Finally, we get off the roads and into some woods!
We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.
— Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
The southern portion of the Midstate Trail has existed for the past 50 years. I don’t know the details of its evolution, but I do know it has evolved over that time. Land ownership has changed, new roads have appeared and other human influences have necessitated adjustments to where the trail runs. I’m sure that, sometimes, in order to avoid trespassing on private property, where the owners don’t feel comfortable with the occasional hiker passing by, the trail has been forced to head done public access routes, read: roads. Waldo and I park our car on a wide spot in the road, where we left off last time, and head south, down East Charlton Road, in Charlton, Mass.
The road is paved and a few cars and trucks pass us by, going around 40. This is not exactly what we have in mind when we head out for a walk in the woods, and it is a bit dangerous, particularly since there is no shoulder. But we tolerate it, since we have no choice. The road runs up a shallow hill for about 1.5 miles, then we turn left onto Clark Road, then, shortly after, right onto Borkum Road. A sign there states, “Scenic Drive,” which is reassuring, and the surrounding woods are beautiful. After ¼-mile or so, the pavement ends and thing are starting to look up.
Waldo and I have walked along many a country road over the years and we are both practiced and comfortable with it. I let Waldo take his position 26 feet out in front, at the end of the leash, unless there is heavy traffic, and he has learned how to deal with his freedom. When possible, which, by no means is often, he walks off the tarmac next to the road. Most of the time, though, brush and rough ground force us both to walk on the road. Waldo stays to the edge of the tarmac and does not venture any more onto the road than is necessary. We’ve learned how to adapt.
After nearly 2 miles of road-humping, we finally turn right and head down a dirt footpath. The trees here are mostly oak and white pine and the underbrush is mostly weeds. After another ½-mile or so, we break out of the forest onto a swath of treeless, tall weed-choked ground. There is a plastic pipe that pokes skyward 6 feet or so, every few hundred yards, with a sign that tells me this part of the trail has been cleared for a gas pipeline. A path has been cleared and beaten through the tall weeds that goes in and out of the woods to the side. We make our way along there for another mile or so, then return to Borkum Road. The road here is gravel and the surrounding forest still beautiful.
Borkum Road turns into Gould Road, which is paved, as it crosses a bridge that runs over a railroad. Up a hill from there, on the left, is a collection of buildings with a sign that reads, “Holy Virgin Mary Spiritual Vineyard.” I’m not sure what a spiritual vineyard is, but I suppose the grapes must be blessed by someone in some way. I don’t recall ever seeing, or hearing of, a commercial product by that name, but I’m not much of a wine connoisseur. I see no activity of any kind on the property. Perhaps they are all engage in spiritual practice at the moment.
Further up the hill is a small, well-manicured, cemetery. From there, I can see the trail continues up a slight incline into the woods. I check the interactive map on my phone and I decide that we’ve come far enough for the day. I will not need to leave a marker here, designating where we turned around. The cemetery will serve quite well as a place to turn around when we come back from the other direction.
This leg of our trek has been long, but relatively easy hiking, as a great deal of it has been on roads. Not ideal for a hiking experience, but more pleasant for the muscles. And we can still appreciate being out here in Mother Nature, even if we are on a road.
We pass no one, not on the way out, nor on the way back. It seems that the Midstate Trail is more popular on warm sunny days, on a weekend, or a holiday.
I check our distance when we get back to the car. We walked 7.92 miles in 3 hrs, 40 min with 650 ft of altitude gain. We’ll take tomorrow off to rest and head back out the day after. The distance isn’t that great, compared to what we’ve walked in the past, but the elevation gain is fatiguing.
We still have plenty of time until the first snow flies.
Yes, Waldo, a spiritual vineyard is a thing — apparently.