Houghton's Pond, Angle Path, Tucker Hill, Burnt Hill Path (Blue Hills Reservation)

Houghton's Pond, Angle Path, Tucker Hill, Burnt Hill Path (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: oooo Loop

Distance: 4.85 miles

Elevation: 518 feet

Time: 1 hour, 57 minutes
Hiking Challenges: Blue Hills Winter Trace (2x); Blue Hills Grid

The Hike

February break is officially over and I'm back at the Blue Hills! It was a 45 degree, sunny, and breezy afternoon. It felt kind of warm after the past week of skiing in comically cold temperatures! There was a lot of snowmelt happening and I forgot my spikes - going to be interesting! I also realized I forgot to take a photo of the map I'm tracking my progress on, so I'm guessing what trails I still need...

Hiking in from the B lot at Houghton's Pond, the exposed grass was SUPER soft and the leftover snow and ice was super slippery. I made it halfway to the loop around the pond before turning around to grab my spikes from the car to give myself a sliver of a chance to enjoy the hike. Take-two! I successfully made it over to the visitor center area and noticed some guys out on the ice which was... brave. I briefly took my spikes off at the bathhouse but they soon went back on. I was basically experiencing every trail condition imaginable besides dry. To make things more fun, my legs were super wiggly - probably in part due to the slushy conditions and also from skiing the past 9 out of 10 days.

I eventually made it along Andover, Angle, and Bugbee Paths unscathed and then onto the red blazes, which was steeper and slushier. I was taking very small steps and really digging my spikes into any base that was left. I was thankful to actually find some solid ice when I made my way up Tucker Hill (also proud of myself for actively working on my Blue Hills Grid for this very brief moment!

On top of Tucker Hill, I followed the mysterious yellow blaze to the true summit (or my best try at it) and an overgrown view before heading down Athol Path - where I saw people! I've never seen people on this side of Tucker, so that was jarring. After crossing Tucker Hill Path, I was only the second set of prints going down the steepest stretch of Athol, but I took it slow and only faced death once or twice. There were lots of deer tracks, though! 

I then meandered my way around the Tucker Hill Path over to the Burnt Hill Path - delighted to find out that I had already summited Burnt Hill for February - yay! I followed more deer tracks as I descended on Burnt Hill Path, which had just brutal slushy trail conditions. I eventually found the family of deer right before Old Route 128, which was fun, but then the fun ended when I discovered Old Route 128 had equally, or even worse conditions than Burnt Hill Path. Hiking is a mental game!

I made my way over to the picnic area, which was a slushy ice rink, but the rest of the Houghton's Pond loop was fully frozen, which was nice I guess? Only downside was that it was frozen and covered in post-holes, so it was truly an ankle buster. Yikes! This was a surprisingly brutal hike, but as always, no regrets and I was just happy to have been outside!

Step-by-Step

- Park at Lot B at Houghton's Pond. 

- Start hike by hiking entry trails.

- Turn left to follow yellow blazes.

- Follow footpath hugging the pond, then climb stairs.

- Resume following yellow blazes. 

- At split, continue to follow red/green blazes. 

- At 2053, continue to follow green blazes. 

- At next jct., turn right/continue onto Andover Path. 

- At 2092, turn left onto Angle Path.

- At 2075, turn left onto Bugbee Path.

- At 2071, turn right onto red blazes. 

- At 2094, turn left onto Ayer Trail.

- At next jct., turn right onto Athol Path.

- At terminus, turn right onto Headquarters Path.

- At next jct., turn right onto Tucker Hill Path (green blazes). 

- At 2072, turn left onto Ayer Trail.

- At next jct., turn right onto Athol Path.

- At terminus, turn left onto red blazes. 

- At 2094, turn right onto Dark Hollow Path.

- At 2111, turn right onto Burnt Hill Path.

- At 2085, turn right onto Old Route 128.

- At gate, follow path to yellow loop around the pond.

- At the pond, turn left and follow yellow blazes back to car.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

Photo Album

Buck & Tucker Hills via Angle, Doe Hollow, Bugbee (Blue Hills Reservation)

Buck & Tucker Hills via Angle, Doe Hollow, Bugbee (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Figure 8-ish Loop

Distance: 4.63 miles

Elevation: 653 feet

Time: 1 hour, 41 minutes
Hiking Challenges: Trail Trace the Blue Hills, Blue Hills Grid

The Hike

It was a hot, hazy, humid after school hike that involved suffering through some residual chafing form yesterday's adventure around Great Blue Hill. There was a small breeze, which was nice! The goal for today was to get to Buck Hill, and everything else would be decided in the moment (I think I'm accidentally getting back into tracing... I'm glad the Blue Hills has so many options here for types of hikes (e.g., fitness, peak bagging, tracing, etc.)). 

I got started from my favorite parking lot to the paved Bugbee Path which had yellow and purple flowers in bloom (creeping buttercup and wild geranium). I took a dreadful sip of warm nuun, which is unfortunately a necessary evil this time of year, and then applied bug spray. I was hoping it would be too hot for the bugs (I was wrong). 

I continued onto the Angle Path which was getting very grassy and spotted a new type of frog - the wood frog.

"The Wood Frog looks somewhat like a much larger spring peeper, but with a dark mask and ridges running down the sides and no pattern on the back. True to its name, it lives in forests, breeding in temporary (vernal) pools. It attracts mates with a quacking call, and the female lays large masses of eggs. Find this species across Massachusetts." from Mass Audobon.

The bugs continued to be a nuissance as I continued onto the Doe Hollow Path. I began to smell "wet smoke" when nearing the Skyline Trail junction, and then saw a massive burned patch. The burned area extended who knows far from the northeast corner of the Doe Hollow/Skyline junction. There aren't any news reports on it, but I did find a Reddit thread talking about it from Saturday, April 27th. Wild that the smell is still so strong weeks after the fire happened. I just hope its natural and not vandalism (I fear it's the ladder). 

The burned area continued along Doe Hollow for a bit, gradually fading into "normal" forest. I eventually turned onto the Buck Hill Summit Trail, which is a long, gradual climb of Buck Hill, and slowly led right into the burned area again. It was eerie on the trail, but also creepily beautiful. There was a very unique gradient of black to brown to orange to green.

The burned area continued all the way to the top of Buck Hill. There was a breeze which may have saved my life and the views from this trail were still beautiful, even with the destruction. 

I crossed the Skyline Trail and continued onto the Fern Spring Foot Path which was unaffected by the burn (not including the damage from it's most recent burn a couple years ago), albeit a little grassy for my liking during tick season. I passed a trail runner who I've run into at least three times in the past couplle of months, and soon was back down low in the sea of a million bugs.

I meandered my way back along the Bugbee Path, almost exclusively, until I veered off to climb Tucker Hill. My legs were tired, but there was a breeze so I won't complain. Just over the high point of the Athol Path there was more fire damage - I wonder if this is the same fire as Buck, same fire as Hancock, or a third?

I descended along the Athol Path, through some spider webs, and then turned onto Headquarters Path to return to the car. My hip was definitely in a mood again but feeling better than yesterday - doing a less rigorous hike definitely helped!

[ADDITION FROM THE FUTURE]

Due to busy life, two chorus concerts, a trip down the shore for Nana's 90th birthday, and then getting sick from the previous events, I've taken a bit over a week off of hiking. I'm sad becuase I love hiking and I miss it, but I also think getting sick might have been my body's rude way of telling me to actually rest a bit and let my hip heal. I'm writing this on Thursday, May 30th, I won't be able to get out tomorrow, but I should make my grand re-entrance on Saturday and Sunday! I've been doing some planning and goal setting for June and the summer which I'll add to it's own post. It's almost summer!!

Step-By-Step

- Park at Park HQ/Across from police barracks.

- Turn left onto Hillside Street/Headquarters Path.

- At jct., turn left onto Bugbee Path/Skyline Trail.

- At 2070, continue straight/left to leave pavement and continue on Bugbee Path.

- At 2075, turn right onto Angle Path.

- After 2092, turn left onto Bolton Foot Path.

- At terminus, turn left onto Doe Hollow Path.

- At 2153, turn right onto Buck Hill Summit Path/NEMBA Trail.

- At terminus, cross Skyline Trail, and continue onto Fern Spring Foot Path.

- At terminus, turn right onto Bugbee Path. 

- At 2096, turn right onto Dark Hollow Path.

- At 2094, turn slightly left onto Ayer Trail.

- At next jct., turn right onto Athol Path.

- At terminus, turn left onto Headquarters Path.

- Follow Headquarters Path back to car.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

Photo Album

Houghton's Pond, Tucker Hill, Breeze Hill (Blue Hills Reservation)

Houghton's Pond, Tucker Hill, Breeze Hill (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Spaghetti w/ Loops

Distance: 6.75 miles

Elevation: 525 feet

Time: 2 hours, 17 minutes 
Hiking Challenges: 52 Hike Challenge, Blue Hills 125 Mile Club, Blue Hills Grid

The Hike

A short afternoon hike turned longer and longer for no good reason! It was a gloomy day - overcast with a chill to the air, I forgot my camera and forgot to pack water... not the best of starts. I went into this hike being flexible and just letting my body tell me how far we'll go. The main goal was to get the Houghton Pond Trails, and anything else was just a fun bonus! I spent plenty of time hiking the seemingly endless amount of paths by the Visitor Center - hitting a mile just getting to the northeast corner of the area from the parking lot, but I also had plenty of time to enjoy the budding trees and moody views. The pavillion/concession stand building is really cool - almost gives art deco vibes? It could use a fresh coat of paint, though. 

Now working my way around the pond, I couldn't help but get irritated at the ridiculous amounts of dog poop, sometimes in bags sometimes not, littering the trails. Why are dog owners so lazy?? I was able to forget my crankiness when I made it to the south side of the pond in that magnificent fairytale forest with the giant trees. There were partial views toward Houghton Hill, which looked insultingly small from this vantage point - it nearly takes my life everytime I ascend!

Finishing up the western side of the pond (or so I thought... I ended up leaving two trails orphaned by accident...) I took in the view of Big Blue and reminded myself it's okay to feel cranky - because I was. Hiking all these small trails started to feel like a chore, but that's okay. There were lots of birds, which helped! After 2.7 miles I finally made my way to Old 128 (that could also be why it felt like a chore... I'm used to Houghton's being a quick loop hike, not a slow process) and couldn't help but wonder why they only removed pavement for a small portion of the road? Maybe that was to firmly say "don't drive here anymore"? A mystery!

I did notice that the plantlife is starting to slowly become more green, which helped get some energy and will to live back into me. The Angle Path was lovely with its low grassy floor. I missed hearing the peepers, but it might be past their prime. I circled the north side of Tucker Hill, climbed up via the Skyline, hit the summit off the herd path, and then steeply descended down the north side, where it started to sprinkle.

Thankfully the precipitation didn't last long, and I somehow had the willpower to continue on and hit the last few trails I needed (not realizing I orphaned another trail - the short spur connecting the Tucker Hill Path with Headquarters Path... whoops...), turning back into the woods at the Bugbee Path - with an open gate! It looks like some potholes may have been filled in? Not sure. There was a nice, easy herd path to the top of Breeze Hill from the road/trail, and then followed the pavement further around to hit the Paddock Trail and the trail connecting the parking area to the picnic area. This was definitely a cranky, mopey hike, but to no one's surpirse, I'm glad I did it! Even if I did miss a few trails...

Step-By-Step

- Park at Houghton's Pond parking area. 

- Hike network of trails between the bathhouse, visitor center, and snack pavillion.

- Hike sidewalk-trail along Hillside St.

- Turn left at terminus and left again to hike Nursey Trail.

- At yellow loop, turn left to hike trail previously missed, turn around

- Hike network of trails near Nursery Trail.

- Continue on yellow loop, hiking the three spur trails on the south side.

- At 5-way intersection between athletic fields and green loop, hike to 2053, backtrack, and then take the southeast fork to Old 128.

- Turn left onto Old Route 128.

- At 2085, turn left onto Burnt Hill Path.

- At 2092, turn left onto Angle Path.

- At 2075, turn right onto Bugbee Path.

- At 2096, turn left onto Dark Hollow Path.

- At 2112, turn left onto Quincy Path.

- Merge onto Headquarters Path.

- At next jct., turn left onto Tucker Hill Path.

- At 2072, turn left onto Ayer Trail.

- At next jct., turn left onto Skyline Trail.

- At next jct., turn left onto Athol Path (use herd paths to summit Tucker Hill).

- At terminus, turn left onto Headquarters Path.

- At second crosswalk, turn left onto Bugbee Path.

- Use herd path to summit Breeze Hill.

- At 2070, continue on pavement onto Tucker Hill Path.

- After 2053, turn right onto Paddock Trail.

- At pavement, turn left.

- Walk through picnic area and follow trail back to parking area.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

Photo Album

Tucker Hill, Old 128, Buck Hill Path (Blue Hills Reservation)

Tucker Hill, Old 128, Buck Hill Path (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Loop

Distance: 5.69 miles

Elevation: 1335 feet

Time: 2 hours, 8 minutes
Hiking Challenges: Blue Hills Winter Trace; Blue Hills Grid

The Hike

First hike of the spring! I had an ambitious plan for the day, resulting in a final sunset for my Sunset Six Challenge, but my brain and the sky had different plans - regardless, I parked at the Buck Hill Path trailhead and got right to it! My hike started along the Headquarters and then Quincy Path, which were comically soaked with spring runoff. I could not have been more grateful for the NEMBA bridge to save the day! There were moments where I was sure I was going to be walking out of the woods with soaked feet. I made my way to the Athol Path, which like always was steep but lovely. Lots of blowdowns in the upper area, some over the trail, and most in the woods. Curious why - weather, disease, fire, something else? This is where I also had to shed my sweatshirt - first t-shirt and shorts hike of 2023!

After crossing Tucker Hill and trying to figure out which rock was the highet point, the rest of Athol Path was steep and looks seldom used. I then meandered over the Dover Trail, which is thin but lovely, and eventually made my way down the Ayer Trail to the Dark Hollow Path where I heard my FAVORITE sound - frogs! It's officially frog season! Specifically, peepers! I love that sound, truly the beginning of spring. 

The next part of my hike was around Old 128, which is when a bunch of clouds rolled in. I went back and forth deciding if I wanted to keep to my original plan or not. I kept moving as planned and felt my pack feel heavier and heavier, the bugs were waking up, and I really just wasn't in it to win it, so I decided to listen to my body and cut it short, and that is okay! (I had to remind myself of that numerous times. After some more aimless meandering I made my way back to the Buck Hill Path, waved to Buck Hill, and worked my way back to the car. It's okay to not be in the right headspace some days, I reminded myself. And now that means I have another reason to visit Buck again!

Step-By-Step

- Start hike at Buck Hill Path trailhead.

- At 2164, turn right onto Headquarters Path.

- At 2153, turn right to continue on Headquarters Path.

- Where Headquarters Path crosses the road, continue left onto Quincy Path.

- At 2112, walk to road and then follow white-triangles along road.

- Veer left into woods back along Headquarters Path.

- Take third left onto Athol Path.

- At terminus, turn right onto Dover Trail.

- At 2071, turn right onto Tucker Hill Path

- At 2072, turn sharply right onto Ayer Trail.

- At 2094, turn slightly right onto Dark Hollow Path.

- At 2096, continue left onto Bugbee Path.

- At 2129, turn right onto Doe Hollow Path.

- At next junction, turn right onto Bolton Foot Path.

- At terminus, turn left onto Angle Path.

- At 2100, turn left onto Old Route 128.

- At 2123, turn left onto unnamed trail.

- At next junction, veer left onto Beech Hollow Path.

- At 2132, turn around.

- At next junction, veer left to continue on Beech Hollow Path.

- At 2146, turn left onto Oblique Path.

- At 2150, turn right twice onto Old Route 128.

- At 2123, turn around.

- At 2150, turn left onto Oblique Path.

- At 2163, turn right onto Sullivan Trail.

- At 2176, turn left onto Pipe Line.

- At 2189, turn left onto Bouncing Brook Path.

- Near MA-28, continue left onto Forest Path.

- At second junction, turn sharply left onto Buck Hill Trail.

- At 2183, turn right onto Buck Hill Path, follow to car.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

Photo Album

Park HQ, Buck Hill, Fern Spring Loop (Blue Hills Reservation)

Park HQ, Buck, Fern Spring Loop (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Spaghetti Figure-8 Loop

Distance: 6.69  miles

Elevation: 988 feet

Time: 2 hours, 39 minutes

Hiking Challenges: Blue Hills Winter Trace

The Hike

Another weekend of hiking, but with completely different weather! It started off in the low 40’s and windy, with a few flurries falling from the sky, but the hike ended with the sun shining in the upper 40’s, like a new spring day! I started from Park HQ (sadly not my favorite parking spot, but I survived) on the Headquarters Path going around Tucker Hill. The trail is pretty beat up here and right along the road, with occasional wet spots. After hiking some of the short trails on the north side of Tucker Hill, I headed up the Athol Path, which was a quiet trail with a good amount of blowdowns - I was just happy to be away from the crowds. I was heartbroken to realize that my new buff smells like… new buff… and I couldn’t get over the smell so I ended doing this hike unprotected (with two inhaler puffs beforehand, two after, and two an hour later, I was good!). 

I was enjoying the shadows cast by the ever-low-on-the-horizon sunlight, and made my way to the top of Tucker! There’s a confusing network of trails here - an unmapped one that goes over the true summit and a few spaghetti moments that eventually lead to the Skyline Trail. There were a couple small views, and then I continued on my hike. I forgot how steep and awkward it was getting down Tucker - but my knees sure remembered. There was some surviving ice, but nothing slippery thankfully. It was also starting to warm up and I was regretting my decision to wear my fleece #sweat.

I passed a few hikers with their unleashed, “friendly” dogs heading up Boyce. The older I get, the more I find myself becoming a cat person. Not because I don’t like dogs, I’m just tired of being literally charged by people’s untrained dogs. The trail gets rocky between Boyce and Buck Hills, and that final push up Buck always catches my lungs by surprise! Thankfully the view was stunning as always. I love being able to point out Mt. Monadnock and Mt. Wachusett in the distance. The Skyline Trail was flooded (as usual) between the Fern Spring Trail turn and the turn for the AMC Footpath, but the rock hop was easy.

I took the AMC Footpath down, which is really a lovely trail, but there were a good amount of criss-crossing mountain bike trails that are not on the map that made things more unclear. Last time I came up this way the extra trails were blazed with white shapes, but those appear to have been taken down. There were some patches of needle ice here, which truly makes the most satisfying crunch when stepped on (think a good crunch leaf x10). After crossing Buck Hill Path I noticed some old orange blazes, and more after I crossed Forest Path - is the “AMC Footpath” the old Prescott Trail? That would make sense since the Prescott Trail led to the AMC Ponkapoag Camp… I wish I had some older maps from the 40s/50s/60s! The woods in this lower half are beautiful, but the trail was hard to follow (very windy). 

There was some evidence of riffraff (firepit/garbage) on the lower stretch of the AMC Trail, and then I finally made it down to the Headquarters Path, where I hiked on to the old school house on Chickatawbut Road out-and-back. There was a MASSIVE pile of horse doo-doo, and one man passed me asking “how far do you go?” I replied “just to the school and back,” and he said “good man,” before disappearing into the distance. I guess I had the right answer!

I slowly made my way to the Buck Hill Summit Trail (formerly called the NEMBA trail, which was made in 2013 as a replacement to the old Buck Hill Summit Trail, which is still a clear trail with some blowdowns/brushing in - I love the Friends of Blue Hills trail page for this information), which is MUCH gentler on the ascent, but also much longer. The trail reaches the summit at a nice big rock, and then crosses the Skyline Trail which leads to what is one of my favorite trails in the reservation - the Fern Spring Footpath. 

This was my first time going down this trail, and I always find it fascinating how different the experience is traveling a trail in a new direction. The views are excellent, and the burned area north of 2162 is beautifully eerie. I did get a little turned away getting to 2162, but made it unscathed. The trail continued through another burnt area to some smaller views, where I was greeted by three unleashed VERY friendly dogs. It looked like the person who has been making the mysterious yellow blazes also blazed this one, but someone else went over the yellow blazes with white paint… interesting. I’m not again the blazing, especially of the smaller, less-traveled trails (maybe its just because coming from NJ, I’m used to every trail being blazed a different color?). 

The last bit of my hike involved meandering my way to Houghton’s Pond via Bugbee, Beech Hollow, Doe Hollow, Bolton, Angle, Burnt Hill, and Andover Paths. The Andover Path was most remarkable by how comically flooded it was. Thankfully I had my steamy winter boots on (I REALLY need to invest in uninsulated waterproof boots…)! I finished my hike on the paved Tucker Hill Path, and then the gravel road Bugbee Path. Like clockwork, the people got noticeably less friendly at 11:30pm. I thought to myself “I need to get started earlier,” but then I remembered I had the runs when I woke up this morning and truly did not have the option of starting earlier. Oh well! Another great hike in the books.

Step-By-Step

• Park across Hillside St. from State Police Barracks at Park HQ

• Start hike on Headquarters Path toward Hillside Pond.

• At junction with green-dot Tucker Hill Path, turn right onto trail.

• Hike spur trails.

• At 2081, turn left onto Athol Path to Tucker Hill.

• At Tucker Hill, turn left onto Skyline Trail.

• Follow Skyline Trail to Buck Hill summit.

• At 2165, follow AMC Footpath down Buck Hill to Headquarters Path.

• At terminus, follow Headquarters Path to Chickatawbut Rd., retrace steps and hike to 2175.

• Follow Forest Path to 2153, hike spurs.

• At 2153, turn left onto Buck Hill Summit Trail.

• Hike all of Buck Hill Summit Trail, cross Skyline, and continue onto Fern Spring Foot Path.

• Hike all of Fern Spring Foot Path. 

• At terminus, turn right onto Bugbee Path.

• At 2135, turn left onto Beech Hollow Path.

• At 2132, turn right onto Doe Hollow Path.

• At next junction, turn left onto Bolton Foot Path.

• At terminus, turn right onto Angle Path.

• At 2090, turn left onto Burnt Hill Path.

• At next junction, turn right onto Andover Path.

• At road, turn right onto Tucker Hill Path.

• Continue to follow pavement onto Bugbee Path.

• Continue straight where pavement turns left to park HQ.

Map of Blue Hills Reservation

Photo Album