the dog and power hiked up Hemenway Hill Path, which wasn't necessarily steep, but persistent, and my calves were FEELING it. Thankfully my anger fueled me. I made my way to the Skyline Trail, the summit of Hemenway Hill, and the view back toward Big Blue. The sun was starting to shine more consistently, which was well received by my cranky self. After descending Hemenway Hill I had to hike in the woods for a bit to avoid a comically flooded section of trail, and then headed toward the Houghton Path from Times Square (1441).
This next stretch of the hike was much more relaxing, and another mini-loop. I followed Houghton Path to the Half Way Path and then Raccoon Hollow Path, admired the cascades draining into Houghton Pond, thanked the powers above that I didn't need the Accord Path due to its comical flooding, and then headed back on up via the Houghton Path. Thankfully nothing was too steep, and it was all through some lovely woods.
Once back at 1143, I hopped on the Skyline Trail to hit the summit of Houghton Hill and then worked my way to the Hancock Hill Path, which was ridiculously flooded the whole time. The steep section before it crosses the Skyline Trail was a literal waterfall, and the section past the Skyline Trail had section that had to be at least 4-5 inches deep. SOMEHOW I made it through unscathed! When I wasn't trying to avoid the water, I gawked at how impressive it was that trees don't just fall more often. It was so windy!
The next part of my hike is what I called my "side of spaghetti." Not necessarily another loop, but moreso the messy network of trails around the Northeastern side of Hancock Hill. The Hancock Trail from 1201 was steep steep, but thankfully the other trails weren't too bad. I found a few granite markers that I hadn't seen before which was fun, and almost missed the spur trail to the parking area at 1203, but thankfully my intuition kicked it!
After my side of spaghetti, I had two more loops left. The first connected the Base Path, Breakneck Ledge Path, and Hemenway Hill Path, and the second connected the Base Path, Base Path Connector, and Eustis Trail. Both were fine and wet, but there was one tricky crossing downstream from the caged well over Chestnut Run. I ended up running and leaping, thankfully to success! The very final stretch of my hike was the Chestnut Run Path to close the big loop, and then along the Border Path to finish out the lollipop. I was proud of this hike because not only did it hit the trails that I still needed, it ended up being the longest mileage wise, highest elevation wise, and longest time wise of my after school hikes so far, and only my brain was tired. I'm glad I can feel myself getting stronger and growing my endurance as I long for warm weather and hiking back in the whites! I was back in the car before dark, and made it home in time to hoover up some dinner and be passed out soon after.
Step-By-Step
- Park at Border Path trailhead on Unquity Road.
- Start hike at Border Path (1214).
- At 1165, turn left onto Base Bath Connector.
- At 1166, turn right onto Eustis Trail.
- At 1140, continue onto unnamed trail.
- At 1121, turn right onto Rotch Path.
- At 1144, turn left onto Border Path.
- At 1100, turn left onto Wolcott Path.
- At 1122, turn left onto Rotch Path.
- At 1121, turn right onto unnamed trail.
- At 1140, continue right onto Hemenway Hill Path.
- At 1154, turn right onto Jeffries Trail.
- At 1150, turn left onto Skyline Trail.
- Summit Hemenway Hill & see view, turn around.
- Back at 1150, continue on Skyline Trail.
- At 1141 (Times Square), turn left onto Wolcott Path.
- At 1147, turn right onto Houghton Path.
- At 1143, turn right onto Half Way Path.
- At 1110, turn right onto Five Corners Path.
- At 1120, turn right onto Racoon Hollow Path.
- Follow Racoon Hollow Path to terminus.
- Follow trail paralleling road for a few feet, turn left onto Houghton Path.
- After 1143, turn right onto Skyline Trail.
- Summit Houghton Hill.
- When the Skyline turns right to descend Houghton Hill, continue on Houghton Hill Path.
- At terminus, turn right onto Wolcott Path.
- At 1160, turn left onto Hancock Hill Path.
- At 1201, turn right onto Hancock Trail.
- At next junction, turn left onto Pipsissewa Path.
- At next junction, turn around.
- At 1201, turn left onto Hancock Trail.
- At terminus at road, turn around.
- At 1217, turn left onto Chestnut Run Path.
- At terminus at road, turn right to follow road.
- Turn right back into woods onto Pipsissewa Path.
- At 1201, turn right onto Hancock Trail.
- At 1217, turn left onto Chestnut Run Path.
- At 1203, turn right, hike to road, turn around.
- At 1203, continue onto Base Path.
- At 1185, turn left onto Breakneck Ledge Path.
- At 1180, turn left onto Hemenway Hill Path.
- At 1203, turn sharply left onto Base Path.
- At terminus, turn left onto Eustis Trail.
- At 1166, turn left onto Base Path Connector.
- At 1191, turn left onto Chestnut Run Path.
- At 1175, turn right onto Border Path, hike to car.
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