60 MOUNT WACHUSETT LOOP

KEY AT-A-GLANCE INFORMATION

LENGTH: 5.74 miles

CONFIGURATION: Loop

DIFFICULTY: Mostly moderate with some easy and some difficult sections

SCENERY: This hike loops around Mount Wachusett, at 2,006 feet, Massachusetts’s highest peak. The top offers a spectacular view of the Berkshires to the west, Mount Monadnock to the north, and Boston’s skyline to the east.

EXPOSURE: Mostly shaded

TRAFFIC: Moderate

TRAIL SURFACE: Packed earth

HIKING TIME: 3.5 hours

SEASON: Year-round without restrictions

ACCESS: Free

MAPS: Available at www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/central/wach.htm

FACILITIES: Picnic tables

WHEELCHAIR TRAVERSABLE: The trails in this hike are not wheelchair traversable; however, the peak is made accessible by a paved service road.

DISTANCE FROM BOSTON COMMON: 59 miles

Mount Wachusett Loop

UTM Zone (WGS84) 19T

Northing: 4709764

Easting: 262728

Latitude: N 42° 30' 19"

Longitude: W 71° 53' 04"

Directions

From Boston, take MA 2 to Exit 25 (MA 140 south). Follow MA 140 south 2 miles. Turn right onto Mile Hill Road. Follow Mile Hill Road 0.5 miles to the split in the road. Bear left at fork onto Mountain Road. Follow Mountain Road 1.25 miles to the top of the hill. The reservation entrance is on the right. The Mount Wachusett visitor center entrance is immediately on the left once you enter the reservation.

IN BRIEF

This hike loops around Mount Wachusett, eventually climbing its northeastern face to reach a spectacular view from the peak.

DESCRIPTION

Refusing defeat in his war against the English settlers in 1675, Wampanoag leader King Philip and his army of allied tribes—composed of men, women, and children—retreated from the coast and headed to Mount Wachusett. Though he had won the support of the Narragansett and Pocumtuc tribes, Philip was faced with the tragic reality of having no food to feed his fighters.

So it was that on Thursday, February 10, a group of Nipmunk and Narragansett Indians set on the small town of Lancaster, Massachusetts, looking for supplies. Ironically the town’s minister, Joseph Rowlandson, was away in Boston, where he was pleading for his government’s protection. Thirty-seven people, along with Reverend Rowlandson’s wife, Mary, and their three children, crowded into the Rowlandson’s heavily fortified house hoping to fend off assault. The settlers huddled close, bracing themselves as the Indians attacked with gunfire. But when flames engulfed the house, the settlers burst from cover into a hail of bullets. Many were killed instantly; others including Mary and the Rowlandson’s children, were taken captive.

For three months, King Philip and his people traveled in search of cover and sustenance taking their hostages with them. Not staying any one place long they traveled north to New Hampshire and Vermont and farther west to the Connecticut River, all the while pursued by English troops.

In spring King Philip led his people and their captives back to Mount Wachusett. Through scouts Reverend Rowlandson learned of his wife’s status and courageously arranged negotiations with Philip to have her freed. Finally the parties reached an agreement that on May 2, 1676, King Philip and the English met at a location thereafter called Redemption Rock, and for a ransom of 20 English pounds, Mary Rowlandson was released. Two of her children, whom she had not seen since the raid, were also freed a short time later. The youngest, the Rowlandson’s six-year-old daughter, died of wounds sustained during her capture.

From the parking lot beside the Mount Wachusett ski lodge, walk northwest to find the start of Balance Rock Trail located to the right of the ski lift. As you step into the woods on a quiet morning in April, with no one around but a handful of workmen and a couple of mountain bikers, you are likely to hear the sound of loon calls from the lake across the parking lot. A few feet onto the trail, thanks to the loons and the shade of hardwoods, the stilted resort atmosphere vanishes. Two diamond-shaped markers—one blue, one yellow—identify the trail as two routes, blue for Balance Rock Trail and yellow for the 92-mile Midstate Trail which passes over Mount Wachusett.

Rising steeply at first, the broad, packed-earth trail winds as it climbs under hemlock bows. Mountain laurels punctuate the underbrush in wetter areas. About 0.25 miles on, the trail is interrupted by a sandy, unpaved road. Turn right at this intersection and follow the road a few yards to a sign on the left for Balance Rock. Leave the road here and take this short path for a look at this geological spectacle. A glacier’s handiwork, this sculpture outdoes any artist from da Vinci to di Suvero.

Loop back to the road on Balance Rock Trail and look south to find the start of Old Indian Trail. Worn from the passage of many moccasins and boots, this trail ascends steeply over roots and rocks 1.3 miles to the summit. For a less direct route, switch off to Semuhenna Trail when the two trails meet at a V. Here Old Indian Trail continues straight while Semuhenna Trail runs to the right, heading southwest.

At this elevation the wind whistles through the bare treetops. In autumn, scores of migrating hawks wing overhead, taking advantage of these strong wind currents as admiring birders gawk from below.

Soon the trail passes between a gap in an old stone wall that runs seemingly without purpose through the trees. The cows it once confined in cleared pastures are long gone, as are the region’s farms. But the springs that greened the herd’s forage still flow, even in the driest of Aprils.

After making its way south through the shelter of hemlocks, the trail reaches the mountain’s auto route. Follow the painted footsteps across to stay with Semuhenna Trail. From here, the level trail passes through a stand of young beeches. A series of small bridges offer dry footing as the path climbs just short of the peak. Coming into the open, Semuhenna Trail passes a group of picnic tables and signs for other trails. Having approached the mountain’s highest point, Semuhenna Trail crosses a paved road then ducks off to the southeast.

Ringing the mountain at a constant elevation just shy of the peak, Semuhenna Trail turns eastward. Dark flanks of granite make a wall to the left, mosscovered fallen trees and displaced boulders lie to the right on the downhill slope.

When the trail arrives at an intersection, leave Semuhenna Trail and turn right onto Harrington Trail, heading west. A short way along this route, you will come to another junction. Turn left to proceed on Lower Link Trail. Hiking south now, on flat ground, you next arrive at Jack Frost Trail. Picking up this new path, follow it left to travel eastward. Narrower than the previous routes, Jack Frost Trail winds uphill past laurels growing beside rivulets diverting from a brook. A series of wooden bridges guarantee dry crossing through this mud zone.

From a wet plateau, Jack Frost Trail takes you on a climb up a pocked and grizzled slope. Emerging from this trail, you find yourself at another crossroads. Turn right here to hike downhill on High Meadows Trail. As its name suggests, this route takes you southwest across land previously used for grazing cattle that must have been lean, well-muscled beasts, judging from the thin layer of sod stretched over the granite substrate.

Winding over the curve of the hill, the trail leads to two plateaus edged by stone walls. Leaning as if in a stop-action fall, ancient oaks spread shade over each other. Cows with knees aching from grazing on an incline spent many hours chewing their cud under their branches.

Farther on, you arrive at a junction where High Meadow Trail meets Bicentennial Trail. Change course here, turning left to take Bicentennial Trail northeast. Continue downhill, picking your way along the rough path past the occasional wizened oak and younger black cherry trees. If you are hiking through in April or May, you may be lucky enough to see bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) blooming. This elegant, small white flower with 8–16 petals and bright yellow stamens is rare and prized for its medicinal properties. Indians used the rich red “blood” of its roots as a potent antibiotic, antimicrobial agent. Today the plant is used commercially in toothpaste and in the treatment of cancer. The FDA however, has classified bloodroot as an unsafe herb.

As the slope of the mountain eases to flat, you will hear cars motoring by on a road a short distance to the right. After traveling along level ground for a spell, Bicentennial Trail reaches an intersection with Mountain House Trail. Continue on to the next junction to find Loop Trail. Take this turn to double back, heading southwest. Instead of walking, you will now find yourself straining uphill to scale boulder after lichen-mottled boulder, peering warily into the many caves you pass.

This rigorous stretch works your every sinew before finally letting up upon your arrival at a junction with Mountain House Trail. Turn right here to leave the rocks behind and take a direct shot at the peak, heading northwest. Stay with this path as it converges with the Jack Frost, Midstate, and Link trails.

Emerging from thinning woods, the trail crosses a paved road then makes one last run northward to reach the mountain’s top. Wide-open and bare, Mount Wachusett’s peak provides a fantastic view of seemingly all of Massachusetts and the southern edge of New Hampshire. It is for this reason perhaps, that King Philip sought refuge for his people here.

After scaling the lookout tower and having a sandwich or several handfuls of trail mix, cross to the northwestern side of the peak to find a marker directing you to Old Indian Trail. Following this gentle path through the woods, you soon come to a ski lift, which in all seasons—but especially spring—resembles George Jetson’s spaceship.

From here, trace Old Indian Trail’s crooked trajectory downhill to where it crosses the auto route. Hike left, looking for painted footsteps, and resume the trail on the other side of the pavement. Continuing on, the trail leads through woods and three times crosses ski slopes before meeting Semuhenna Trail and Balance Rock Road. Walk a few yards downhill on the sandy road to find Balance Rock Trail on the left. Having returned to the first trail of the hike, follow it back to the parking lot.

Note: Mount Wachusett offers superb hawk watching from September through November, with 12,000 hawks sighted per season over the last 24 years. Autumn is a wonderful time to hike Mount Wachusett, but if you are planning to venture into the woods between mid-October and mid-December, play it safe and wear bright colors, preferably orange, and avoid wearing white or brown. For a precise hunting schedule for Massachusetts, visit www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/dfwpdf/dfw_hunting_dates.pdf.

NEARBY ATTRACTIONS

Those spending a weekend in the area might consider visiting the nearby Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary located at 113 Goodnow Road, Princeton. Managed by the Massachusetts Audubon Society, the sanctuary offers 12 miles of trails and an abundance of wildlife in addition to a wheelchair-accessible nature center. Admission is $4 for nonmember adults and $3 for nonmember children ages 3 to 12 and senior citizens. For more information, call (978) 464-2712.