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Could it get any better?! Eighteen folks joined our first trip of 2025 and there was adventure for all…skiing, hiking, snowshoeing, and shopping. Some people were actually able to fit in a little of everything!
The Mountain Inn team welcomed us Sunday with an awesome buffet. Throughout the week, people dined at local restaurants or at the Inn restaurant which offered delicious food and live music. We gathered daily by the fireplace to trade stories and indulge in snacks and beverages. Special thanks to Helgard for sharing!
Plenty of snowmaking before we arrived and 3-6” of fresh powder every day resulted in the best skiing in recent memory. People enjoyed the gentle greens, blue cruisers, and ungroomed black
diamond (those who dared). We had to brave near zero temps, but everyone came prepared to keep warm. The downhillers skied many trails, but a favorite was Great Eastern, a 3.5-mile-
long uninterrupted run with perfect conditions all week. One person said “I feel like I’m dancing with the mountain!” I think everyone could agree.
Cross-county skiers happily reported on the scenic, wooded trails near Crittenden. Shopping and hiking around nearby Woodstock were also noted as fun ways to spend a day.
After four days of clouds and snow, Friday dawned with sunshine, blue skies, and warmer temperatures. For the people who stayed and skied, it was a perfect ending to a phenomenal week. Those who left early may have missed a snowbird day, but will remember all the fun shared during our visit to The Beast!
Elizabeth B
On a brisk and cool, but wonderfully sunny November day, twenty-one TOHG members of the walking and hiking group arrived at Great Brook State Park in Carlisle, MA to begin a 2.5 mile walk in the woods. The trails were leaf covered and rocky in places, but manageable. Our goal was to make it to the Thanksgiving Rocks located in an area in Chelmsford called the Thanksgiving Forest, djacent to the state park.
After reaching the Rocks we took the obligatory pictures but couldn’t get everyone in them. After leaving there, we walked alongside Great Brook and observed a number of geese and ducks in the water.
Once we arrived back at our starting point, we enjoyed bag lunches while sitting in the stone circle near the parking area.
We met five new TOHG members on this walk!
Meredith P
Perhaps the last gasp of summer? A sunny and warm day helped make our Autumn bike ride a true joy as we set off from the Assabet River Trail Head in Acton through Maynard and into Stow. We rode along a rustic dirt road through the Assabet River Wildlife Refuge. Beautiful views of the river, Crow Island Airfield and a bridge spanning the river were the main attractions. And of course coffee and collegiality at a Maynard coffee shop completed our ride.
Alan U
Alan, Janet, Barbara, Cathy, Dana, Neal, Patricia, Pat, Helgard, Dick
Another unseasonably warm Autumn day made for a great bike ride as ten Gang members set off from Newburyport. We biked over the John Greenleaf Whittier Bridge which spans the Merrimack River between Newburyport and Amesbury. The bike trail, which is part of the bridge alongside I-95, affords beautiful views of the river below. From there we biked the seasonably appropriate Ghost Trail through Salisbury. The Ghost Trail got its name from the wooden carriages and railroad cars which were covered with white canvas shrouds giving them a ghostly appearance. From there we biked to the Seabrook NH line which is scheduled for a connecting trail in 2032. And last, of course, we biked to downtown Amesbury for coffee and refreshment al fresco.
Alan, Dick, Judy, Sheila, Cathy, Kimm, Dana, Neal, Helgard
Nine TOHG members met opposite the Topsfield Fairgrounds to bike the Border to Boston Rail Trail from Topsfield through Wenham, Danvers and Peabody. Ride highlights included a short walk on the Wenham Swamp Boardwalk and examining the planet Saturn which is part of an Eagle Scout project depicting our solar system to scale. And of course stopping for coffee and refreshment in downtown Danvers was one of our ride highlights!
Twelve happy riders showed up on a spectacular day, not too cold, not too hot. We meandered along the lovely quiet backroads, partly on conservation lands. We made a number of stops – vernal pools, the Concord River, horse farms along the way. The most beautiful colors were on Dudley Road where Huckins Farm is.
Back at the house we had a really nice time socializing in the back yard while enjoying all the wonderful food people brought.
Mary W
Dan Y, Alan U, Neal S, Dick R, Helgard K, missing from photo: Margo and Steve F.
Blue skies and a cool breeze awaited seven Gang members as we set off from the Encore Casino in Everett to Lynn on our bike ride. This ride is different from most of our rides as it’s a primarily urban trail with many busy street crossings. The heavenly smells of bread baking and coffee being roasted whet our appetites as we biked through Malden. Passing several art sculptures and many small community gardens we rode on to Revere and Saugus where we passed Rumney Marsh and then past suburban backyards and a heavily shaded portion of the trail. After passing through another marsh in Lynn which the Saugus River empties into we came to the end of the trail just short of downtown Lynn. Planning is underway to soon connect this portion of the trail with Nahant.
Jim and Joyce, Helgard, Alan, Cathy
Five TOHG members rode New England’s newest rail trail from Portsmouth to Hampton NH. This trail will eventually stretch to the Seabrook NH/Salisbury MA line where it will connect with the Eastern Marsh Trail.
For now though we had to content ourselves with about a quiet, wooded eight mile smooth stone dust trail which ends near the Hampton Airfield. Here we enjoyed a late breakfast (amazing menu!) at the Airport Cafe. We watched the air traffic take off and land including a vintage biplane.
It was a beautiful mild, and sunny day in New England with leaves beginning to turn and fall. Six members of the Gang biked through some of the scenic 3,512 acres of Wompatuck State Park in Hingham, MA. Stops were made at the Aaron River Reservoir for a photo and Mount Blue Spring to refresh water bottles. The great fall weather was enjoyed by all.
On a cool cloudy day in Boston seventeen members of the TOHG walking group wandered on and off the Freedom Trail in Boston ending at the USS Constitution in Charleston. Along the way we stopped at the “Old Burial Ground” and Kings Chapel. We wandered off the Trail to visit City Hall Plaza where the city has done a major remake including a new playground. We waited a bit at Faneuil Hall for a member to catch up and then proceeded to the North End. We stopped at the Boca Bakery for some wonderful snacks to keep us going until lunch. On the way to the Constitution we also stopped at The Paul Revere statue and the Iraq Afghanistan Memorial.
After crossing the bridge into Charlestown we visited the Constitution Museum and boarded the ship itself. We were allowed to go below deck to the officers’ quarters and down again to the seamen’s berths. Below deck many of us had to be careful as there wasn’t much headroom.
We walked back through the North End to have lunch at an Italian restaurant that could accommodate our group. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and there was a lot of socialization along the way and at lunch.
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