Chickatawbut Hill & Eastern Trails (Blue Hills Reservation)

Chickatawbut Hill & Eastern Trails (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Loopty Loop
Distance: 8.76 miles
Elevation: 1,093 feet
Time: 3 hours, 9 minutes
Hiking Challenges: Blue Hills 125-Mile Challenge (2x)

The Hike

This hike is brought to you by a disgusting, homophobic, transphobic email by a parent that I led me to either 1) exercizing the rage away or 2) taking up a new career path similar to Beatrix Kiddo. Thankfully, it worked! I had a handful of trails to wrap up the Chickatawbut Hill area, and I thought I finihsed after this one, only to find I missed about 50 feet near the tower, which is OKAY. ITS OKAY. This didn't help my rage, but it's okay. 

Anyway, I made my way to the Blue Hills Reservoir to start my hike by following the path around. I was greeted by a few barn swallows, with their beautiful blue/orange plumage, gathering twigs for their nests, and a Great Carmorant, which was fun to see! The carmorant had its wings wide while swimming around, and I was glad I finally started bringing my zoom lens. The penninsula was getting very overgrown, but was still passable. 

After I finished my loop, it was time to dip into the woods. First mission: Ridge Path to Squamaug Notch Path to Endicott Path. The flagging along the Endicott Path has truly saved the day - there is a solid footbed how and its significantly clearer than it has been. The trip up Nahanton Hill was nice - I realized I have only ever gone this way on the Skyline Trail once or twice, so it was a nice change of pace. I wiggled around the Stowe Path, and then descended via the slide notch path, which had a lovely stream following the drainage off to the side. 

Once down on the Braintree Pass Path I looped around all the way to the Stokes Foot Path, which I'm still a big fan of! Less-trodden and more rugged than usual - it's fun! I followed Stokes to its terminus up on the Skyline Trail just below Chickatawbut Hill, and then did a Traverse from Chickatawbut Hill to Chickatawbut Road, which is truly a lovely stretch! Nothing too challenging, and plenty of nice views. There are some lovely green patches growing in through last season's burn in the Fenno Hill area. I particularly enjoy the view from the final broken hill - it's like a last hurrah! The view itself isn't spectacular, but its just a nice spot after a fun scramble.

Once I hit Chickatawbut Road, I follwed the unmapped Pocapawmet Path to Wampatuck Road and then a LOT of wiggling to hit all the trails in this area. There was a very fragrant unfamiliar smell on the Curve Path, and when I made my way to the Romari Path I realized that it was from the industrial area and it was actually fumes. I really dislike this area, one for the fumes, but also now close it gets to the industrial area (I believe "Consildated Precision Products" - from Google Maps).

"Consolidated Precision Products (CPP) manufactures highly complex components for the commercial aerospace market including engine housings, gear boxes, front frames, shrouds, panels, fairings, blades and vanes. Consolidated Precision Products (CPP) manufactures multiple components for the defense market including engine housings, gear boxes, front frames, shrouds, panels, fairings, missile bodies and various other structural components to support munitions. Consolidated Precision Products (CPP) manufactures multiple components for the industrial gas turbine market in support of both oil exploration and power generation. Parts include vanes, blades, shrouds and diffuser casings." from https://www.cppcorp.com/. 

I realized I would be doing more miles than origianlly planned... whoops... I also ran out of water... oops! The good thing about the Blue Hills is that you're never too far from civilization, so even if I start to cramp it's not like I'm deep in a wilderness. I'm curious about the history of Wood Path - there was a bug catcher (maybe?) and a lot of stone piles - maybe this was planned to become a paved road? Not sure. 

When my wiggling was finished I hiked back up Squamaug Notch and enjoyed an early golden hour through the Canadian Wildfire smoke, which turned the sun into a dark orange orb in the sky - a really unique view. I made my way home, and got into bed just in time to wake up early the next morning!

Step-By-Step

- Park at Blue Hills Reservoir.

- Start hike around Blue Hills Reservoir clockwise.

- Back at car, turn left onto Chickatawbut Road.

- Turn left into woods at Ridge Path.

- At 3131, turn left onto Squamaug Notch Path.

- At pink flag tape, turn right onto Endicott Path.

- At 3132, turn right onto Skyline Trail.

- Follow Skyline Trail until Sassaman Notch Path, then veer right onto Sassaman Notch Path.

- At Thayer Path, turn around. 

- At next junction, hike all three forks of Stowe Path.

- Turn right onto Slide Notch Path.

- At 3073, turn right onto Braintree Pass Path.

- Before 3022, turn right onto Stokes Foot Path.

- At terminus, turn left onto Skyline Trail.

- Follow Skyline Trail to Chickatawbut Road.

- At Chickatawbut Road, turn right onto Pocapawmet Path (not on map).

- At terminus, turn left onto Wampatuck Path.

- At 3177, turn around.

- At 3153, turn left onto Curve Path.

- At 3135, turn around. 

- At 3160, turn left onto Squamaug Path.

- At 3163, turn left onto Romari Path.

- At 3174, turn right onto Wood Path.

- At road, turn around.

- At 3157, turn left onto Wampatuck Path.

- At 3152, turn left onto Bouncing Brook Path.

- At 3163, turn left onto Squamaug Notch Path.

- At 3131, turn right onto Ridge Path, return to car.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

Photo Album