March 3, 2021 - A little Pembroke and lots of Duxbury

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 one purple asterisk to another

We parked by the side of the road in a dubious spot just over the Duxbury line, a stone’s throw from the boundary sign. The BCT directions mention a spot with room for three cars by the side of the road, but there’s no corresponding P on the map. 

We began by walking “upstream” towards where we turned around last time. I immediately donned my headphones and fired up my audiobook. 

Is it pink enough for you?

MaryLou’s coffee shop on the corner is definitely a landmark with the big pink cup. I stopped in there with the car on the way home and it was a flashback to the 80s when we first discovered hazelnut coffee - and so pink! The store is as pink on the inside as it is on the outside. Their specialty is a dizzying array of coffee flavors, mixed with syrup flavors and flavored cream. I had a cinnamon-something decaf coffee and it wasn’t bad. Apparently there are 37 bright pink MaryLou's shops on the South Shore.

The weather was forecast to be unseasonably warm, but I started out feeling colder than I should have been. It was about half a mile to the turnaround and back to the car, and even though it was over 40 degrees, I still wasn’t warm enough to shed a layer. Indeed I stopped to pick up my gloves.

You can see my car in the background

After officially crossing the Pembroke-Duxbury line, we dipped into the woods for a .2 mile woods excursion. I kept him on leash for that one.

The trail directions told me to cross Route 14 and directly across would be the trail into the forest. I saw nothing. There were no blazes, no markings of any kind. We stepped into the woods and started bushwhacking looking for something. The path I followed looked more like a trail than where I was not walking but it was not very convincing.

The trail, no kidding

Standing in the woods looking for maps of Ashdod Forest trails on my phone (hint: there are none) I saw the sun glinting off of faint tire depressions and crossed over to follow it. If that was the trail, it’s really poorly maintained. After clambering around over dead trees, being snagged by thorny vines, and whipped in the face by saplings I finally saw a painted blaze. Suddenly I was on a clear well-marked trail. To continue the NATO theme, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot! Our walk today has been punctuated by regular gun blasts from what I now know is the gun club down the road.

The BTC has its own spiffy signs in Duxbury

The trail entered a conservation meadow (not at all mentioned in the directions). I cast about to find where the trail went next and found the route: right through the field and down a grassy lane between some houses to King Street.

Victory! And this time the trail across the street is beautifully signed. The trail continued to be well marked and lived up to the description. It’s always gratifying when the landscape unfolds according to the directions.

After about an hour and a quarter on the trail my gloves were stowed and I was carrying my coat over my shoulder.

I stopped for a moment to watch a small woodpecker but when I looked at my app to determine whether it was a hairy or a downy it had flown.

Coming off the dirt road the trail clearly turned but was nothing like the description. There was a Bollywood dance party going on somewhere to the right. I’m following the blazes and hoping for the best.

Duxbury Bogs is beautiful with well marked wide trails. We came into the bog through the back door so to speak. Looking across the cranberry bog to the parking area I can see this is no secret spot. There were twelve cars - nominal full capacity - in the lot on a weekday. From there, the Route 3 crossing was so close I decided to go a little further to this major milestone.

Duxbury Bogs

Route 3 Southbound

After nearly three hours of walking, we covered 5.7 trail miles! I am very motivated to complete the southern end of the BTC and start up on the North Shore.

A cool but sad sighting - a dead river otter

Once more I chose to walk a shorter route via roads back to the car.

I was relieved to find my car still there upon my return.

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