November 20, 2020 Walpole to Sharon/Moose Hill

November 20, 2020

Welcome to Susan's Bay Circuit Diary! This blog follows my adventures with my dog Sulu hiking the Bay Circuit Trail. To get new posts in your inbox, please subscribe (see the little "subscribe" oval above). The rest of the past posts can be found using the little menu on the left. If you are curious how this all started, go here.

From F to G

Today’s walk started with a car wash. The map showed no legal parking for miles, so I paid for a platinum car wash at Rojo Car Wash (triple foam! vision clear!) and got the attendant’s permission to park it in the vacuum area (free with wash!).

Triple foam!

Pine Street was narrow and a bit stressful to walk on. We crossed a mysterious body of water (turns out to flow from School Meadow Brook, another tributary of the Neponset River). It might be a former cranberry bog because as I walk I see some other vestiges of cranberry cultivation (Internet says yes, there are cranberry bogs in Sharon). No sidewalks here, alas. Other than putting my life at risk every time two vehicles passed abreast, the trail was easy to follow and the weather was sunny and unseasonably warm.

It wasn't long before we crossed the Walpole-Sharon town line.

Not long after, we crossed I 95. Curiously, we passed under the southbound lanes, and over the northbound lanes.

Crossing I 95 North (from the return trip)

This view of Sharon is generic upper middle class suburbs, with generous houses below the McMansion level. I’m sure I’ll see other aspects of the town as I progress on the BCT.

Fortunately the road walking was only about a mile before we we turned onto a residential street.
At that point, we were already skirting the Audubon sanctuary we are not allowed to enter.
Even though Sulu is required to be on leash, he seems to be enjoying himself taking in all the smells, even on his nose loop.

The ramp goes to the underground entrance of the completely underground house

On the right-of-way to the woods, I got a really cool glimpse of a “novel underground ecology house”, as described in the trail guide. I could not find out much about it. According to the Sharon Historical Society, "this architecturally interesting home was built in the 1970s by Tom Romanske, based on plans drawn by architect, John Barnard. The footprint is about 35 by 50 feet. It is built into a hillside and mostly covered over with earth. The “U” shaped living area features a central atrium with glass walls. This provides sunlight and access to the home by means of a ramp from ground level." Other than the ramp entry, the only impact it makes on the landscape is a handsome stone chimney. It is currently occupied by a family with young kids who appear to be making full use of it.

Finally a little off leash freedom for Sulu as we entered some on unsigned woods where the BCT is concurrent with the Warner Trail. It was a perfect fall tick day and I protected myself by talking my pants into my socks. The trail climbed Pierce Hill, a sort of a rocky outcropping. The trail guide said that foliage impeded views, but they are evergreens, so no vista for us. BCT blazes marked both the “easy way” and the other way. I chose the “easy way”. The climb up the hill made me a bit warm and I removed my jacket and tied it around my waist.

When we reached the road which the trail guide showed as the boundary of the Audubon sanctuary, the woods we emerged from had a forbidding Audubon sign. I felt bad but it made no sense to return by the road as it’s a much longer journey. I resolved to keep Sulu on lead for the return journey. Obstinately, I scanned maps on my phone as I walked I saw that on AllTrails and Google Maps the Pierce Hill tract does not show as part of the sanctuary. Perhaps the sign represented an excess of zeal on the part of the Audubon Society? I unclipped the leash.

Moose Hill Sanctuary will have to wait for a dog-free hike during Sulu’s next grooming appointment in early January. My next trip to Sharon I’ll pick up on the other side of Moose Hill.