January 28, 2021 - Hanson
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.
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| From H to M |
So much preparation for today’s trip! Yesterday, I went to REI and bought some gaiters to keep the snow out of my low boots. I made paw wax for Sulu to protect his feet in case there’s salt on the roads. I’m a bit disappointed in the paw wax: it’s too soft and I need to melt it down and add more beeswax. Today was my first snowy day walk. Walter and I have dueling weather apps and mine predicted the snow would stop and not accumulate. I might be wrong. I dressed Sulu in his lightweight shell jacket to keep the snow from getting him wet - he’s normally comfortable at this temperature (hovering around freezing), but he gets cold if he gets wet. There was already about four inches of snow on the ground from earlier snow.
Not expecting any off-leash time on the trails in Hanson, I let Sulu off leash at the deserted ballfields where we parked. He was giddy to run in the fresh snow. I actually had quite a hard time catching him to hit the trail.
Our first move was to backtrack on the trail to the railroad crossing where we turned around last time. I was pleasantly surprised by how close it was.
So much road walking on this leg of the journey. At least that this section of the trail is pretty well blazed. I didn’t bring my headphones for the road walking because my audiobook was getting me down. It was a pretty boring walk down High Street though and I was tempted to cut it short.
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| Very supportive of the police in Hanson - one of many signs I passed |
Things perked up once I got to the intersection of Route 58. There were more things to look at, take pictures of, and changes in direction, so I pressed on. The trail made a little loop around the town hall complex with good views of Wampatuck Pond. The ice looked soft, and I was glad I wasn’t going to have to contend with calling Sulu off thin ice.
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| Wampatuck Pond |
The touristic highlight of the walk was the historic Nathaniel Thomas Mill. I was a bit disappointed to later learn that the building is a replica, but it’s an aged looking replica, and the original mill was constructed in 1695. The mill is another piece of the long history of water power in the region.
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| Nathaniel Thomas Mill |
To entertain the bored road walker, the trail takes an inefficient loop through the Hanson Town Forest. This was the first test of my new gaiters. The snow was about four inches deep and they handled it really well. The Hanson Town Forest, like all the other Hanson town lands, is mandated on leash. Of course Sulu would be much happier running free but it would be just my luck to run into the dog warden.
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| Cold poodle. His tail is up, it's just tucked under the coat. |
With the rest of the walk being on roads, the Town Forest loop was definitely the highlight of the day. I decided to press onto point M, the entrance the town’s Camp Kiwanee. There’s a sidewalk along Route 57 which makes the walking much easier. One additional highlight was two houses within a short distance featuring Chevrolet electric cars, one featuring a Volt and a Bolt, and the other a Bolt. Go team e-car! I also passed a self-serve egg and honey farmstand, and stopped by with the car on the way home to get some eggs. I paid with Venmo!
I was lucky enough to have a Dunkin’ Donuts on my walking route today. I was so looking forward to a decaf on the return walk that I neglected to check the map and note that there was a shorter route to the car from my turnaround point. By the time I noticed, it was too late. Because I don’t have a robust mask (a downside of the neck tube style mask) I ordered ahead by the drive-through and picked up my warm decaf for my walk back to the car. I hoped it would liven up the final stretch of boring road walking.
Holy cow! Just a few sips of the coffee and warmth suffused through my whole body. I actually began to perspire on my back. No coffee for poor Sulu though. He was definitely chilly. Every time I stopped, he started to shiver. I resolved no to take any more pictures because I felt bad to him shiver.
We did take a brief parallel path through a historic cemetery (welcoming dogs on lead) and I took a couple of pictures very quickly.
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| Fern Hill Cemetery |
Hanson was settled in the 1660s (it was originally part of Pembroke, and the town's name was chosen practically at random) and some of the houses on High Street are very old. There are very few historical plaques but if you look at these old Cape style houses there are antique details (not to mention the attached barns).
As I walked down this final road there was a strong smell of wood smoke. I looked around and I see curls of smoke coming from many chimneys. I think everyone looked at the weather forecast and decided it was a good day to build a fire.
Despite the weather, it was a good day’s walking and test of our gear. True to my weather app’s prediction, the snow did not accumulate even though it snowed steadily all day. We covered a total of 8.5 miles.
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