November 24, 2020 - Sharon: Moose Hill to Deborah Sampson Park

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 K to the crude arrow above the "y" and back again

We parked at our destination: Deborah Sampson Park, a recreational park in Sharon. I believe the park is named after the Revolutionary War hero, who settled in Sharon after the war. 

We normally would have been at agility class today but we have been banned from New Hampshire. I just say that because it sounds dramatic, but the Governor has required a COVID test within 72 hours of returning to Massachusetts from New Hampshire due to an increase in cases there. 

It took me a little while to find this blaze

It can be difficult to find the trail in wide open spaces like baseball fields. I finally found it, and after a little road walking we found ourselves on town property, home of the town compost facility,  and a woods trail.  

Skirting suburbia

As they say on the Internet, I was today years old when I learned this. I don't know how this escaped me, but the double blazes on the BCT not only indicate a change of direction, but the direction of the change. I know, it's obvious now.  All I can say is, it will give me more confidence in wayfinding in the future.

Go left!

On the way out I did not let Sulu off leash because I wanted get the lay of the land. Some of the BCT here is concurrent with the Beaver Brook Trail, with lots of Boy Scout contributions. Thank heavens for the well-marked trail. With leaves on the trail and leaves on the ground, it can be hard to discern the trail from the forest floor.

I learned from my running years that in order to be comfortable outdoors while active you have to under-dress for the climate. Then you’ll be comfortable in the middle and even warm at the end. My strategy worked today.

Beaver Brook

Above us on an embankment for most of the trail is the main rail line to Providence. The second train I saw go by was the northbound Acela. You can tell the commuter rail from the Acela by the sound. The commuter train goes “clickety-clack”, but the Acela just whooshes by.

Since it was a little cooler today I decided to wear my neck gaiter as a mask. I’m aware it’s not a very effective mask but in the outdoors the mask is mostly performative. There was a story today in the paper about two unmasked women being basically assaulted for not wearing their masks on a trail.

Sulu, sit on that log while I take your picture.

This route is a perfect example of what’s good about the BCT. This is a lightly traveled obscure trail that I never would’ve found otherwise. The sunshine and clear skies after the dark and rainy day yesterday definitely is helping my mood.

After about an hour, we reached the boundary of the Moose Hill Audubon Sanctuary.  By the way, according to the signage, Moose Hill has a deer hunting season…but still no dogs allowed.

I allowed Sulu off lead on the return portion of the Beaver Brook Trail. There’s quite a lot of standing water, possibly from yesterday’s rain. I wasn’t sure if he would go in or not, but the water must be chilly, because he only went in up to his ankles.

Sulu is so happy being off leash! He was leaping around like a gazelle and checking in for cheese regularly.  Unfortunately, Sulu just about gave me a heart attack by actually trying to chase the commuter train. Boy, did I yell loud!  The train was moving faster than he could run fortunately and not that close, and it’s possible that he actually obeyed me and that’s why he came back. When the next train came by I called him to me and held him while it passed. There were a total of five trains on that trail segment - the busiest rail line we’ve hiked next to so far.

I was delighted to see a Northern Flicker fly right across us on the path and landed in a nearby tree to pick some bugs.

Close to the trailhead we actually passed another walker. She also was wearing a neck tube mask.

We returned to the park and I identified where the trail goes from there for next time.

My favorite, Princess Pine

Spotted Wintergreen (thank you Picture This app!)

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