We’re hiking forward, one week closer to November!

Day 8: Rained Out!
Totally disappointing!

Day 9: Willowdale State Forest, Ipswich, Ma
We didn’t have a trail map with us during this outing which made us a bit hesitant to make any quick turns. I made sure to look for landmarks as we went along and drew a mental map of our route in case we had to retrace our steps back to the car. Luckily we were able to make a couple of loops through the woods and over the streams that eventually wound back to the trail head. The woods were quiet and peaceful and a bit wet from the previous day’s rain.

Day 10: College Pond, Danvers, Ma
This trail was created by the Danvers Open Space Interns and was a quick little hike not far from home. Perfect for a day when the rain was threatening! The trail drops down quickly from the road into a mix of wetlands and forest. At the far end of the loop the trail branches off onto a long wooden pier that stretches out into College Pond. We didn’t see any wildlife today, but I can imagine that it would be a great spot for seeing herons, egrets, geese and other waterfowl.

Day 11: Halibut Point State Park, Rockport, Ma
Today was another chilly, misty day on the north shore. That wouldn’t keep Catherine and I from the trail, though! We drove up 127 to Rockport and hiked around the quarry at Halibut Point. This state park has trails that wind down to the rocky coast, a great lookout point high above the water and small trails that lead to the quick dropoffs at the edge of the quarry. The park was pretty quiet, but we did see two men fishing and a little boy leading his grandma down the trail. There are some pics from the hike here.

Day 12: Goose Cove, Gloucester, Ma
Yesterday, while driving to Halibut Point, I noticed a sign on the side of the road for Goose Cove, part of the Essex County Greenbelt Association. Today, between a previous engagement and the afternoon rain, we went up to Goose Cove. The trail head has a parking area that could fit a couple cars and was the perfect location for a prehike, tailgate picnic. We had a little lunch and hit the trail. We were only on the trail a total of twenty minutes but it was a nice little hike. The trail was in the trees all the way to the end where it opened up to a nice view of Goose Cove. Having only seen it from the road this was a nice new perspective.

Day 13: Breakheart Reservation, Saugus, Ma
Peter chose our hike for today: Breakheart Reservation. It is hard to believe that there is a huge reservation tucked behind frantic Route 1 in Saugus. We took the Ridge Trail which turned out to be a moderately difficult hike. The trail went up and over several hills, the tops of which were rocky, providing satisfying scrambling opportunities. There were some nice views of Boston and the surrounding areas and we enjoyed our 2+ hours on the trail. More pictures from Breakheart can be found [here](http://prwdot.org/gallery2/v/travels/2007/breakheart_reservation/).

Day 14: Project!
Umm. We got busy working on a house project…I’ll make up the hike tomorrow, I promise!