Tag: Middlesex Fells

(Almost) spring in the Fells

I had a rare light day, so I hiked the Reservoir Trail in the Middlesex Fells. It was unusually dry for early to mid-March. No washed-out sections of the trail and very little mud. A beautiful day for a six-mile walk, but I managed to take a header near the end. I was able to pick myself up hike out, but we’ll see if I can walk tomorrow.

The western part of the loop was much better marked than it’s been in the past. I only had to slow down and look for the next orange blaze a few times. I’m guessing the new blazes were put up by the Friends of the Fells, so I felt like my dues were well spent.

Also interesting to see that there was some slushy ice on all three reservoirs. The Mystic Lakes are completely clear, so I’m not sure what the explanation would be.

Dam work complete in the Middlesex Fells

First time in the Middlesex Fells in a few months, and I was happy to see that the restoration of the North Reservoir dam is finally complete. The road has been reopened and the water level has been restored to its normal level. Also: The Mosquito Rapture must have taken place, because there wasn’t a single one that I could detect. I’m not complaining.

Not Art

A few years ago I noticed a “Not Art” stencil for the first time, on a concrete barrier alongside the Mystic Path, which runs along the eastern shore of the Mystic Lakes. Over the winter I took pictures of every one I saw in Medford, Arlington and the Middlesex Fells. I didn’t go looking for them; I just documented what I encountered. And no, I didn’t know they were a thing until I Googled them. Here’s a Boston magazine story about them from 2014.

The original (at least for me): Lower Mystic Lake, eastern shore, Jan. 17, 2023
Western end of Chandler Road, Middlesex Fells, April 15, 2023
Boston Avenue and North Street, Medford, Jan. 10, 2023
Minuteman Bikeway, just south of Spy Pond, Arlington, Jan. 4, 2023
Southern tip of South Reservoir, Middlesex Fells, Dec. 30, 2022

Dam project underway in the Middlesex Fells

I hadn’t visited the Middlesex Fells for several months, and it looks like I missed a lot. The town of Winchester is rebuilding the 147-year-old North Reservoir Dam at a cost of $6 million. The water level has been lowered considerably in order to accommodate the construction. Here’s a story about it from the Winchester Star, back when there was a Star.

A brown day in the Fells

I took my first hike in the Middlesex Fells since last December. It was a beautiful day, but the trails were much drier than I expected. That doesn’t bode well unless we have an exceptionally wet April. No signs of greenery yet. No patches of snow, either, although there was a little bit of slushy ice on one of the smaller ponds. Click on the photos for a larger view.