Weekend Hiking: Part Two

On our last day of hiking, we went back to the Tillinghast management area, but parked further up to try the Wickaboxet trail. This trail was longer and had several points of interest, that I wanted to see.

We started on the main trail and headed to Rattlesnake ledge. The foliage is winding down in some areas and still at peak in others, so I never miss a chance to get about it all, to enjoy the views. The hike up to the ledges wasn't too bad and it comes around the backside, so much easier than climbing up rocks.

The views were beautiful, but a lot of trees blocks the view with a camera, so it was hard to get a shot of the foliage areas to the sides, but still beautiful.

The area was once a thriving village, and you will find several old cellar holes in the area. It is fun to imagine what it was like, when families lived here.

We walked through a beautiful wooded area, no one around, just trees and stone walls. When we came out to the main path, we stumbled onto these odd structures. Believe it or not, they are said to be anthills, Bill thinks they are termites, but whatever they are, they are gone for the winter.

The trail continued on through tall pines, and a soft bed of needles, a nice reprieve from walking on rocks and stumps.

We came out to another pond, I can imagine how beautiful this area was when families lived here and spent summers fishing and swimming in the ponds.

When we came to a fork in the path, I had to check out what was up ahead, on another path and we weren't disappointed. We stumbled onto this cabin, above a small pond and stream.

And a little ways up, in the opposite direction, we found the old graveyard.

Coming back to our path, we headed back and found another smaller graveyard. The sun or an unearthly visitor?

A little further up, we found another homestead, this was an old barn.

We found the steps to the homestead and another hole that had caved in. We also saw old bottle pieces and metal that someone had unearthed and left there. The biggest find was this old stove, just sitting there, a reminder of a time gone by.

I hope you enjoyed going along on our hike and remember, sometimes the best hikes are in your own backyard, so go out and explore and have your own adventure.