Random trips from the nicest couple of days ever.

Hey everybody, I haven't updated in a few weeks because it's been completely awesome out and any and all free time I've got has been spent enjoying the weather. But now that its back to the 40s again I have some time for an update. This time around I don't have a solid hike to update about because I've done a few small ones, mostly to places I've written about before. I revisited Plum Island, this time with great weather and finally an owl spotting, though to far away for good pictures. I also took a trip to Halibut Point State Park in Gloucester, MA. Highly recommended, not much in the way of trails, but an old quarry and plenty of coastline to explore make for a great day trip. I also went to Ipswich Wildlife Sanctuary in Topsfield, MA (which looks like a great place to go kayak/canoeing), along with a few short Geocaching trips around the Northshore area. All and all it was a great couple weeks, Added a few miles on the boots, took some great photos and had a good precursor of whats to come this summer. Hope you enjoy the pictures, and head on over to www.coreyoconnorphoto.com if you get a chance, thanks dudes!

Mileage: 5 miles

Cattail Stars.

Beaver?

Savannah Sunset.

Sunset over the Marsh.

Bird and Tower and Awesome.

Plum Island Sunset.

Nicole!

Mt. Sugarloaf and Smith College

I headed home this past weekend to hang out with the family and ended up going on a short hike with my Dad to Mt.Sugarloaf in South Deerfield, MA. We started out the day by heading over to Smith College in North Hampton to check out a bulb show, which if your wondering is a show where people exhibit the flower bulbs they have genetically modified to look a certain way. My dad is in the Nursery business, so this kinda thing is a pretty big deal, I guess. But seriously it was surprisingly cool and Smith College has a huge Botanical Garden which is pretty damn interesting to check out.
So as for the hike, It was a pretty fast climb up the mountain seeing as it is only 652ft tall, the trail itself ascends pretty sharply and is only about a half mile to the summit. There are some pretty nice views of the Connecticut River and the Pioneer Valley from the top. The summit has an auto road that is open during the summer and fall months and because of this the top is a lot more developed and includes parking lots, a few structures, bathrooms, a large picnicking area....and a lot of people. We made our way down via the auto road back to the dirt parking lot for a round trip of about an hour and a half. Overall a pretty easy hike with a good view of the surrounding area, and if hiking isn't your thing its a quick drive up to the summit for an easy picnic. A map of the park and it's trails can be found here.

Mileage: 3 Miles

From the Bulb Show.

From the Bulb Show.

From the Bulb Show.

View of the Connecticut River from the summit.

Fields.

Hanging flower in the Botanical Garden at Smith College.

Throwback Hike: Sentinel Dome & Taft Point

So I thought it would be a good idea to put up some of my favorite hikes from the past because after all, I did hike before I bought my new pair of boots and there is no sense in skipping over great hikes just because they are in the past. So I will kick off my Throwback series, with a hike from my 2010 trip to Yosemite National Park: Sentinel Dome & Taft Point. So as I'm sure many of you are aware of Yosemite NP, but prob not many of you have actually been there, it is, to sum it up in one word goddamncompletelyawesome, and even though my computer might not think so, as it has underlined it in red squiggles, that is a real word. And most of the words I type are underlined in red anyways. But back to the hike; it's a pretty short and easy to access hike within Yosemite, which is home to far too many trails to count, most of which can prove to be a bit more challenging. The trail head to both of these short hikes are located on Glacier Point road, also known for the view at Glacier Point, which is the most over populated, picture saturated viewing point in the whole park. Sentinel Dome on the other hand offers a similar if not better view of the Sierra Nevada's and Yosemite Valley, and it cuts down the crowd from about one thousand people to about a dozen. The trails run through thick forest and it's not uncommon to spot a bear while hiking here (we just missed some, as the hikers ahead of us told us they spotted a couple). After a short hike to the namesake of each hike you are treated to one of the best views you have likely ever seen, at least for me it was. Taft point sports a cliff that juts out over Yosemite Valley and drops strait down 1,600 feet and there is a small railing at the edge you can use to lean over if your up to it. Overall one of the craziest views I've ever seen before. The final section of the hike heads back into the forest and up to Sentinel Dome, (both of these hikes are connected and can be done in a loop) which is a also a dome like the more famous Half Dome, but it doesn't require a permit to climb and takes a lot less time. Sentinel Dome is also famous for the location of the Jeffery Tree, made famous in Anzel Adams photography. The tree is long since dead but still makes for a great subject to shoot. This hike was around 4.5 five miles round trip and sports two extraordinary views and lets you avoid the crowds of the major viewing areas. Finally I would highly recommend visiting Yosemite National Park, as it will literally take your breath away, then once there, hike the shit out of these two places, they are not to be missed.

Mileage: 4.5 Miles (On the old boots)

The Jeffery Tree

Taft Point Overlook

View From Taft Point

Yosemite Falls from Taft Point

My Dad on the hike.

Hikers Paradise.

View from Sentinel Dome.

Another view from Sentinel Dome.

Granville State Forest

Last weekend I decided to go for a hike at Granville State Forest in Graville, MA. I've been there a few times before to hike and once to camp which ended pretty abruptly when me and my friends where asked to leave because apparently you can't drink in a State Park..and I thought this was America. But anyways all bad memories aside it's a pretty decent place to go hiking and they have many well marked trails (you can view a map here). Nicole and I picked a route and set out around 11 am on the Ordway trail. While it's a great place to hike, there isn't much in the way of views or outstanding scenery, it's best for a longer easy hike through a remote feeling forest. Remote because as far as Granville goes, there isn't to much shit going on besides one general store and a road that will take you to New Boston, which is nothing like Regular Boston. After a long walk we came to Hartland road and followed that to what we thought was Searless Road trail, which may or may not have even been close to what we actually took. After a few more miles we ended up next to a Hills Have Eyes movie scene of an old school Winnebago that literally was abandoned with everything in to. Very cool stuff like old magazines and cassette tapes, and about 1,000 lbs of assorted animal feces. After working up the nerve with a little help from Nicole, cause I'm a baby, we explored the winnebago for a bit along with the adjacent ghetto tire swing, then head back on the trail which dumped us out on some random unplanned road. Fortunately, the random road led us back to my car and we finished up a bit after 2pm with a total hike of about six miles. I've come to realize that taking the wrong trail always leads to something more exciting than taking the right trail ever would have. All and all it was a great hike and I will once again return to Granville State Forest in the future for more hiking.

Mileage: 6 Miles

Master Bedroom. Photo Credit: Nicole Dimmock.

Missing Killers?

Reflection of a better time.

Granville State Forest Hike in 2007.

Utah!

I'm going to Utah this summer so stay tuned for many many new miles and pictures from the land of Mormons and Canyons!