John Wing Trail, Brewster MA.

  
    A rainy day brought me back to Callery-Darling. I parked at the opposite end of the trail to make it seem a little different. I saw two Red Winged Blackbirds, a sure sign of spring, according to my mother because I had no clue what kind they were. Then I saw two small purple flowers, finally the color is coming back after a long black and white winter.
    The next day looked like rain again so I went back to Sandy Pond. I wanted some woods to block a little of the rain that never came. I’m glad I did because I found another trail by the cemetery that goes out and around it adding a mile and a half to the walk.
    I friend suggested I hike The John Wing Trail at Cape Cod Museum of Natural History a few weeks ago. It was a beautiful day and I wanted to walk the beach but the tide was too high. A perfect day for a trail with a beach There are two trails at the Museum, which is on Rte 6A in Brewster, John Wing starts at the museum and across the street is The South Trail. The Wildflower Garden is the beginning of John Wing that heads to a wooden plank bridge that leads across the marsh to John Wing Island. The trail heads through the woods  with a pasture that overlooks Quivet Creek to the east and Paines Creek to the west and the beach straight ahead to the north. There are plenty of signs along the way explaining everything from the salt marsh, ‘you are here’ maps to the different species of birds, trees and vegetation. There is even a Native American Sachemus Field Solar Calendar.
   Instead of going to the beach through the woods I followed the pasture trail. This has to be one of the most spectacular views on The Cape. The view can’t be that much different than it was when Thoreau was writing his book "Cape Cod". At low tide you can walk across Quivet Creek to Crow's Pasture, time it right though the tide comes in fast. Walking the beach north brings you to Paines Creek. Halfway between the creeks is another path that lead to stairs that lead back into the woods and back to the Museum.
   The South trail begins by walking on crushed seashells and a series of wooden bridges over the marsh to a more challenging area. The narrow trail brings you up and around a steep hill with plenty of roots to use as steps.
The trail splits but either way you go leads back to where you started.
I enjoyed these trails so much I went two days in a row. If I had more time I would have brought my Kindle and read Cape Cod on one of the benches in the pasture. Oh well some other day.

  
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Ratings 1- the cellar  2- shoddy  3- tolerable  4- worthy  5- wicked good

Accessibility - 5 - On 6A in Brewster
Parking -  5 - Plenty on both sides of 6A
Length-   5 -  Two trails and the beach
Degree of Difficulty-  4- John Wing (easy) South Trail (difficult).
Extras-  4- Museum of Natural History and beach
Trail Markings-  5 - Great with signs showing where you are and others explaining the history,
Trail Maintenance-   5
Variation - 5 - John Wing has different trails throughout, the beach with the changing tides and the South Trail is challenging
Scenic  - 5 - Great
Worth Returning - 5 - no doubt
Beach -   yes
Facilities - In museum, or Dunkin Donuts on the other side of marsh
What I like -  The view on John Wing is almost the same as when
What I don’t like-  Nothing yet

Overall Rating-    48 out of 50