Great day for snowshoeing the Blue Hills

SC and I went for a nice hike today.  The conditions were great for snowshoeing.  It was snowing and temps were still warm. It was quite a good workout the shoes would go a few inches into the heavy snow.

Glad we got out there to enjoy the hills and no rain, just fluffy snow.  APRS track ends before our hike does because of antenna issues.

Winter Riding Blue Hills x2

For that last two weeks my buddy SC and I rode to the blue hills and rode some good stuff.  Got new Lake Winter Riding Boots too.  17 Miles.  Enjoyed the packed crunchy trails, with patches of ice.
Trails were a mix of some ice spots, crunchy ice, and flowy flow water over leaves.

Blue Hills Ride

Hi There!  Early this morning, my buddy SC and I rode the 4 or so miles from the neighborhood here to the Blue Hills.  At the Blue Hills SC showed off some great trails.  Thanks SC!

Temps were from 32 to 34 F.   Sunny.  Frosty mud.  With a light wind.  Minus winter boots, I think I have most of my winter riding  gear all set.

SC reported these ride stats:  We did 15.75 miles in about 90 minutes of pedalling time.


Happy Trails!

JT

And where does that go, that goes this way!

Ride of the Brownshirts SC and myself this AM!  About 20 miles in 2 hours.  Weather was fine, with fog and some drizzle.  We rode into the Blue Hills from Quincy and did sections of the multi-use trails and the adjoining single track.



  As always a fun ride and a great work out.

Blue Hills HIke

Great Hike today in the Blue Hills.  SM and I hiked the trails around Hancock Hill for a few hours. We had nice QSO with Pi K1RV on simplex from near one of the summits.  

The WX was a perfect day.  Temps in the 70sF and good 12 MPH winds.  and Sunny!

We did get some APRS positions reported via Internet gateways, so you can see some of our track in the photos below.

Happy Trails!

Blue Hills Fun Ride

I had a chance to lead a fun ride in the Blue Hills today.  Got to show off some neat trails to a few of my friends that are new to mountain biking.  We all had a great time, and they want to go riding again!

The wx was hot humid, cloudy temps in the 80s.

We toured the intermediate Loop (White Triangle).  With a quick detour to introduce the newbies to single track.  We then crossed Hillside Ave and took a quick ride up to the summit of one of the low alt. hills.

Brownshirt Loop Quincy Blue Hills

Steve lead another terrific ride today.  The wx was hot, sunny, with a light breeze.  Temps in the 80s 90s.  We rode almost 23 miles with 2 hours 15 minutes of pedal time.

We had to stop for a rest, because I started to feel sick from the heat.  After that break I was fine.

Happy Trails!

Blue Hills

Great ride today in the Blue Hills.  WX was Sunny and temps 40s to the 50s F.
Rode for about 1.5 hours.

Rode to Summit like last ride.  The decent down Great Blue was the same as well.  I mixed it up a bit with some loops and other trails on the way out.

Great Blue Hill Ride in the Blue Hills Massachusetts

7:20 am start WX 50s, sunny and mild.  About an hour and 20 minute ride.

From HQ Up Wolcolt Path to 1085 to the Summit Road.  Then decent the Coon Holow Path left at 1082, back to the Summit Road, back to 1000 Border Path.  The Border Path in this direction is a fun decent.  Ride with Caution, there a other trail users, and there are many erosion bars that could flip you over.  Then left on to Chestnut Run Path, Right on to 1191, bend right 1183, left at 1166.  Here my back tire was very low on air.  I pumped in more air and road the Eustis Trail back to Wolcolt Path.  Via 1140, 1121, and 1122.  I had to stop on Wolcolt to put more air in the back tire again.

Today was a great ride.  I may have done more exploring but I did not want spend the time to replace the rear tube.  I will do that at home this weekend.

Not flat yet.

Blue Hills WX Obs.

Mountain Bike ride Great Blue Hill Blue Hills Massachusetts

Got started around 8AM Temp was about 33 F.  Road up Wolcolt Path.  Right at the start my legs were burning. As a result of this feeling, I placed the bike in the easy gear.  Took a right on to 1122, then another onto 1121, right onto 1166 and all the way to 1191.  Here it was a left onto The yellow multi-use trail.  Road this system to 1085, then up the path leading to the paved summit road of Great Blue Hill.  Road the paved road to the summit of Great Blue Hill.  Now it's a bit warmer out, the sun is out, and it's a clear day. Enjoyed the view.  I placed a call out on 146.52 and KA1BBU returned.  We switched to the Norwell 145.39 and had a very nice chat.  73 Bob!

After a nice break at the summit, I road the Coon Hollow Path back to the paved summit road.  This was the most fun part of the ride.  It was very rocky, but because it was a descent, it was quite manageable.

From the paved road, I found my way back to Wolcolt.  Before ending the ride, I did the quick loop around Houghton Hill.  I enjoy Houghton Hill because it's easy climb, with more great views.

A great ride again.  Thanks to the Blue Hills for such a great trail system.

Mountain Biking today in the Blue Hills

Due to the extra dry thaw this year the DCR South ended the bike ban early! So today I did some of the Blue Hills.  I wanted to check out stuff that I have not done before.  The wx was great, under 60F, and cloudy.  Perfect for riding.  Started at after 8AM and finished after 10:30 AM.

Started on Wolcolt Path, then right onto 1122, then right onto 1121 (Eustis Trail)  Then at 1183 I was looking at the map to decide what's next.  A nice jogger asked me If i was lost. After chatting with him about good trails to check out, I realized he had found my ham radio!  How lucky for me!  I though he was a ham, and he happen to have the same radio as me.

Based on the joggers advice i took Chestnut Run Path to Border Path, then left onto Rotch Path at 1114.  This got me back to Wolcott Path, from there I did the loop at top of Houghtons Hill.  This was very nice break at the top of that hill.  I put my call out on the Bridgewater 2m machine (147.18) a few time.  No one was around, but the machine was sounding solid from up there.

Now it's 9:00 AM.  I take trail back down to Wolcolth path, cross over and at 1160 I take the Hancock Hill Path.  Now this was where I had to walk the bike though some tough sections.  I hope to improve my riding skills more in this section in the future.  It's a great trail for views, it's up high.  From this trail I was back on Chestnut Run Path.  I then road again Border Path and Roach Path.  I then road Wolcolt Path back to the main road.

I was still feeling good, so I crossed over Hillside St.  and I road the 6 mile Intermediate Loop.  I took it easy on that side, but still happy with my timing, and I did not have too many breaks.

I can't wait to my next Blue Hills ride!  Next time I'll bring more water.  70 OZ was not enough, and it was not even sunny or hot.

Hemenway Hill Hancock Hill in the Blue Hills MA

Today was a great day for a hike in the Blue Hills MA. It was partly sunny, and the temps were in the low 40s F. I wanted to buy the new Dec 2011 trail maps and get a few copies of the new Mountain Bike maps. So I started my hike today at the Blue Hills Headquarters. Then took Rotch Path at 1122, next Hemenway Hill Path at 1121, next onto Jeffries Trail that runs North at the summit of Hemenway Hill, then it bends to the East down to 1182. Around there there's a fenced in Well!  Moving along Base Path to 1185, then onto Hancock Hill Path starting at 1204.  Then to the summit of Hancock Hill via path 1201. Made it to the summit of Hancock HIll. While there I had a QSO with Dave N1LUM on simplex, 146.520. It was nice to meet Dave and hope to catch him again. I took the Blue Line Trail back to the Headquarters and onto the parking lot.  Over all the hike was under two hours. 

Cold Hike Blue Hills

The wx was cold.  We left the parking lot and the temp was 14 F.   My hydro pack froze.  Once we were in the forest, and walking fast, we felt warm.  We we stopped, and in any open spots exposed to the wind, we became quite cold very quickly.  This was usual hike.  Down Sawcut Notch, and over Fox Hill.  This time we wasted little time, and there was little conversation.

2012 New Years Day Blue Hills Hike Quincy MA

Today the wx was warm for New Years.  The temps quickly reached the 50s F.  We were dressed for colder wx.  When we left it was still in the 30s.  We made a quick hike, over one hour.  We did no climbing this time.  Just Sawcut, then the green dot / gas line.

Happy New year!

Chickatawbut Hill, Fox Hill, & Wampatuck Hill Blue Hills Quincy MA Hike

Today it was going to be a longer hike.  Temps in the 30s F when I started, high in the 30s F at the end.  Quite breezy especially at the summits.  Got an 8:00 AM start from Shea Rink Parking lot.  Then I hiked the Sawcut Notch Patch to the gas line.  I hiked the gas line south all the way to Chickatawbut Road.  After crossing the road, I picked up the Red Dot trail heading South.  Shortly I took a left onto a narrow trail that lead to the summit of Chickatawbut Hill.  I then took a narrow trail down to the yellow dot trail to the Overlook Area on the road.  After crossing the road again I picked up Ceder Rock Path at 4013.  I took this to the pipeline at 4012.  I took the pipeline North to 4048, and took a right on to Ridge Path.  At 4072  I took left onto a narrow path, and took that too Pine Tree Brook Path.  Heading West on this path I took a right onto a narrow path and follow to the green dot trail.  From there It was my normal route up and over Fox Hill, then onto Wampatuck Hill,  and back to the parking lot via Green Dot Trail.  Today was a very good hike.  I was back at Shea rink at 11:00 AM.

Christmas Day Blue Hills Quincy MA Hike

APRS AB1II-7

The temp was in the 20s F.  Great day for a hike!  We started the usual spot and trails from Shea Rink.  Except this time we stayed on Sawcut Notch Path until the gas line at 4066.  Then left onto the gas line, until 4049 we took a left onto Pine Tree Brook Path.  Then we took a narrow path to 4090 to the Indian Camp Path (Green Dot)  At 4102 I took Fox Hill path over fox hill, and down to the green dot trail.  Ame stayed on the Green Dot trail, but we stayed in touch via D-Star on simplex.  Hike was about 2 hours long.  There were a few snowflakes today.  

My APRS setup is a Yeasu VX-8DR with GPS mic.  I was using a Diamond tri-band antenna.  Today I tried a 1/4 wavelength telescoping whip.  This worked much better.  I was able to see 95% of our hike today on aprs.fi.  APRS Position of AB1II

Another way to the summit of Fox Hill Blue Hills Quincy MA

Today was great wx again, with temps in the 40s F.  We started off the same way as all the hikes have been so far.  From the rink, to Sawcut, then to the green Dot Trail.  This time though we took a narrow path at 4090 to Pine Tree Brook Path.  From their to 4084 base of Fox Hill.  According to our map there is a narrow path going straight up to the summit of Fox Hill.  This trail quickly faded to a non trail.  So we kept going towards the summit.  We did find were the trail connected to Fox Hill Path at the Summit, but in the middle the trail is so overgrown, it can't be called a trail.  We then hiked down Fox Hill to the gas line, then up and down Wampatuck Hill, then back to the gas line and back to the car.  This hike was about 2 hours and 10 minutes long.

We came across two mountain bikers.  They made me wish a little that I was on my bike.  I'd have to say that I like both hiking and mountain biking the same.  Both are great work outs, and are excellent ways to explore.

Blue Hills Quincy MA Hike Fox Hill and Wampatuck Hill

We woke up late.  Started the hike from the rink.  About an hour and a half hike.  Sunny with temps in the
30s F.  We did Fox Hill.  We split at the gas line, and I did Wampatuck Hill solo.  We stayed in touch using our D-Star Radios.  DV on simplex is fun.

Getting up late we though the trails would be crowed.  We were wrong.  There were less people on the trails than we are used to when it's early.  The trails were not as soggy as expected either.  There was some frost along the trails today.  A great hike, nice workout.  Again very happy we live close to the Blue Hills.

Blue Hills Hike

Did a solo hike today.  Same paths and hills as last week.  Took about an hour and 20 minutes.
Wx was great.  Cloudy with temps climbing into the mid 40s F.

Fox Hill Path Blue Hills

Today we hiked Fox Hill.  From The rink to Sawcut, over Fox Hill Path, then the pipe line / green dot back to the rink.  One hour Hike.

Great to be hiking the Blue Hills again.