B-SLUGS HIKE MT. WACHUSETTS SAT. SEPT. 29

B-SLUGS:  September Hike at Mt. Wachusett

Join us on a beautiful autumnal hike at Mt. Wachusett!

WHERE: Mass Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary at Mt. Wachusett, Princeton, MA
WHEN:  Saturday, September 29, 10 a.m.

We’ll begin at the Massachusetts Audubon Society’s Wachusett Meadow on the south side of Wachusett, which is a little over an hour from Boston via car. It’s a beautiful place well deserving of a trip by itself. Parking, etc, is free for Audubon members and $4 for non-members. Wachusett Meadow has restrooms, a helpful start for the day.  If you need a ride, no problem!  We’ll carpool.  Just let Beata know if you need a ride at beatapana@gmail.com

Our guides will be fellow B-SLUG Walter Stine and Clare Esparolini, who have designed the route just for us.  They tried it out this summer and decided on the following route.

The hike to Mt. Wachusett from the Audubon sanctuary is about 3.5 miles. The early going is a gentle uphill, crossing near a giant glacial boulder at one point. The upper part of the trail gets steeper, but not difficult. There are some sections with large rocks to go over on the upper portion of the trail. (Walter and Clare saw families with young children going up this section.)

 The hike up took Clare and Walter just over 1 hour and 30 minutes. The hike down took them a little under 1 hour and 30 minutes. For a group that doesn’t hike much, the hike up might take 2 hours or 2 hours and 30 minutes. The hike down might take 2 hours or so.

Let’s plan to arrive at Wachusett Meadow around 10:00 am and leave for the hike no later than 10:30. If folks take an hour for lunch at the top, that puts us back at Wachusett Meadow around 4:00 pm. Worse case, 5:00 pm.

Participants should be in reasonably good shape, able to walk several miles carrying a small pack. Hiking boots or shoes are required (no tennis shoes). Other items would include   1-2 liters of water, trail snacks, lunch, hiking poles (optional but helpful), hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, bug spray (might not be needed), rain jacket (just in case).

If some B-SLUGS don’t want to hike, they could hang out at Wachusett Meadow and then drive to the summit to meet us for lunch between 12:30 and 1:00. There is a parking area right near the summit.

RSVP by Monday, September 24 on the B-SLUG group Facebook page
If you you don’t do Facebook, just contact Beata at beatapana@gmail.com