Easy to Moderate

Hiking, snowshoeing, possible horseback riding.

I live in a tiny town called Mason. I prefer to travel back roads where the views are unspoiled and the roads a bit uneven. One of those sneaky back roads is Darling Hill. The Greenville side is full of quirky houses filled, I like to imagine, with fascinating people I would like to know. There is a hiking trail sign on the side of the road which I have, for years, thought was someone’s driveway.

I had messed up my foot, so I loaded Ruby and Rusty in the car and went for an explore. To my surprise the sign was not on a driveway but a little dirt road leading to…

a parking lot!
Complete with a trail map!

This lovely gem is courtesy of the Brookwood Ecology center.

A little research led me to Pippin. https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/fitchburg/obituary.aspx?n=pippin-traudel-kellogg-roe&pid=171957995

I loved the picture of her. However her Facebook page chilled me. https://m.facebook.com/pippinmemorial

For Pippin’s sake I hope she will appreciate my wanting to share this trail.

As soon as I was able to tread the woods again we were treated to a delight.
We did the Western side first. Yellow trail. Beautifully marked.

The yellow travels down a steep hill to a boggy pond with a delightful stream. If the hill is too steep, the blue trail veers off on the ridge and eventually joins the yellow.

This looks to be an old house.
The yellow follows the creek for a while and then heads back up the hill.
We stayed on the yellow but later did the blue for a shorter less energized walk.

So a few trees, you know I love trees, before crossing the road to the rest of the yellow.

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