Hillside.
I thought yesterday’s Beech Hill hike might be a little miserable, but it turned out to be fun. I had no feelings about today’s hike beforehand—but it turned out to be fairly miserable.
The day began with warmth, and rain, and thaw, and snow turning to slush, and water running down slopes. Along Route 1, springlike waterfalls surged down the hill and into the storm drains. Crows flapped here and there, safely above the sogginess. A chickadee called out back.
In town, herring gulls flew about. I looked for ring-bills and pigeons but didn’t see any.
Birch.
We got to Beech Hill a little early. Right before we arrived, I saw a blue jay fly from the hill across to some scrub on the other side of the road. Light rain fell, and the parking lot was empty—and icy. The trail was icy, too. And soft. In fact, right away, we had to cross a semi-opaque stretch of trail below which water ran audibly. Jack even paused at the spot and looked down at the running water for a moment. The lower trail proved relatively stable, with a few slick, icy spots, but as soon as we turned to the east and headed up, the wind began to hit us, and also the wind-whipped drizzle, and I had to begin paying attention to the track.
The puzzle was how to stay on the best-traveled, most solid line of trail—the line where most had walked and had therefore packed down firmly. Ironically, it was also the highest stretch, with a good two feet of ice and snow beneath it. So if I stepped just a hair to the left or right of this line, my foot would break through and I’d end up knee deep in mushy snow. Spotted a flicker bounding away ahead of us, its wings carrying it safely above the mush. Then, about a third of the way up, the firm track mostly disappeared, and I was falling through with nearly every step. And Jack seemed clearly annoyed at breaking through to his chest. But the fields on either side were bare, so I thought—why not veer off the trail for a bit and walk alongside? So we moved onto the grass for a little ways, then decided to turn back onto a clearer stretch of trail. Trouble was, in the margin between grass and trail lay a sort of channel of snow-covered runoff. I broke clean through into chill water. Thus soaked from shoe to knee, I continued on up a ways before deciding that I didn’t want to do this anymore. We got about halfway up, maybe a bit farther, before turning back.
Beech Hill.
By the time we got back to the truck, we were both exhausted and soaking wet. My camera couldn’t even take a decent photo. The part-way trip took the same amount of time as our usual winter hike all the way up and back.
Drove home. Changed clothes. Kept an appointment or two.
Tonight, the rain has let up, but the temperature has fallen well below freezing, and wind is roaring. I see stars up there. Seems we’re stuck in that crazy place between winter and spring.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 2:30 p.m., I hiked (part of) the open trail.
1. Blue jay
2. Northern flicker
Elsewhere
3. American crow
4. Black-capped chickadee
5. Herring gull
Tags: American crow, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, herring gull, northern flicker
