This was a hike on a holiday weekend, on a day with predicted excellent weather, in the middle of a period of blue-bird days. What more could we want. Thirteen people showed up on time at the Essex Center Park and Ride at 8 AM, and we picked up number 14 at the Cambridge Park and Ride a bit later. By 9:20 AM we were on the Frank Post Trail, and by 10:30 AM we were at Tillotson Camp on the Long Trail, where we stopped before heading south on the LT.

Everything went well, except for the fact that the trail is in the trees, so there are no views until we reached the Belvedere summit. The trail was as dry as it ever gets, so the roots and rocks were not too slippery.

The group moved along well. There was a lot of blow-down, with many trees perched just across and above the trail, and there were a few instances of people watching the trail and walking right into tree limbs – but all survived. We made the summit around 1:15 PM, had lunch, and lounged in the sun for an extended period. Eventually we headed down the Foresters Trail, arriving back at the parking area around 3 PM. It was a very good group and a very good hike.

Participants – Phil Hazen, Allison Gardner, Kevin Kelley, Miguel Brosse, Jerry Lasky, Cilla Kimberly, Peggy Faucher, Marc Faucher, Scott Springer, Daniel Scheidt, Mary Keenan, Allison Rimmer, Richard Larsen