June 3rd 2012: Mount Watatic, Ashburnham

Today, after a long break from hiking big mountains, the weather, and my schedule was finally good enough for a hike with friends. This time, my friend and I headed to Mount Watatic in Ashburnham, located at the junction of Rindge State Road and Old Pierce Road. The route I took here is highlighted below in pink.

It was a very easy trail to follow with all the yellow triangles on the trees, and there were several people hiking here today as well, understandable as this is one of the top 50 hiking places in Massachusetts. At the main fork, we decided to head up the steeper path on the right. On the way up, there was a partial view, but we knew there would be better views ahead, and we continued on.

Even at the top, we realized that the views here were just okay, and saw that there was another peak really close by.

 Thankfully, the path there was relatively simple, and the views from here of the various lakes nearby were simply gorgeous. It was also possible to make out the Boston skyline in the far distance. The views all around follow.

After taking a short food break with carrots and peanut butter, Cheetos and sugar biscuits, we headed back down the other way. It was a much easier walk this way, although it was a little longer.

Overall, I would say this hike was nothing compared to the hike at Mount Monadnock. This hike took only about 2 hours in all, and thankfully the weather was perfect. I can see why now this is one of the top 50 places to go hike at.

After the hike, I decided to show my friend some other beautiful places in the area, including Bear's Den and the Quabbin Overlook behind the fire station in New Salem. Unfortunately, it started raining at this point, so we headed to my friend's place, where she cooked a simple but great dinner for us. With that, it completed a perfect day of hiking. I am looking forward to the next one.