September 27: Georgetown-Rowley State Forest

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 the purple asterisk to G

Through Internet sleight of hand (I dropped a pin on Google Maps and saved it) we have actually found where we left off in Rowley on 5/31! On arrival, Walter checked the weather and learned that rain was predicted to begin imminently. Without rain clothes, we decided to wait it out and listen to our audiobook (The Ionian Mission, book 7 in the Aubrey-Maturin series).

When the rain abated we took off on the trail: a series of eskers overlooking ponds. Route 95 sounded really loudly in the distance. We came down off the esker via some lovely landscape timber steps and across an elegant boardwalk across the pond. Then back up onto another esker. There were some really striking fungi about.

The Picture Mushroom app identifies these as (L to R, top to bottom)
Yellow Tipped Coral, Short-stemmed Russula, Red Chanterelle, Blood Red Russula,
 Gemmed Amanita. Row 2: Painted Bolete, American Slippery Jack, Salmon Pinkgill, 
Old Man of the Woods (and a repeat of the Yellow-Tipped Coral)

The trail is well marked today. In addition to BCT blazes and signage Georgetown-Rowley State Forest has its own marking system on fiberglass posts about three or four feet high. The trail directions mention wet in the lower areas but most of that seems to have been addressed by bridges and boardwalks. There is some mud because of the recent rains but it’s not as adverse as I was expecting based on the directions.

Sulu’s recall was so poor today that he is spent much of the walk on lead.

We actually brought four different containers of bug spray today in the car and are carrying one with us and boy did we need it. Even fully sprayed up we are getting divebombed.

We walked for some time on the woods road which turned into an actual although unpopulated road called Pingree Farm Road. And this is going to take us across Route 95!

Pingree Farm Road reverted to a dirt road once we crossed 95. This would be a great place for bikejoring.

At some point we officially entered Georgetown Rowley State Forest.

When we reached our destination – the parking lot at Georgetown Rowley State Forest – the rain started up again lightly but we were ready turn around anyway and head home. There was signage there listing the things that are allowed and not allowed and nowhere are dogs mentioned whether on leash or off leash. So, a fine recreation area. I allowed Sulu his freedom on the way back and he was much better behaved.

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