Nine Men's Misery trail - Cumberland, RI

 After a busy morning and afternoon, I had some time to fit in a short walk. I decided to do my old stand by -- The Nine Men's Misery trail, at the Monastery.

 It was another picture perfect; almost fall day - here in New England! Too nice of a day; to let it pass by, without a walk.

 I parked at the lot; in the rear of the Monastery building.This is where most people seem to park; if they wish to use some of the other trails, besides the Beauregard loop.

Rear view of the Monastery building.

  Recently, a covered  information sign was erected. However, nothing has been put up, as of yet... I'm guessing a map of the trails located on the property - is the intended information.

information sign - sans information.

I began today's walk; (technically on the Beauregard loop) at the gated section, which can be seen, just behind the info sign -- in the picture above.

  This is the only portion of the trail that is paved. This portion, more than likely -- is all that remains of the access road the Monks once used . For more info on the history of the Monastery grounds , click HERE

Paved section of trail.

At this point; you can head either right or left, on to Beauregard. Today; we will be going right, to pick up the Nine Men's Misery trail.

What's around the bend?

After about 200 feet, you have another choice..

Exit, stage left..

This portion of the trail leads to the Monk irrigation pond - where you can find what remains of the pump house.

Ruble of the  pump house, can be seen in the undergrowth.

 The woods you pass through; are quite thick and composed predominately, of old growth oak and maple. If you choose to deviate from the trail and explore said woods - be prepared for some serious bushwhacking.

Example of woods, surrounding the irrigation pond.

 There is also; a swampy, marshy area opposite of the pond. I was able to capture a great blue heron, (seen here in flight) which are absolutely beautiful birds, its wingspan -- had to be five or six feet, from tip,to tip!

Great blue heron , flying away from me.

  From here; you have the option to take the "Old Road", which after a nice walk trough some woods brings you to an overlook of a quarry and some views of Providence to the south. However, we'll continue on our intended trail.

Old road trial, is to the left.

The 9 men's misery trail, leaves the woods for a bit -- bringing you to an open meadow.

View looking towards the meadow aprox ( NW) - it was recently mowed.

  Its a very nice and level walk through this section of the trail. The woods surrounding this meadow, are also very thick and expansive. I'm hoping to do some snow showing in these woods this winter. ( if it snows,that is)

Your view, as the trail makes it way through the open field.

Fall is definitely creeping in, the foliage is starting to dull and there were pops of color, here and there. See photo below.

Early fall color.

After a nice stroll; you either continue on towards the power lines, which run through a portion of the grounds, or as we will -- head back into the woods..

we'll explore the path straight ahead,another day.

Once your eyes have adjusted; you'll notice that the woods are much more open, which makes for much easier off trail exploration.

Easy bushwhacks,can be had here.

The Nine Men's misery monument, can be found up this short side trail -- seen in the below picture.

If you're not paying attention, its easy to miss the side trail.

After a short climb,you come upon the monument. For information of what occurred on this spot, in 1676 - click HERE

Nine Men's misery monument and inscription - erected in 1928

After allowing my mind to travel back to that day -- it was time to continue with my walk.The trail continues through some deciduous woodland, before entering into another meadow.

 I concluded my walk , where last weeks walk began. Overall, it was an enjoyable walk (as always) equaling approximately 1.5 miles. It usually takes me 45 minutes to complete, that's with frequent stops to admire trees -- or identify birds.

Heading home!

The Monastery, Cumberland, RI - Portion of the Beauregard Trail

  Not all who wander -- are lost. I love to take walks in the woods, often with no particular destination in mind. I've hiked a few mountains, nothing over 3,000 feet (yet) To be honest; I think I've been bitten by the hiking bug, but with a baby on the way  -- major excursions will have to wait until at least next spring.

However, there are plenty of shorter trails, that are just as enjoyable. For you see; I'm not in it to bag a certain anount of peaks, or set any endurance record. I'm in it, to enjoy the outdoors and hopefully explore some new places.

 Fall is in the air! After a major storm rolled though the Northeast last night; a cold front settled upon the Blackstone Valley (where I reside) I awoke to a cool, cloudy morning; which gave way to a picture perfect pre - autumn afternoon.

 I started today's blog; with the idea of delving into the Monastery grounds, where today's short hike took place. However; the Monastery deserves much more time and research, to really do it justice, so today's blog will focus just on the short hike we took. A more extensive review of the history and its current condition - will be forthcoming.

For people not familiar with The Monastery -- in order to not go into much detail, I'll try to give a short overview.

 The Monastery is a parcel of aproximatley 530 acres; and the former site of the  Monastery of Our Lady of the Valley, which was occupied by the monks of the Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance, commonly known as Trappists. The Cumberland Public Library; is now situated
 on this site, along with trails and public open space.

The below photo is a an overview of the grounds and the trails - I will be going over additional trails and historical sites located here -- in the near future.

Now, onto the hike! We parked at the lot closest to library, which is a newer addition to the existing Monastery building. Here is a view of the existing Monastery structure and the new Library.

 As you can see, there weren't too many clouds in the sky - temps were in the low 70's and very low humidity. (which was a welcomed reprieve, from the oppressive weather we've recently had)

  After a short stroll; through a paved area..... (see below)

  We picked up the Beauregard Trail ( picture below) at the ending or beginning (depending on which way your going) of the Nine Men's Misery Trail (I will dedicate an entire blog to that -- don't worry!)

 The trail is quite wide and composed of hard packed gravel - there are no obstructions to worry about. This is the most popular loop on the grounds and runs  about 1.5 miles in total - we completed aprox. 1/4 mile -- give, or take.

 Tropical Storm Irene; barreled through the area, a year ago and caused some damage -- as seen in the picture below. All blow-downs have been cleared -- and are of no concern.

This particular portion of the trail, meanders through predominately oak and hickory woodlands -- we came across some ferns, soaking in some late summer sun.

  This area has been an oasis and an escape for me - since I was a small boy. I hope you enjoyed this short foray in the woods, a much as I have --I look forward to sharing with you, all the other nooks and crannies of this jewel!

Mt. Keasrage hike - 9/5/10

This is a hike; which we went on, two years ago.. Mt. Kearsage is 2,937ft tall and is located in Wilmont, NH .More info on the mountain can be found Here

 The quickest route to the top is from the Rollins State Park picnic area on the mountain's south ridge, accessible via Kearsarge Mountain Road from the town of Warner. Access on the mountain's western side is from the picnic area of Winslow State Park via the Winslow Trail (1.1 mi) or the Barlow Trail (1.6 mi.), built in 1997 by Trailwrights, a volunteer trail group, for the SRK Greenway.

We took the Mountain Road (there is a toll) which brings you to a parking and picnic area. the hike to the summit is a quick and moderate overall. we had small children with us - they all were able to make it to the summit w/out much complaining.

                                          On the way to the top - looking west, towards VT

It was a cool breezy day, there was some haze off in the distance, but overall the views were quite good. I wish I had a pair of binoculars, however just by zooming with the camera -- I was able to locate a wind-farm about 20 miles away.

                                     Almost to the summit - my wife's hat made an appearance.

The wind really started to pick up at this point, as the clouds rolled in. I would estimate that there were some gusts up to 25 -30 mph. the above photo is also looking in a westerly direction - towards Mt. Sunapee.

    I also hiked to the summit of Sunapee about 5 years ago, unfortunately I no longer have any pictures from that day, I'll have to revisit it soon.

Discovering New England

New England; stepped in history and natural beauty. From the Atlantic coastal plain - to the eastern shore of Lake Champlain.. Join me on a journey, to discover what makes New England - New England!