The Knob, Falmouth MA.

     
        When I first started blogging about the trails I hiked, a friend suggested I do The Knob, a local landmark in Falmouth, a rocky outcropping that overlooks Buzzards Bay and Quissett Harbor. The biggest problem was I never go to Falmouth. I usually head east towards Dennis, Brewster and Eastham. To get to Falmouth you have to go Rte 28 ( the commercial road) which has a ton of traffic and a bunch of traffic lights.
         I needed to go somewhere totally new and it was a perfect day. I new if I was going to The Knob it was better now before the unbearable summer traffic. The directions looked easy - Rte 28 through downtown Falmouth - head towards Woods Hole on Locust and take a right on Woods Hole Rd. Well I drove up and down Locust - past the ferry to Marthas Vineyard, downtown Woods Hole and every street near the water. No Woods Hole Rd.  I had seen Quissett Harbor Rd and took that. At the stop sign I took a left on Quissett Harbor Ave. I should have gone straight at the stop sign. I did eventually and came across the harbor with free parking in a couple of different spots.
         Once I found it I could tell it was going to be great. WOW !! A sign next to the harbor and the private property points you down a path that leads through tall bushes. The trail brings you to an information kiosk where there is a split. The main trail is up stairs to the right and the harbor cliff trail is to the left up another set of stairs. I took the cliff trail which follows the shoreline of the harbor. The trail is narrow with rocks, hills, and roots( natures stairs) winding through thick woods. There are a few small trails that lead to the water, some easy some others you have to climb down. The first one I started going down I saw a guy fishing and didn’t want to bother him so I went to the next one. I had to climb down, holding onto some branches so I wouldn’t fall. I found a nice small secluded beach. I climbed out and went back on the wooded trail that eventually brought me to the main trail that was wider and open with bushes on the sides and a hard sandy surface to walk on. You can take the staircase to the crescent-shaped sandy beach, or stay on the trail that goes across a narrow causeway of coarse beach grass to “The Knob.” This tiny round peninsula juts out into Buzzard’s Bay -WHAT A VIEW. To the far left, the Elizabeth Islands mound on the horizon. The towns of Wareham, Marion, Mattapoisett, and Fairhaven follow the coast from right to left. Sakonnet is the last town before the coast shifts around into Rhode Island Sound. After taking in the breathtaking scene I followed the main trail back to the beginning, coming upon a couple of chipmunks along the way. They didn’t pay any attention to me, just kept eating like I wasn’t there. It was only a mile and a half hike so I did it again this time adding the crossover trails. When I finished I went back to the small beach area - swam and read for a while- A perfect Day !! JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED !!!

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

Accessibility - 5 - Easy if you have the right directions
Parking -  5 - Not bad for where it is
Length-  4 -  Short, but so good you want to do it again - plus can add beach
Degree of Difficulty- 4- Main trail easy - cliff trail narrow and hills
Extras-  5 - Minutes from Woods Hole and downtown Falmouth. Boating, Kayaking,
Trail Markings-  5 - Easy to follow
Trail Maintenance-   5   Very good
Variation - 4 - Connecting trails from the main to the side
Scenic  - 5++ - FANTASTIC !!
Worth Returning - 5++ - No Doubt
Surface - Pine needles, stones, roots
Beach -   Yes
Facilities - No
What I liked - Everything
What I didn’t - Even the length didn’t bother me.

Rating 47 out of 50

D. Isabel Smith Monomoy River Conservation Lands, Harwich MA.

     
      A couple of days after I had done Bank St. Bog I decided to return to Harwich and hike D. Isabel Smith Monomoy River Conservation Lands. I knew my way from The bog so I went past there on Bank St to the end and made a right on Main St. All I had to do is stay on the road that changes it’s name to Orleans Harwich Road to Bay Rd, about a 5 mile drive. On the way I passed Thompson’s Field Conservation Area, a trail I hope to do next time I have a chance to do a new one. It’s easy to find the Harwich trails since they have the international hiking signs on the side of the road where they are located.
      The D. Isabel Smith Trail heads into the woods from the ample parking lot. The path starts out wide enough for two, with broken branches lining the pine needle walkway. It heads straight towards the Monomoy River. Before you get to the end of the trail there is another trail to the right. There are three signs there - the one pointing right reads - trail. The one pointing straight ahead reads - overlook. The other points back from where I came and reads parking. I headed for the overlook by staying on the first path to the end and taking a left instead of right, knowing by looking at the map before I started that going right would loop back to the other trail that was on the right a few minutes earlier. The trail to the overlook was narrow and still was lined by branches as it went slightly downhill.
The overlook had two big benches on a man made deck that has a great view of the river and Pleasant Bay.
       Following the same trail out, stay going straight instead of heading back to the parking area. The trail is narrow and hilly. It leads to a path in a utility area. Signs help so you can’t get lost. The trail heads back into the woods and stays narrow with some steeper hills. It come out where I first saw the signs. I headed back to the parking area. The hike was about 2 miles, but the hills make it so you have to work a little harder. His would be a good complement to Bank St. Bog. This one is woods the other open air and doing both would be about 5 miles.

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

Accessibility - 5 - Take exit 11 off Rte 6. Take left on to Brewster-Chatham Rd. then turn left on Orleans-Harwich Rd and then right on Bay Rd
Parking -  5 - A nice size lot
Length-  3 - Shorter than I like
Degree of Difficulty- 3 - some decent hills make up for length
Extras-  2  Scenic sit down area
Trail Markings-  5 - easy to follow with great signs
Trail Maintenance-   5   very good
Variation - 2  Can change which way you will
Scenic  - 4 - Through trees but real nice
Worth Returning - 4  Yes if I do Bank St Bog too
Surface - Pine needles
Beach -   no
Facilities - no
What I liked - The hills and the look out area
What I didn’t - The length

Rating 38 out of 50

Bank Street Bogs Nature Preserve, Harwich MA.

   
    Almost summer on Cape Cod. That means tons of traffic, full beaches that cost $15-$20 a day to park, work will be busier and hopefully some nice weather. We finally had real nice weather last week. I had planned to get in a few north side beaches since low tide would be right around the time I liked to walk. My plans changed because my friend that started walking with me in the beginning wanted to start up again. He has a dog and likes to walk the south side beaches. If not for him being there at the start I doubt I would have got in the habit of walking everyday. I thought I would be able to hike some trails later in the afternoons but another friend needed my help. That was good though, I got an extra work out every day since a lot of yard work was needed.
    I finally got my chance to hike a new trail, and of course it was a cold, cloudy day with bits of rain. I couldn’t go too far so I decided to go to Harwich, only two towns away. Bank Street Bogs Nature Preserve is on Bank St. off of Rte 28. Park next to the Harbormaster Workshop on the east side of the street. You can go to the left or the right as the grass path is a loop trail that has a few other paths that cut across. There are 44 nest boxes around the trail that house bluebirds and blue green tree swallows. There is one trail that goes into the woods and connects back to the bog. There are a few times I felt like I was walking in someone’s backyard, which kind of bothered me. The bog is not farmed so trees and bushes are growing instead of cranberries. Grassy Pond supplies the water to Cold Brook that flows through the bog to Saquatucket Harbor. The trail is 2 miles but by walking the connecting trails you can add more. I walk a working bog down the street from my house when I don’t have time to go to a trail. It was cool to see how it would look if they stopped farming it,

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

Accessibility - 5 - Rte 28 to Bank St in Harwichport
Parking -  2 - Only 4 allotted spaces
Length-  4 - Not too bad
Degree of Difficulty- 5- Easy
Extras-  3  Bird watching
Trail Markings-  5 - easy to follow
Trail Maintenance-   5  good
Variation - 3 can go through woods and can take crossing paths or just go around perimeter
Scenic  - 3 -
Worth Returning - 3 On a nicer day to see the birds
Surface - Grass
Beach -   no
Facilities - no
What I liked - It was cool to see how a bog changes
What I didn’t - Seemed like walking through peoples yards a few times

Rating 38 out of 50

Nauset Marsh, Buttonbush & Doane Trails, Eastham MA

   
    February 18 was an awesome day sunshine and 50 degrees. It felt like 75 since the days before that were in the 20’s. I headed to Wellfleet to see how I would do walking up the steep sandy dunes that surround the beaches. I was almost out of gas and so was Wellfleet. Not one station was open so I turned back, wondering if I would be doing my daily walk on Rte 6 with a gas can. I made it to an open station in Eastham and saw a sign that said beaches with an arrow pointing south. I had never been down that road so I went there instead of going back to Wellfleet.
     I followed the signs to Coat Guard Beach. Surprisingly I had never gone there even though it is regularly ranked as one of the top ten beaches in the United States. It is where the Mayflower first sighted land on November 9, 1620 after 65 days at sea. I was just going to walk the beach when I saw a couple coming out of the wooded area next to the parking lot. A TRAIL - Awesome!!
     I went into the woods and down a hill to a bike path with a bridge that crossed the marsh. I had no idea where I was headed (normal day for me) so I followed the bike path until I saw a path that led into the woods. I saw signs for a visitor center so I stayed on that trail instead of going back on the bike path. The trail was narrow and hilly at times and eventually brought me back to the water and had some spectacular views. The tide was high and I still didn’t know exactly where I was so I turned around before I got to Salt Pond.
     When I got home I researched the area and found out I had been walking on Doane Trail and Nauset Marsh Trail. I had wanted to go back on another nice day but I didn’t have a chance until I hiked Fort Hill which is on the opposite side of the marsh. After doing Fort Hill I decided to park at the Salt Pond Visitor Center and start there. The Nauset Bike Path and two hiking trails start here, one is Buttonbush Trail, a short braille trail that is part boardwalk and the rest in the woods. The second is Nauset Marsh which loops around Salt Pond goes into the woods and comes back up to Buttonbush And also has a connecting trail that leads to Doane and Coast Guard beach. That day I did Buttonwood ,connected to Nauset Marsh and looped back to the Visitor Center.
      I was determined to start at the Visitor Center which boasts a comprehensive museum, a book store and frequent orientation movies in its indoor theatre. The other day I started at the beginning of Nauset Marsh Trail and connected to Doane Rock, Doane Memorial and Coast Guard Beach. All together over 6 miles. Some hills with steps either man made or roots. Sometimes walking beside the marsh, other times on the pavement of the bike path, and eventually walking the sandy beach. Just like Fort Hill these trails move into the top five. I Can’t wait to go back..

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

Accessibility - 5 - Off Rte 6 - look for National Seashore sign
Parking -  5 - More than enough
Length-  5   Can do as much as you would like
Degree of Difficulty- 4- easy with a few hills
Extras-  5 - Visitor Center, Bike Path, Coast Guard Beach, Kayaking
Trail Markings-  5 - plenty of signs
Trail Maintenance-   5  No problems
Variation - 5- The marsh, the woods, the beach, bike path
Scenic  - 5 - Fantastic when you aren’t in woods
Worth Returning - 5  Over and over
Surface - Grass, pavement, pine needles, sand, boardwalk
Beach -   yes
Facilities - yes

Rating 49 out of 50